Developing subtype-selective blockers of acid-sensing ion channels for treating peripheral pain

慢性疼痛是一个巨大的医疗问题，影响五分之一的成年人。有几种药物可用于治疗慢性疼痛，其中许多具有有限的疗效和剂量限制的副作用。酸敏感离子通道是在感知疼痛信号的专门神经中发挥重要作用的蛋白质。该项目的最终目标是设计这些通道的高选择性阻断剂，可用于开发治疗慢性疼痛患者的有效镇痛药。

Chronic pain is a huge medical problem that affects 1 in 5 adults. There are few drugs available for treating chronic pain, and many of these have limited efficacy and dose-limiting side-effects. Acid-sensing ion channels are proteins that play an essential role in the specialised nerves that sense pain signals. The ultimate goal of this project is to engineer highly selective blockers of these channels that can be used to develop effective analgesics for treating patients with chronic pain.