TRPM3 regulation of chronic pain

慢性疼痛是高达19%的人的主要问题，随着人口年龄的增加，这一数字可能会增加。目前，现有的药物要么不能充分缓解大部分患者的疼痛，要么有令人不快的副作用，如嗜睡、胃部不适和溃疡。我们发现，感觉神经和神经系统其他区域表达的离子通道蛋白在与神经损伤或炎症相关的持续性疼痛的发展中发挥着重要作用。这与许多与关节炎、带状疱疹、背部问题和手术有关的人类痛苦状况有关。在老鼠身上，我们可以选择性地删除神经系统不同部分的蛋白质，我们将发现重要的作用部位是在周围感觉神经、脊髓还是大脑。我们还将发现，一旦这种蛋白质形成，抑制其功能是否可以逆转慢性疼痛，这将是我们研究开发的任何新药的重要特性。我们还将发现这种蛋白质是如何控制疼痛的。这对于理解蛋白质如何与神经系统中的其他过程相匹配将是重要的，并将帮助我们开发治疗疼痛的新方法。

Chronic pain is a major problem for up to 19% of the people and with the increasing age of the population the number is likely to increase. Currently the medicines available either do not relieve the pain adequately in a large percentage of patients or have undesirable side effects such as drowsiness or stomach discomfort and ulcers. We have discovered that an ion channel protein expressed by sensory nerves and in other areas in the nervous system plays an important role in the development of persistent pain associated with either nerve injury or inflammation. This is relevant for many human painful conditions associated with arthritis, shingles, back problems and surgery. Using mice where we can selectively delete the protein from different parts of the nervous system we will find out if the important site of action is in the peripheral sensory nerves, the spinal cord or the brain. We will also find out if inhibiting the function of this protein can reverse chronic pain once it has developed which will be important property for any new medicine that could be developed from our research. We will also find out how this protein operates to control pain. This will be important for an understanding of how the protein fits in with the other processes that operate in the nervous system and will aid us in developing new treatment for pain.