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Neuroimmune Interplay in Headache

Editors:

Gregory Dussor, PhD, The University of Texas at Dallas, United States of America
Kristian Agmund Haanes, PhD, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark

Submission Status: Closed


This collection is no longer accepting submissions.


The Journal of Headache and Pain is calling for submissions to our Collection on Neuroimmune Interplay in Headache.

Neuroimmune interplay is thought to play a role in the development and progression of headache. Despite significant progress in our understanding of headache and migraine pathophysiology, there are still many open questions about the role of neuroimmune interplay in this disorder.

Through a series of expert-authored articles, this Collection will explore the latest research on the molecular and cellular mechanisms of migraine-associated neuroimmune interplay, as well as the clinical implications of these findings.

Image credits: Â© DANIEL SCHROEN / CELL APPLICATIONS INC / Science Photo Library 

  1. miR-155 is involved in the generation and maintenance of inflammation and pain, endothelial function and immune system homeostasis, all functions that are relevant for migraine. The present study aims to asses...

    Authors: Rosaria Greco, Federico Bighiani, Chiara Demartini, Annamaria Zanaboni, Miriam Francavilla, Sara Facchetti, Gloria Vaghi, Marta Allena, Daniele Martinelli, Elena Guaschino, Natascia Ghiotto, Sara Bottiroli, Michele Corrado, Francescantonio Cammarota, Alessandro Antoniazzi, Elena Mazzotta…
    Citation: The Journal of Headache and Pain 2024 25:138
  2. Migraine, a primary headache disorder whose mechanism remains incompletely understood, appears to involve the activation of the trigeminovascular system (TS) during attacks. Research suggests that inflammatory...

    Authors: Tamás Körtési, Gábor Nagy-Grócz and László Vécsei
    Citation: The Journal of Headache and Pain 2024 25:129
  3. The initiation of migraine headaches and the involvement of neuroinflammatory signaling between parenchymal and meningeal cells remain unclear. Experimental evidence suggests that a cascade of inflammatory sig...

    Authors: Turgay Dalkara, Zeynep Kaya and Åžefik Evren Erdener
    Citation: The Journal of Headache and Pain 2024 25:124
  4. New onset or worsening of a headache disorder substantially contributes to the disease burden of post-COVID-19. Its management poses a suitable means to enhance patients’ participation in professional, social,...

    Authors: Johanna Ruhnau, Max Blücher, Susanne Bahlmann, Almut Zieme, Antje Vogelgesang, Anke Steinmetz and Robert Fleischmann
    Citation: The Journal of Headache and Pain 2024 25:101
  5. The pathogenesis of migraine remains unclear; however, a large body of evidence supports the hypothesis that immunological mechanisms play a key role. Therefore, we aimed to review current studies on altered i...

    Authors: Woo-Seok Ha and Min Kyung Chu
    Citation: The Journal of Headache and Pain 2024 25:95
  6. Pain, an evolutionarily conserved warning system, lets us recognize threats and motivates us to adapt to those threats. Headache pain from migraine affects approximately 15% of the global population. However, ...

    Authors: Hyeonwi Son, Yan Zhang, John Shannonhouse, Ruben Gomez and Yu Shin Kim
    Citation: The Journal of Headache and Pain 2024 25:87
  7. To date, migraine is diagnosed exclusively based on clinical criteria, but fluid biomarkers are desirable to gain insight into pathophysiological processes and inform clinical management. We investigated the s...

    Authors: Marie Süße, Christine Kloetzer, Sebastian Strauß, Johanna Ruhnau, Lucas Hendrik Overeem, Merle Bendig, Juliane Schulze, Uwe Reuter, Antje Vogelgesang and Robert Fleischmann
    Citation: The Journal of Headache and Pain 2024 25:46
  8. Energy metabolism disorders and neurogenic inflammation play important roles in the central sensitization to chronic migraine (CM). AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is an intracellular energy sensor, and it...

    Authors: Guangshuang Lu, Shaobo Xiao, Fanchao Meng, Leyi Zhang, Yan Chang, Jinjing Zhao, Nan Gao, Wenjie Su, Xinghao Guo, Yingyuan Liu, Chenhao Li, Wenjing Tang, Liping Zou, Shengyuan Yu and Ruozhuo Liu
    Citation: The Journal of Headache and Pain 2024 25:29
  9. Trigeminal nerve injury is one of the most serious complications in oral clinics, and the subsequent chronic orofacial pain is a consumptive disease. Increasing evidence demonstrates long non-coding RNAs (lncR...

    Authors: YaJing Liu, Fei Liu, YiKe Li, YueLing Li, YuHeng Feng, JiaShuo Zhao, Cheng Zhou, ChunJie Li, JieFei Shen and YanYan Zhang
    Citation: The Journal of Headache and Pain 2024 25:28
  10. Neuroinflammation, mediated by the activation of microglia, contributes to central sensitization, which is associated with the development of chronic migraine (CM). TREM1 receptors amplify the inflammatory res...

    Authors: Songtang Sun, Zhenzhen Fan, Xuejiao Liu, Longde Wang and Zhaoming Ge
    Citation: The Journal of Headache and Pain 2024 25:3
  11. The pathogenesis of pediatric migraine remains unclear and presents challenges in diagnosis. Recently, growing evidence has indicated that the gut microbiota can exert modulatory functions at the gut-brain axi...

