Estrogen alters baseline and inflammatory-induced cytokine levels independent from hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis activity

•Estrogen mediates inflammatory signaling by regulating cytokine activity in vivo.•Estrogen significantly modulates cytokines before and during inflammatory pain.•Estrogen modulatory effects are site-specific.•These effects occur independently from hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis input. Although...

Ausführliche Beschreibung