In the high-fat diet (HFD)-induced mouse model of T2DM, the increase of CXCL12 expression is detected in DRG neurons, and CXCL12/CXCR4 signaling contributes to the development of pain in diabetes through enhancing calcium influx and excitability of Nav1.8 positive DRG neurons, as well as promoting inflammatory cell infiltration (Menichella et al., 2014). Here, CXCL12 is linked to type 2 diabetes mellitus.