Журнал: Immunity 52, May 19, 2020 |
Division of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
Center for the Study of Itch and Sensory Disorders, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
Department of Dermatology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China
Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
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Год: 2020 | УДК: |
Although the medical definition of itch has been in existence for 360 years, only in the last 20 years have we
begun to understand the basic mechanisms that underlie this unique sensation. Therapeutics that specif-
ically target chronic itch as a pathologic entity are currently still not available. Recent seminal advances in
itch circuitry within the nervous system have intersected with discoveries in immunology in unexpected
ways to rapidly inform emerging treatment strategies. The current review aims to introduce these basic con-
cepts in itch biology and highlight how distinct immunologic pathways integrate with recently identified itch-
sensory circuits in the nervous system to inform a major new paradigm of neuroimmunology and therapeutic
development for chronic itch.