Research progress of gut microbiota in neuropathic pain

The mechanism of neuropathic pain (NP) is extremely complicated, and current pharmacological treatments for NP are still unsatisfactory. The gut microbiota plays important roles in inducing NP. The changes of gut microbiota and gut microbiota-dependent metabolite could promote the immune cells and glial cells releasing pro-inflammatory cytokines, initiating the innate immune response and inflammation by activating Toll-like receptors (TLRs), which is believed to be a potential candidate to alleviate NP.