PIANO — Nanoparticle-Based Imaging and Therapy of Chronic Pain in the Dorsal Root Ganglia (DRG)

Results in brief

Nanoparticle-Based Imaging and Therapy of Chronic Pain in the Dorsal Root Ganglia (DRG)

Chronic neuropathic pain, which results from peripheral nerve damage, chemotherapy-induced neuropathy (CIPN) and spinal cord injury remains a clinical challenge. Since current pain killers are only partially effective and bring severe side effects, there is an urgent need for novel analgesic therapies. PIANO-ITN has addressed the need for novel and more effective treatments for neuropathic pain through the delineation of novel pathways and identification of strategies to target both sensory neurons and macrophages within the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) in the pain pathways. Indeed, the DRG constitute an ideal site for our investigation as they contain the cell bodies of specialised neurons that transmit noxious signalling from the periphery to the spinal cord on their way to the brain, where pain is perceived. We have addressed the following objectives: i) to develop and characterise innovative biomaterials for use in controlled drug delivery and as contrast agents for imaging studies; ii) to identify novel modalities for neuron communication with macrophages in the DRG in the pain pathway; iii) to define specific roles of neuronal receptors involved in nociceptive processing in DRG. With a focus on neurons and macrophages, the (10 - 15) Early Scientists Researchers (ESRs) have i) unravelled mechanisms involved in pain signalling and inflammatory processes in DRG, ii) synthesised compounds that inhibit pain-neuron activity, iii) developed targeted nanoparticles to enable sensory neuron visualisation and deliver analgesic compounds and iv) developed non-viral gene transfer technology to promote neuroregeneration in a model of spinal cord injury. The exploitation of our data will eventually lead to improvement of the quality of life of Europeans and impact positively on the health economy of EU countries.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

Chronic pain is a debilitating disease, which affects approximately 1.5 billion people worldwide, and of those, approximately4% suffer from neuropathic pain. Neuropathic pain is often described as a shooting or burning pain that can come and thendisappear but equally it may become chronic, where the pain may become unrelenting and severe. It often is the result ofnerve damage or a malfunctioning nervous system. Additionally there is the impact upon society where the costs related todisability allowance, treatment, lost wages and productivity impacts the economy. Current treatments for chronic pain are notfully reliable and there is a severe lack of tools to diagnose or visualise the pain process within the dorsal root ganglia(DRG). Humans have 62 DRGs which are the first relay stations in the pain pathway. Local targeted treatment at the level ofthose DRGs involved in the pain process is the solution to circumvent side effects and optimise treatment. We aim to identifyinvolved DRGs by visualising cells or molecules in the DRG which are directly or indirectly associated with the generation ofpain. We will use a novel method of nanoparticles targeted towards pain-associated cells or molecules in the DRG. A vastamount of neuropathic pain studies have shown an eminent infiltration of macrophages into affected DRGs. Thesenanoparticles will be specifically designed to target initially the macrophages in the DRG, encapsulating both therapeuticpayloads and imaging contrast reagents to monitor pain-associated activities. The goal of PIANO is therefore to facilitate astate-of-art approach to visualisation of neuropathic pain / inflammation at DRG sites as well as to simultaneously releaseanalgesic molecules from the nanoparticles.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

KING'S COLLEGE LONDON · LondonCoordinatorUnited Kingdom
ACADEMISCH ZIEKENHUIS LEIDEN · LeidenNetherlands
CHEMPRECISE CONSULTORIA BIOTECNOLOGIA PRODUTOS FARMACEUTICOS E IMOBILIARIO LDA · TORRES VEDRASPortugal
MEDRES-MEDICAL RESEARCH GMBH · KolnGermany
PERCUROS BV · 's-Gravenhage (Den Haag)Netherlands
POLYPURE AS · OsloNorway
THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH · EdinburghUnited Kingdom
UNIVERSIDAD MIGUEL HERNANDEZ DE ELCHE · ElcheSpain
UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DEL PIEMONTE ORIENTALE AMEDEO AVOGADRO · VercelliItaly
UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI CAMERINO · CamerinoItaly
UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS · LeedsUnited Kingdom

PIANO · Nanoparticle-Based Imaging and Therapy of Chronic Pain in the Dorsal Root Ganglia (DRG)

Results in brief

Nanoparticle-Based Imaging and Therapy of Chronic Pain in the Dorsal Root Ganglia (DRG)

Project objective

Participants

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