ArticlePain reports2025
Mu-opioid receptor expression on B cells as a potential biomarker for chronic pain: a follow-up study with patients with fibromyalgia.
Article in Pain reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Does Vitamin D Supplementation Impact Fibromyalgia-Related Pain? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2025Pooled it
- Modulation of Mu-Opioid Receptor Expression and Functional Impairment of Natural Killer Cells in Neuropathic Pain: Implications for Biomarker Discovery and Personalized Therapies.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Reanimation of Stored Tissue Biopsies: A Functional Study and Translational Approach.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- In Search of Molecular Correlates of Fibromyalgia: The Quest for Objective Diagnosis and Effective Treatments.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
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Authors and funding
15 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
Introduction: Before COVID-19 pandemic, we identified the percentage of B cells expressing the Mu-opioid receptor (Mu+ B cells) as a potential marker, named Mu-Lympho-Marker (MLM), for chronic pain (CP) in patients with fibromyalgia (FM) and osteoarthritis. Objectives: Here, we demonstrate the stability of MLM over time through a comparative analysis of biological, clinical, and psychological data collected from a subgroup of patients with FM across 2 distinct research periods. Methods: This is an observational, longitudinal study. Fibromyalgia participants enrolled in the first study were called back for follow-up sampling. Clinical data were recorded. Pain score was reported using the Numerical Rating Scale. Mu+ B cells percentage of expression was analyzed by flow cytometry. Immunofluorescence analyses were performed to explore the cellular localization of Mu-opioid receptor. Pain-free subjects served as control group. All the participants filled out self-reported psychological tests. Data were statistically analyzed. Results: Mu+ B cells percentage of expression was constant in patients with FM, who consistently showed lower values than control group after 2 years (difference in the mean: 32.0 ± 4.4, t = 7.330, IC 95% [23.2-40.9], Conclusion: Mu-Lympho-Marker could be a promising marker for CP, as seen in FM cohort, and could be helpful for accurate diagnosis and tailored rehabilitation strategies. Further studies are needed to study MLM in CP of different aetiologies.
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