Trusted Resources: Evidence & Education
Scientific literature and patient education texts
Nociceptors Protect Sickle Cell Disease Mice From Vaso-Occlusive Episodes and Chronic Organ Damage
source: Journal of Experimental Medicine
year: 2020
authors: Chunliang Xu, Maria Gulinello, Paul S. Frenette
summary/abstract:Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a common hereditary hematologic disorder. SCD patients suffer from acute vaso-occlusive episodes (VOEs), chronic organ damage, and premature death, with few therapeutic options. Although severe pain is a major clinical manifestation of SCD, it remains unknown whether nociception plays a role in SCD pathogenesis. To address this question, we generated nociceptor-deficient SCD mice and found, unexpectedly, that the absence of nociception led to more severe and more lethal VOE, indicating that somatosensory nerves protect SCD mice from VOE.
Mechanistically, the beneficial effects of sensory nerves were induced by the neuropeptide calcitonin gene–related peptide (CGRP), which acted on hematopoietic cells. Additionally, oral capsaicin consumption, which can activate somatosensory nerves by binding to TRPV1, dramatically alleviated acute VOE and significantly prevented chronic liver and kidney damage in SCD mice. Thus, the manipulation of nociception may provide a promising approach to treat SCD.
organization: Albert Einstein College of Medicine, USADOI: 10.1084/jem.20200065
read more
Related Content
-
SCDAA Teams with MedicAlert Foundation to Improve Emergency Outcomes During Sickle Cell Crises[Hanover, Md., June 26, 2023] – The Si...
-
CTX001 Continues to Show Promise in Severe SCDA single dose of CTX001, an experimental...
-
Red blood cell transfusion to treat or prevent complications in sickle cell disease: An overview of Cochrane reviewsBackground: Globally, sickle cell disea...
-
Chronic Opioid Therapy and Central Sensitization in Sickle Cell DiseaseChronic opioid therapy (COT) for chronic...
-
Gut Microbiome Translates Stress Into Sickle Cell CrisesA new study shows how chronic psychologi...
-
Phase 1 trial to test under-the-skin injection of sevuparin in sickle cell patientsModus Therapeutics is going to launch ...
-
Today’s Faces of Sickle Cell Disease: Jennelle StephensonJennelle Stephenson was diagnosed with S...
To improve your experience on this site, we use cookies. This includes cookies essential for the basic functioning of our website, cookies for analytics purposes, and cookies enabling us to personalize site content. By clicking on 'Accept' or any content on this site, you agree that cookies can be placed. You may adjust your browser's cookie settings to suit your preferences. More Information
The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.