ľ�ϸ���Ӱ��

Many people suffer from chronic pain, such as those with illnesses like rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. However, this pain is difficult to treat. Researchers and are looking for a new type of treatment for this condition.

Chronic pain affects around 20% of the population. That is more than the number of people affected by cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease combined. “Chronic pain gets relatively less attention, because it does not kill you,” says Niels Eijkelkamp, biomedical researcher at UMC Utrecht. “However, chronic pain significantly reduces quality of life. Moreover it is a financial burden to society – it totals to an annual 150 billion Euros in Europe and the United States. These cost factors include medication, hospital admissions, and loss of productivity.”

Westerink and Eijkelkamp are therefore looking for a new way of reducing chronic pain. Their hopes are pinned on IL4-10 synerkine, a new protein developed by other researchers at the UMC Utrecht from two existing molecules that play a role in controlling inflammation. This new protein consisting of these two molecules is potentially better and more efficient than the individual proteins. This molecule likley acts in two different places in the nervous system - where the pain is induced, and where it is processed.

“We want to suppress chronic pain stimuli, but of course you still need to be able to feel important stimuli such as the pain you feel when you hold a hot cup of coffee,” says Remco Westerink, neurotoxicologist at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. “We wish to restore the delicate balance between pathological pain and useful pain stimuli - a real challenge. IL4-10 synerkine has already produced stunning results during the preliminary stage of the research, which led us to apply for the incentive grant.”

Hot peppers

The scientists want to culture sensory nerve cells in the lab to test whether this new molecule reduces pain signals in these neurons . They will induces pain-like signals with a substance extracted from hot peppers. “Hot peppers contain capsaicin, a substance that produces this hot taste,” explains Eijkelkamp. “The substance produces the same signal in nerve cells as heat. We will study the effect of IL4-10 synerkine on different parts of this signal route that causes us to experience pain.”

As well as applying it in humans, Westerink sees potential applications in veterinary medicine. “Pets can also have chronic pain, even though you don’t always see it. German Shepherds, for example, are often affected by hip conditions that involve chronic pain. Our research could also contribute to a reduction in animal tests for toxicological research. With a good nerve cell model we could test experimental medication in the lab for its pain-killing effects, before testing it on animals. The working relationship between the UMC Utrecht and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine could lead to useful exchange of knowledge.”

From a seed to a tree

The two scientists are very pleased with the incentive grant. Eijkelkamp says, “The seed money is important. Industrial partners are only interested if they have evidence that our protein has potential as a drug against chronic pain, and we will now be able to research this further.” Westerink adds, “This seed grant can indeed be regarded as a seed that you plant hoping it will grow to the size of a shrub. We are now hoping for extra fertilizer, so that it can grow into a tree.”

Jos van Putten, Life Sciences programme director at Utrecht ľ�ϸ���Ӱ�� says, “The results of this new ground-breaking research have a great deal of potential for clinical applications and are expected to be relevant to other groups in Utrecht as well. The ground-breaking nature of this original project offers excellent prospects for future fund-raising, valorisation, and applications in clinical practice.”

Text: Roy Keeris