IBS GRANADA scientists discover the key role of a protein in the interaction between the nervous system and neurons during neuropathic pain
Scientists from the ibs.GRANADA, who are leading an international investigation in collaboration with Esteve Pharmaceuticals, the Teófilo Hernando Institute for Drug R&D and the Austrian Institute for Molecular Biotechnology, have discovered that a small protein (the sigma-1 receptor) has a key role in communication between the immune system and sensory neurons following nerve damage.
This protein is able to prevent white blood cells from having contact with sensory neurons, thus causing neuropathic pain to be greatly reduced.
Doctors Enrique José Cobos del Moral and Francisco Rafael Nieto López, from the group MP09-Neuropharmacology of pain, have directed the research and state that "the inhibition of the sigma-1 receptor could be of great interest to effectively treat neuropathic pain, through a novel mechanism".
This study has been published in one of the most impactful journals in the world in life sciences, The FASEB Journal.
Source: IDEAL. 06/07/2020
Link to the news: https://www.ideal.es/miugr/descubren-pieza-clave-20200706112550-nt.html