    Authors: Junhui Liu, Kaiyan Xi, Linlin Zhang, Mugu Han, Qingran Wang and Xinjie Liu
    Citation: The Journal of Headache and Pain 2024 25:2

Meet the Editors

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Gregory Dussor, PhD, The University of Texas at Dallas, United States of America

Dr. Gregory Dussor is Professor and Chair of the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Texas at Dallas. The focus of his laboratory is the understanding of the pathophysiology of chronic headache disorders such as migraine. His work focuses on mechanisms of activation and sensitization of peripheral nociceptors innervating the cranial meninges with a goal of understanding how these neurons contribute to the pain phase of migraine attacks. Using several preclinical models, his group has identified and studied numerous targets within this afferent nociceptive system including acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs), TRPA1/M8/V4 channels, and both adrenergic and IL-6 signaling mechanisms. More recently, his work has focused on mechanisms that may lead to the higher prevalence of migraine in females. These studies are based on differential prolactin-receptor signaling in the trigeminal system between males and females. Dr. Dussor has published over 115 peer-reviewed research articles and is on the editorial boards of Pain, Pain Reports, Molecular Pain, the Journal of Pain, the Journal of Headache and Pain, and the Journal of Neuroscience. He is also on the advisory board of the Association of Migraine Disorder’s Migraine Science Collaborative.

Kristian Agmund Haanes, PhD, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark

Originally Norwegian, Kristian A. Haanes took his BSc at the University of Bergen, Norway, with one year as an exchange student at Glasgow University, UK. Directly after his BSc in 2007, he moved to Copenhagen, Denmark, where the MSc in biochemistry was completed. Kristian started his PhD in 2009 in the group of Prof. Ivana Novak at Copenhagen University, working with purinergic signaling (extracellular signaling with nucleotides) with the focus on the pancreas.

After defending the PhD early in 2013, Kristian as a Post Doc in Prof. Lars Edvinsson’s group in Glostrup, Denmark. During the years at Glostrup research institute, a part of Copenhagen University hospital, he explored vascular physiology using myography, again with particular focus on purinergic signaling.

Working with Prof. Edvinsson, he got inspired by Edvinsson’s work on migraine. With the focus on purinergic signaling Kristian created a fellowship proposal in collaboration with Dr. Maassen van den Brink at Erasmus MC, named PUREMEDY, Purinergic Receptor Exploration in Migraine – Eliminating the Disadvantages of Yesterday’s drugs, with the acronym pointing to a pure remedy, without vascular side effects.

Currently Kristian holds a Senior Researcher at Rigshospitalet Glostrup and Associate Professor at the Department of Biology at Copenhagen University. He leads the Sensory Biology Unit, which is focused on understanding the fundamental processes underlying the sensory innervation with particular focus on pain-related sensory neurons. The research is based on the knowledge that sensory systems use similar biological processes for signaling, adaptation and modulation, and for protection from injury. Important current projects include the understanding of migraine pain and its associated sensory disturbances and is funded by the Lundbeck Foundation.

About the Collection

Neuroimmune interplay is thought to play a role in the development and progression of headache. Despite significant progress in our understanding of headache and migraine pathophysiology, there are still many open questions about the role of neuroimmune interplay in this disorder. For the current Collection, we view neuroimmune interplay in the broadest sense, and include glia cells, oligodendrocytes, Schwann cells and even astrocytes, as they demonstrate interconnectedness of neural and immune functions by participating in immune responses within the nervous system, releasing cytokines and signaling molecules, while also maintaining homeostasis and regulating the inflammatory processes.

One of the most important questions of the Collection is how neuroimmune interplay could contribute to the initiation and maintenance of headache or more specific migraine attacks, potentially leading to chronification? For instance, what causes the release of immune mediators in the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system, and how do these mediators interact with neurons, glia, and other cells to sustain pain and other symptoms? It is assumed that frequent and long-lasting migraine attacks can cause structural changes in the brain, which may perpetuate the disorder. How does neuroimmune interplay affect these changes, if at all? In addition, there are still questions regarding the efficacy of treatments targeting neuroimmune interactions in migraine. Although some studies suggest that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and other treatments targeting immune responses may help lessen the frequency and intensity of headaches in general and migraine attacks specifically, it is unclear how these medications operate, or which patients are most likely to benefit. The relationship between neuroimmune interplay and other factors that may influence headache and migraine, such as hormonal fluctuations, stress, and diet, is another unanswered question. In addition, a better understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying headache-associated neuroimmune interplay is required for the development of more targeted and effective treatments. Finally, the thematic series aims to focus on the emerging field of neuroimmunology, which is uncovering new insights into the complex interactions between the immune system and the nervous system in headache and migraine.

Through a series of expert-authored articles, this Collection will explore the latest research on the molecular and cellular mechanisms of migraine-associated neuroimmune interplay, as well as the clinical implications of these findings. This will be further bridged with early clinical studies, focusing on uncovering markers of neuroimmune interactions in patients.

Submission Guidelines

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This Collection welcomes submission of research articles and reviews. Before submitting your manuscript, please ensure you have read our submission guidelines. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select "Neuroimmune Interplay in Headache" from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer-review process. The peer-review of any submissions for which the Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.