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. 2016 Jun 8;19(6):755-9.
doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2016.05.010.

Pain and Itch: Beneficial or Harmful to Antimicrobial Defense?

Pankaj Baral  1 , Kimbria Mills  1 , Felipe A Pinho-Ribeiro  1 , Isaac M Chiu  2
Affiliations
Free article

Pain and Itch: Beneficial or Harmful to Antimicrobial Defense?

Pankaj Baral et al. Cell Host Microbe. .
Free article

Abstract

Pain and itch are unpleasant sensations accompanying many microbial infections. Recent studies demonstrate that pain- and itch-mediating somatosensory neurons are able to directly detect pathogens, triggering neuronal activation and subsequent regulation of immune responses. We discuss whether pain and/or itch during infection is beneficial or harmful to host antimicrobial defense.

Keywords: host defense; itch; neuroimmunology; pain.

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