Sex differences in peripheral not central immune responses to pain-inducing injury

Women suffer chronic pain more frequently than men. It is not clear whether this is due to differences in higher level cognitive processes or basic nociceptive responses. This study used a mouse model to dissociate these factors and found no differences in peripheral afferent neurons or in the spinal cord immune response to neuropathic injury. However, it did identify potential sexual dimorphisms in peripheral adaptive immune responses. Overall design: RNA-seq of naïve FACS-purified DRG neurons and MACS-purified DRG neurons after partial sciatic nerve ligation (day 8): comparison of male versus female samples

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Lopes DM, Malek N, Edye M, Jager SB, McMurray S, McMahon SB, Denk F