The stress-related protein, FKBP51, expressed in parts of the spinal cord, can drive chronic pain.C. BICKEL, SCIENCE TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
Through glucorticoid signaling, the protein FKBP51 can regulate the perception of chronic but not acute pain in mice, scientists from University College London (UCL) and their colleagues have found. Stress and chronic pain can go hand in hand, yet much of how stress and chronic pain–related signaling are connected remains a mystery. Previously shown to be involved in responses to stress in humans and rodents, FKBP51 now appears to be a factor common to both processes. The results, published today (February 10) in Science Translational Medicine, point to FKBP51 as a potential therapeutic target to alleviate long-term, persistent pain.
“[The work] suggests that stress signaling, through the secretion of glucocorticoids, is an important regulator of chronic pain,” wrote Jaclyn Schwarz, a neuroimmunologist at the University ...
