Blocking stress protein relieves chronic pain in mice

A group of drugs being developed to treat mood disorders could also relieve chronic pain, finds new UCL research funded by the Medical Research Council. The study reveals how a protein that shapes the body's response to stress also drives chronic pain and so offers new targets for future pain treatments. The researchers studied genetically modified mice that lacked a protein called FKBP51. This protein is very important for regulating stress. Variations in the human FKBP5 gene are linked to the risk of developing stress-related psychiatric disorders, such as major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Previous studies have shown that people with specific FKBP5 variations feel greater physical pain after serious trauma, and the UCL team have now discovered that mice without FKBP51 experience reduced chronic pain from nerve damage and arthritic joints. "Inhibiting FKBP51 has a very powerful effect in mice with chronic pain," says lead author Dr Maria Maiarù (UCL Cell & Developmental Biology).