CXCR2 modulates chronic pain comorbid depression in mice by regulating adult neurogenesis in the ventral dentate gyrus.

Research shows that chronic pain may induce depression-like behaviors through impairing adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN) in the ventral dentate gyrus (DG), whereas restoration of AHN may effectively alleviate depression. The C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 2 (CXCR2) is a chemokine receptor involved in various neural activities of the hippocampus including AHN. In this study we investigated the role of CXCR2 of neural stem cells (NSCs) in the ventral DG in regulating both AHN and depression-like behaviors of mice with chronic neuropathic pain.