Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Research Highlight
  • Published:

Pain

The pain of integrins

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 5, page 169 (2004)Cite this article

Access through your institution
Buy or subscribe

Integrins are adhesion molecules that are expressed on primary afferent neurons. They bind to elements of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and interact with signalling systems that are known to mediate hyperalgesia. Inflammation and nerve injury cause changes in the ECM around peripheral nerves that might provide important signals to integrins. So, the authors investigated whether integrins were involved in the sensitization of nociceptors that leads to hyperalgesia in animal models of inflammatory and neuropathic pain.

Dina et al. used several methods to interfere with normal integrin signalling in rats, and found that by doing so they could block the development of hyperalgesia. However, there seems to be more than one pathway through which integrins can influence pain.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Access through your institution

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Dina, O. A. et al. Integrin signaling in inflammatory and neuropathic pain in the rat. Eur. J. Neurosci. 19, 634–642 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Rachel Jones
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Jones, R. The pain of integrins. Nat Rev Neurosci 5, 169 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn1359

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn1359

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing