iPSCs and DRGs: stepping stones to new pain therapies

Trends Mol Med. 2022 Feb;28(2):110-122. doi: 10.1016/j.molmed.2021.11.005. Epub 2021 Dec 18.

Abstract

There is a pressing need for more effective nonaddictive treatment options for pain. Pain signals are transmitted from the periphery into the spinal cord via dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons, whose excitability is driven by voltage-gated sodium (NaV) channels. Three NaV channels (NaV1.7, NaV1.8, and NaV1.9), preferentially expressed in DRG neurons, play important roles in pain signaling in humans. Blockade of these channels may provide a novel approach to the treatment of pain, but clinical translation of preclinical results has been challenging, in part due to differences between rodent and human DRG neurons. Human DRG neurons and iPSC-derived sensory neurons (iPSC-SNs) provide new preclinical platforms that may facilitate the development of novel pain therapeutics.

Keywords: DRG neurons; iPSC; neuropathic pain; sodium channels.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Diagnosis-Related Groups
  • Ganglia, Spinal
  • Humans
  • Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells*
  • Neurons / physiology
  • Pain / drug therapy
  • Pain / etiology