ArticleInflammopharmacology2017
Tramadol differentially regulates M1 and M2 macrophages from human umbilical cord blood.
Article in Inflammopharmacology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Review of Structural Modification and Development of Novel Tramadol Derivatives.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Reducing Pain in Experimental Models of Intestinal Inflammation Affects the Immune Response.Inflammatory bowel diseases · 2022Review
- New Insights on Tramadol and Immunomodulation.Current oncology reports · 2021Review
- Opioids Regulate the Immune System: Focusing on Macrophages and Their Organelles.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2021Review
- Revisiting Tramadol: A Multi-Modal Agent for Pain Management.CNS drugs · 2019Review
- The peripheral corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF)-induced analgesic effect on somatic pain sensitivity in conscious rats: involving CRF, opioid and glucocorticoid receptors.Inflammopharmacology · 2018Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Tramadol is an analgesic drug and relieves pain through activating μ-opioid receptors and inhibiting serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake. Emerging evidence shows that it also stimulates immune cells, including NK cells, splenocytes, and lymphocytes, and elevates IL-2 production. However, it remains unknown whether and how tramadol directly affects macrophages. To answer these questions, we collected human umbilical cord blood, isolated macrophages, and examined their responses to tramadol. Although tramadol did not alter resting macrophages and the antigen-presenting function in lipopolysaccharide-activated macrophages, it regulated M1 and M2 macrophages, which are, respectively, transformed by IFN-γ and IL-4. Interestingly, tramadol inhibits production and secretion of cytokines in M1 macrophages, but facilitates the production of inflammation-responding molecules, synthesized in M2 macrophages. We also found that STAT6 cascade pathway in M2 macrophages was significantly enhanced by tramadol. Therefore, this study reveals that tramadol regulates inflammation by inhibiting M1 macrophages (killing process), but promoting the function of M2 macrophages (healing process).
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Registered trials
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