• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Monday, October 27, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Chemistry

Disturbances in sensory neurons may alter transient pain into chronic pain

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
November 8, 2023
in Chemistry
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Graphical Abstract
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Utrecht, November 8, 2023 – Researchers from the Center for Translational Immunology at University Medical Center Utrecht (the Netherlands) have identified that a transient inflammatory pain causes mitochondrial and redox changes in sensory neurons that persist beyond pain resolution. These changes appear to predispose to a failure in resolution of pain caused by a subsequent inflammation. Additionally, targeting the cellular redox balance prevents and treats chronic inflammatory pain in rodents.

Graphical Abstract

Credit: Cell Reports Medicine

Utrecht, November 8, 2023 – Researchers from the Center for Translational Immunology at University Medical Center Utrecht (the Netherlands) have identified that a transient inflammatory pain causes mitochondrial and redox changes in sensory neurons that persist beyond pain resolution. These changes appear to predispose to a failure in resolution of pain caused by a subsequent inflammation. Additionally, targeting the cellular redox balance prevents and treats chronic inflammatory pain in rodents.

Pain often persists in patients with an inflammatory disease, even after the inflammation has subsided. The molecular mechanisms leading to this failure in pain resolution and the transition from acute to chronic pain are poorly understood. For some time, there have been clues that mitochondrial dysfunction may be involved. In a clinical study, approximately 70 percent of patients with heritable mitochondrial diseases develop chronic pain. However, the exact role of mitochondria in the resolution of inflammatory pain is unclear.

Mitochondrial disturbances

To unravel the role of mitochondria in pain resolution, Hanneke Willemen PhD in the research group lead by Niels Eijkelkamp PhD (Center for Translational Immunology, UMC Utrecht) used a model of hyperalgesic priming. In this model, a transient inflammation causes neuronal plasticity, which results in persistence of pain after a subsequent inflammatory stimulus; a perfect model to study what goes wrong during pain resolution. Hanneke and co-workers identified that hyperalgesic priming in mice causes mitochondrial and metabolic disturbances in sensory neurons. The investigators associate these disturbances with an increase in the expression of a mitochondrial protein (ATPSc-KMT) which in a previous study has been linked to chronic pain in patients. By using genetic and pharmacological approaches they showed that inhibit mitochondrial respiration, ATPSCKMT expression and supplementation of one of the affected metabolites restores resolution of inflammatory pain and prevents chronic pain development. The results of this study- which was performed with several collaborators, including the University of Oslo (Norway) – have been published this week in Cell Reports Medicine.

Hanneke Willemen concludes: “In our study we provide evidence that a peripheral inflammation induces persistent mitochondrial and metabolic changes in sensory neurons, which affects the ability of neurons to resolve from hyperalgesia induced by a subsequent inflammatory trigger. Thus, metabolic changes in sensory neurons result in failure of endogenous pain resolution pathways and drive the transition to chronic pain. Importantly, targeting mitochondrial respiration, scavenging reactive oxygen species or supplementation with nicotinamide riboside (vitamin B3) both represent potential therapeutic strategies to restore failing pain resolution pathways, thereby treating chronic inflammatory pain.”

Transition to chronic pain

Chronic pain is a leading cause of years lived in disability and impaired quality of life, yet treatment options are limited and often induce severe side effects. The current dogma is that pain resolution is the consequence of the dissipation of the drivers that induced the pain. However, in 12-30 percent of rheumatic arthritis patients pain persists while they have minimal joint inflammation or even are in remission. Accumulating evidence indicates that pain resolution after tissue damage or inflammation is not passive, but rather an active process that involves endogenous pain resolution mechanisms. Failing pain resolution pathways may lead to the transition from acute to chronic pain. Although the molecular mechanisms that contribute to failure in pain resolution are still poorly understood and need unraveling, this study fills a part of this void and identifies a potential therapeutic approach to promote pain resolution.

Publication

Willemen HLDM, Silva Santos Ribeiro P, Broeks M, Meijer N, Versteeg S, Tiggeler A, de Boer TP, Malecki JM, Falnes PØ, Jans J, Eijkelkamp N. Inflammation-induced mitochondrial and metabolic disturbances in sensory neurons control the switch from acute to chronic pain. Cell Reports Medicine 2023;4:101265.



Journal

Cell Reports Medicine

DOI

10.1016/j.xcrm.2023.101265

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Inflammation-Induced Mitochondrial and Metabolic Disturbances in Sensory Neurons Control the Switch from Acute to Chronic Pain

Article Publication Date

8-Nov-2023

COI Statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

blank

Bezos Earth Fund Awards $2M to UC Davis and American Heart Association to Pioneer AI-Designed Foods

October 24, 2025
Organocatalytic Intramolecular Macrocyclization of Quinone Methylidenes with Alcohols Achieves Enantio-, Atropo-, and Diastereoselectivity

Organocatalytic Intramolecular Macrocyclization of Quinone Methylidenes with Alcohols Achieves Enantio-, Atropo-, and Diastereoselectivity

October 24, 2025

Breakthrough Discovery of Elusive Solar Waves That May Energize the Sun’s Corona

October 24, 2025

From Wastewater to Fertile Ground: Chinese Researchers Achieve Dual Breakthroughs in Phosphorus Recycling

October 23, 2025

POPULAR NEWS

  • Sperm MicroRNAs: Crucial Mediators of Paternal Exercise Capacity Transmission

    1285 shares
    Share 513 Tweet 321
  • Stinkbug Leg Organ Hosts Symbiotic Fungi That Protect Eggs from Parasitic Wasps

    310 shares
    Share 124 Tweet 78
  • ESMO 2025: mRNA COVID Vaccines Enhance Efficacy of Cancer Immunotherapy

    197 shares
    Share 79 Tweet 49
  • New Study Suggests ALS and MS May Stem from Common Environmental Factor

    134 shares
    Share 54 Tweet 34

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Revealing Hyper-Maturity and Rapid Aging in the Hippocampus

Teamwork Triumphs: Patient Safety in COVID-19 Care

ABCD2 Enhances Carotid Stenosis Diagnosis with CT Angiography

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 67 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.