a mechanism underlying microglial activation by chronic stress

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25670093
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: General anatomy (including histology/embryology)
• Research Institution: Nagoya University
• Principal Investigator: KIYAMA Hiroshi 名古屋大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), 教授 (00192021)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: ミクログリア / 疼痛 / 慢性疲労 / 線維筋痛症

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Patients with fibromyalgia (FM) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) suffer from chronic pain and severe fatigue. To analyze molecular mechanisms underlying the pain, we employed CFS and FM animal models. We found significant accumulation and activation of microglia in the lumber level of dorsal horn of spinal cord, although no inflammatory and injurious incidents were observed in peripheral tissues and peripheral blood. Minocycline treatment suppressed both microglial activation and pain behavior in CFS animal model. Further analysis on dorsal root ganglia and anti-gravity muscle suggests that a chronic hyper-activation of proprioceptor may activate microglia in the dorsal horn, and the locally activated microglia may be associated with the abnormal pain.

Free Research Field

神経解剖学