Persistent interferon signaling causes sensory neuron plasticity and pain before and during arthritis

Nature Neuroscience, Published online: 10 March 2026; doi:10.1038/s41593-026-02234-y

Su et al. show that inflammatory arthritis pain stems from sustained interferon-driven MNK1/MNK2–elF4E signaling that sensitizes joint-innervating neurons. Blocking this pathway reverses pain, suggesting a targeted therapeutic strategy.