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Galanin and Spinal Pain Mechanisms: Past, Present, and Future

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Galanin

Part of the book series: Experientia Supplementum ((EXS,volume 102))

Abstract

Since the discovery of galanin in 1983, one of the most frequently suggested physiological function for this peptide is pain modulation at the level of the spinal cord. This notion, initially based on the preferential distribution of galanin in dorsal spinal cord, has been supported by results from a large number of morphological, molecular, and functional studies. It is generally agreed that spinally applied galanin produces a biphasic, dose-dependent effect on spinal nociception through activation of GalR1 (inhibitory) or GalR2 (excitatory) receptors. Galanin also appears to have an endogenous inhibitory role, particularly after peripheral nerve injury when the synthesis of galanin is increased in sensory neurons. In recent years, small molecule ligands of galanin receptors have been developed, which may lead to the development of analgesic drugs, which affects the galanin system at the spinal cord level.

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Acknowledgments

The work conducted in the authors’ laboratories has been supported by the Swedish Research Council, Karolinska Institutet, and the Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation. We thank Dr. Tiejun Shi for generously allowing us to use his color micrographs (Fig. 2).

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  1. Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Section of Integrative Pain Research, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, 141 86, Huddinge, Sweden

    Xiao-Jun Xu & Zsuzsanna Wiesenfeld-Hallin

  2. Department of Neuroscience, Division of Chemical Neurotransmission, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    Tomas Hökfelt

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Correspondence to Zsuzsanna Wiesenfeld-Hallin .

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  1. Dept. Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Retzius vaeg 8, Stockholm, 171 77, Sweden

    Tomas Hökfelt

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Xu, XJ., Hökfelt, T., Wiesenfeld-Hallin, Z. (2010). Galanin and Spinal Pain Mechanisms: Past, Present, and Future. In: Hökfelt, T. (eds) Galanin. Experientia Supplementum, vol 102. Springer, Basel. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0346-0228-0_4

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