Vagus nerve control of HMGB1 accessibility: a bioelectronic strategy for inflammation and pain
Huan Yang, Michael Brines, Ulf Andersson · 2026
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Description
Huan Yang, Michael Brines, and Ulf Andersson advance a 2026 perspective reframing how to fight HMGB1, a protein that fuels inflammation and pain once outside cells. Drugs meant to neutralize it have disappointed in the clinic. The authors argue the real problem is access: whether HMGB1 can assemble into harmful complexes, engage receptors like RAGE, slip into cells, and deliver inflammatory cargo inside.
Their model plugs HMGB1 into the inflammatory reflex, the vagus nerve circuit that restrains immune activity. Acetylcholine, acting through alpha7 nicotinic receptors, limits both HMGB1 release and the uptake of HMGB1-carrying complexes. Vagus nerve stimulation thus becomes a bioelectronic way to lock the gate upstream, not just mute cytokines downstream. The authors stress the model reorganizes known biology rather than replacing it.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Huan Yang, Michael Brines, Ulf Andersson |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 16807 |
| LICENSE | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |