The dentate gyrus of the hippocampus is the primary location of adult neurogenesis, which is affected by a variety of external and internal factors, including activity of surrounding glial cells. This study concerns alterations in hippocampal neurogenesis and changes in activity of both proinflammatory and neuroprotective microglia/macrophages after sciatic nerve injury in the rat. Here, we demonstrated that the chronic pain induced by a peripheral nerve injury manifests in the hippocampus by a decrease in proliferation (PCNA+) and neurogenesis (DCX+), an increase in proinflammatory cytokines (CD86+), and a reduction in neuroprotective (CD163+) microglia/macrophages. We suggest that a pathological increase microglia/macrophage activity is the cause of neurogenesis suppression observed in chronic neuropathic pain.
Keywords: CD163; CD86; DCX; Hippocampus; PCNA; Sciatic nerve injury; iba-1.
© 2019 S. Karger AG, Basel.