Abstract
Previous studies have demonstrated that cytokines, transforming growth factor (TGF-β1), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) can impact the intensity of pain in rodents. However, the roles of cytokines, TGF-β1 and BDNF in humans with chronic pain in osteoarthritis remains unclear, and no comparison between plasma and central cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) has been conducted. Patients with osteoarthritis who were scheduled to receive spinal anesthesia were enrolled. The intensity of pain was evaluated with a visual analogue scale (VAS). In addition, patients with genitourinary system (GU) diseases and without obvious pain (VAS 0-1) were included as a comparison (control) group. The levels of TGF-β1, BDNF, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin (IL)-8 within the CSF and plasma were collected and evaluated before surgery. The plasma and CSF TGF-β1 levels were significantly lower in the osteoarthritis patients with pain (VAS ≥ 3) than in the GU control patients. Downregulation of plasma BDNF was also found in osteoarthritis patients with pain. The Spearman correlation analysis showed that the VAS pain scores were significantly negatively correlated with the levels of TGF-β1 in the CSF of patients with osteoarthritis. However, there was no significant correlations between the pain scores and the levels of BDNF, TNF-α, and IL-8 in either the CSF or plasma. TGF-β1 but not BDNF, TNF-α, or IL-8 may be an important biological indicator in the CSF of osteoarthritis patients with chronic pain.
Highlights
Previous studies have demonstrated that cytokines, transforming growth factor (TGF-β1), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) can impact the intensity of pain in rodents
The plasma and cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) TGF-β1 levels were significantly lower in the osteoarthritis patients with pain (VAS 3) than in the genitourinary system (GU) control patients
Downregulation of plasma BDNF was found in osteoarthritis patients with pain
Summary
Previous studies have demonstrated that cytokines, transforming growth factor (TGF-β1), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) can impact the intensity of pain in rodents. The roles of cytokines, TGF-β1 and BDNF in humans with chronic pain in osteoarthritis remains unclear, and no comparison between plasma and central cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) has been conducted. Pain is an unpleasant stressful sensation that is caused by an acute injury or chronic disease [1]. In patients with osteoarthritis (OA), chronic pain persists due to the progression of the disease and becomes a disabling symptom of OA [3]. Selection of pain control agents and finding the relevant biological indicators are important in the treatment of OA. Up to the present time, many studies have focused on treatments for the chronic pain caused by OA, in the hope that a pain-relieving strategy will improve the symptoms and the daily functioning in these patients [4,5,6]. In this study, we assumed that gaining an understanding of the molecular basis of pain perception may provide new insights into the treatment of chronic pain caused by OA
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