Researchers Find New Target for Chronic Pain Treatment

Researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine have found a new target for treating chronic pain: an enzyme called PIP5K1C. A paper recently published in Neuron discusses that PIP5K1C controls the activity of cellular receptors that signal pain. By reducing the level of the enzyme, researchers showed that the levels of a crucial lipid called PIP2 in pain-sensing neurons is also lessened, thus decreasing pain. They also found a compound that could dampen the activity of PIP5K1C. This compound, currently named UNC3230, could lead to a new kind of pain reliever for chronic pain. In particular, the researchers showed that the compound might be able to significantly reduce inflammatory pain, as well as neuropathic pain. The research team screened about 5,000 small molecules to identify compounds that might block PIP5K1C. While there were a number of hits,  UNC3230 was the strongest. To learn more about the study, click here.