Pain promoter also acts as pain reliever
Experiments with rodent cells reveal dual role for pain-sensing protein
PAIN GAIN A protein that detects pain also triggers production of pain-soothing opioids, new experiments with rodent cells reveal.
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A protein that sounds the alarm when the body encounters something painful also helps put out the fire.
Called Nav1.7, the protein sits on pain-sensing nerves and has long been known for sending a red alert to the brain when the body has a brush with pain. Now, experiments in rodent cells reveal another role for Nav1.7: Its activity triggers the production of pain-relieving molecules. The study, published online January 10 in Science Signaling, suggests a new approach to pain management that takes advantage of this protein’s dual role.
“This is very interesting research,” says neuroscientist Munmun Chattopadhyay of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso. The findings suggest that when opiates are given for certain kinds of pain relief, also targeting Nav1.7 might lessen the need for those pain relievers, Chattopadhyay says. That could reduce opiate use
