Microglial STING activation alleviates nerve injury-induced neuropathic pain in male but not female mice

•Microglia contribute to the development and maintenance of neuropathic pain, highlighting a potential target for therapeutic intervention.•STING is predominantly expressed in microglia in the spinal cord and upregulated after nerve injury.•STING activation and IFN-ß alleviate neuropathic pain in male, but not female, mice.•STING activation in female mice leads transcriptional increases of proinflammatory cytokines, which may counteract its analgesic effect.•STING-mediated attenuation of neuropathic pain in male mice requires STING signaling in microglia, but not sensory neurons.