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Clinical Trial
. 2020 Feb 22;21(4):1499.
doi: 10.3390/ijms21041499.

Identification of MOR-Positive B Cell as Possible Innovative Biomarker (Mu Lympho-Marker) for Chronic Pain Diagnosis in Patients with Fibromyalgia and Osteoarthritis Diseases

William Raffaeli  1 , Valentina Malafoglia  1 , Antonello Bonci  1   2 , Michael Tenti  1 , Sara Ilari  3 , Paola Gremigni  4 , Cristina Iannuccelli  5 , Chiara Gioia  5 , Manuela Di Franco  5 , Vincenzo Mollace  3 , Laura Vitiello  6 , Carlo Tomino  7 , Carolina Muscoli  3
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Identification of MOR-Positive B Cell as Possible Innovative Biomarker (Mu Lympho-Marker) for Chronic Pain Diagnosis in Patients with Fibromyalgia and Osteoarthritis Diseases

William Raffaeli et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Fibromyalgia (FM) diagnosis follows the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria, based on clinical evaluation and written questionnaires without any objective diagnostic tool. The lack of specific biomarkers is a tragic aspect for FM and chronic pain diseases in general. Interestingly, the endogenous opioid system is close to the immune one because of the expression of opioid receptors on lymphocytes membrane. Here we analyzed the role of the Mu opioid receptor on B lymphocytes as a specific biomarker for FM and osteoarthritis (OA) patients. We enrolled three groups of females: FM patients, OA patients (chronic pain control group) and healthy subjects (pain-free negative control group). We collected blood samples to apply immunophenotyping analysis. Written tests were administrated for psychological analysis. Data were statistically analyzed. Final results showed that the percentage of Mu-positive B cells were statistically lower in FM and OA patients than in pain-free subjects. A low expression of Mu-positive B cell was not associated with the psychological characteristics investigated. In conclusion, here we propose the percentage of Mu-positive B cells as a biological marker for an objective diagnosis of chronic pain suffering patients, also contributing to the legitimacy of FM as a truly painful disease.

Keywords: chronic pain biomarkers; chronic pain dDiagnosis; fibromyalgia; lymphocytes; opioid receptors; osteoarthritis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow cytometry analysis of the Mu opioid receptor in fibromyalgia (FM), osteoarthritis (OA) and CTRL(−) patients in T lymphocytes (A) and B lymphocytes(C). Mu+ T cells percentage (B) and Mu+ B cells percentage (D) in FM, OA, CTRL(−) patient groups.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A) Moderate and severe pain (NRS) FM patients showed a significantly lower % of Mu+ B cells than the negative control group patients. (B) Moderate and severe pain OA patients showed a significantly lower Mu+ B cell percentage than the mild pain OA and negative control group patients; mild pain OA patients and control group did not show any significant differences in the percentage of Mu+ B cells.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Moderate and severe pain (NRS) FM and OA patients did not show any significant difference in Mu+ B cells percentages. Both of the groups expressed Mu+ B cells percentages significatively lower than the negative control group and mild pain OA patients.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(A)FM patients suffering for more than 5 years showed a significantly higher percentage of Mu+ B cells than patients suffering for less than 5 years; the negative control group expressed a Mu+ B cells percentage that was significantly higher than both of the two FM subgroups. (B) OA patients suffering for less than 5 years showed a significantly lower percentage of Mu+ B lymphocytes than the negative control group.
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