Interleukin-4 induces CD11c+ microglia leading to amelioration of neuropathic pain in mice

Neuropathic pain, a debilitating chronic pain condition, is a major clinical challenge. The pleiotropic cytokine interleukin-4 (IL-4) has been shown to suppress neuropathic pain in rodent models, but its underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here, we show that intrathecal administration of IL-4 to mice with spinal nerve transection (SpNT) increased the number of CD11c(+) microglia (a microglia subset important for pain remission) in the spinal dorsal horn (SDH) and that this effect of IL-4 was essential for its ameliorating effect on SpNT-induced pain hypersensitivity. Furthermore, in mice with spared nerve injury (SNI), another model in which pain remission does not occur, the emergence of CD11c(+) SDH microglia was curtailed, but intrathecal IL-4 increased their emergence and ameliorated pain hypersensitivity in a CD11c(+) microglia-dependent manner. Our study reveals a mechanism by which intrathecal IL-4 ameliorates pain hypersensitivity after nerve injury and provides evidence that IL-4 increases CD11c(+) microglia with a function that ameliorates neuropathic pain.