Original story from The University of Texas at Dallas (TX, USA). The molecular signature of key sensory neurons that signal neuropathic pain has been uncovered, revealing a potential pathway for relieving chronic pain. Researchers from The University of Texas at Dallas (TX, USA) and their international colleagues have determined the molecular signature of human sleeping — or silent — nociceptors: sensory neurons that are unresponsive to touch or pressure yet are key culprits in neuropathic pain. The findings suggest a potential pathway for finding drug targets to relieve chronic pain, shared Ted Price, Ashbel Smith Professor of neuroscience in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences and a co-author of the study. “We know from direct human physiological evidence that these cells are important in neuropathic pain,” explained Price, director of the UT Dallas Center for Advanced Pain Studies. “Now we can identify them at the gene-expression level with an astonishing degree of detail. This will allow researchers to start working on targets to manipulate those cells, which could bring about very exciting developments in the future.” Sleeping nociceptors are a distinct class of sensory neurons that can become spontaneously active to cause persistent pain without an evident stimulus. This makes them essential components of the neuropathic pain suffered by approximately 20% of American adults. The cell bodies of sleeping nociceptors are located in the dorsal root ganglia, nerve cells clustered near the base of the spine that relay sensory signals from the peripheral nervous system to the central nervous system. The axons…
