2003 Volume 42 Issue 11 Pages 1100-1103
Objective Pain-related differential expressions of nerve growth factor (NGF), glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), and their receptors were investigated in human vasculitic neuropathies.
Materials and Methods The mRNA levels of painrelated neurotrophic factors, NGF, GDNF and IL-6, were examined in the sural nerves of 22 painful and non-painful patients with acute necrotizing vasculitic neuropathies, together with their concomitant soluble receptors (p75, GFRα-1 and IL-6Rα).
Results The mRNAs for these factors and receptors in the lesioned nerves were up-regulated to a variable extent in both groups. NGF mRNA expression was more closely correlated with that of p75 in painful neuropathy with relatively preserved large fiber density, compared with non-painful neuropathy, though the NGF mRNA level in painful neuropathy was lower than that in non-painful neuropathy. GDNF was closely associated with GFRα-1 in mRNA levels regardless of the pain state, but IL-6 was not associated with IL-6Rα.
Conclusion The differential expression of neurotrophic factors and their cognate soluble receptors in human vasculitic neuropathy suggests that NGF, which was effectively transferred to sensory axons with p75, may induce pain.
(Internal Medicine 42: 1100-1103, 2003)
