Targeting Lysosomal Transient Receptor Potential Channel Mucolipin-1 to Treat Neuropathic Pain Associated with Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy
Abstract
Diabetes affects more than 30 million Americans now and will affect about 55 million Americans by 2030. More than 10% of diabetic patients (or more than 3 million Americans now) suffer from different types of pain including burning, cutting, tingling, and shooting pain. The diabetic pain is also mixed with other abnormal sensations such as loss or altered touch and warm sensations, and is usually worse at night. Moreover, the diabetic pain also interferes with daily activities, sleep, emotion, mood, and memory of diabetic patients. Although the diabetic pain severely reduces the quality of life of patients, current treatment is often not effective or has serious side effects. Therefore, there is an urgent need to study novel causes, targets, and treatment for the diabetic pain. In the current proposal, we will test a novel cause and a novel treatment strategy for diabetic pain. The cause and the treatment involve a specific protein expressed in the lysosome (the waste removal and recycle center of a cell) in pain cells. The role of this protein in pain has never been studied by anybody. We will study (1) how diabetes change the expression and function of the specific protein in six types of pain cells; (2) what would happen to the waste-removing and recycling function of pain cells, and to the pain if we get rid of the specific protein in pain cells under diabetic conditions; and (3) what beneficial effects may occur if we target the specific protein and improve the waste-removing and recycling function of pain cells. The current proposal will use both types (type I and type II) of models of diabetes, which mimic the both types of diabetes in human patients, respectively. Because more than 10% diabetic patients suffer from pain, the outcome of this study can be potentially applied to more than 3 million of Americans with diabetic pain including many US Veterans, military Service members, and their beneficiaries. Therefore, the current project will potentially provide a novel cause, target, and treatment strategy for both types of diabetic pain in millions of people. On the other hand, although the current proposal is focused on the diabetic pain, the study on the specific protein and treatment can be further extended to other types of pain conditions in the future. These pain conditions include traumatic injury, joint pain, low back pain, migraine, and others that would ultimately affect about 30% of populations.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Mar 10, 2021
- Source ID
- W81XWH2010138
Entities
People
- Zhiyong Tan
Organizations
- Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis
- United States Army