Women experience many pain conditions more frequently when compared with men, but the biological mechanisms underlying sex differences in pain remain poorly understood. In particular, little is known about possible sex differences in peripheral nociceptors, the fundamental building blocks of pain transmission. Emerging evidence reveals that prolactin (PRL) signaling at its cognate prolactin receptor (PRLR) in primary afferents promotes nociceptor sensitization and pain in a female-selective fashion. In this review, we summarize recent progress in understanding the female-selective role of PRL/PRLR in nociceptor sensitization and in pathological pain conditions, including postoperative, inflammatory, neuropathic, and migraine pain, as well as opioid-induced hyperalgesia. The clinical implications of the peripheral PRL/PRLR system for the discovery of new therapies for pain control in women are also discussed.

中文翻译：

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催乳素在女性选择性疼痛中的新兴作用

与男性相比，女性更频繁地经历许多疼痛状况，但疼痛中性别差异的生物学机制仍然知之甚少。特别是，对于外周伤害感受器（疼痛传递的基本组成部分）可能存在的性别差异知之甚少。新出现的证据表明，初级传入神经中其同源催乳素受体 (PRLR) 上的催乳素 (PRL) 信号以女性选择性方式促进伤害感受器致敏和疼痛。在这篇综述中，我们总结了最近在了解 PRL/PRLR 在伤害感受器致敏和病理性疼痛状况（包括术后、炎症、神经性和偏头痛以及阿片类药物引起的痛觉过敏）中的女性选择性作用方面取得的进展。