An international research group led by MedUni Vienna and IMBA - Institute of Molecular Biotechnology, Vienna, has made significant progress in understanding the mechanisms that influence the sensation of pain after surgery. Currently available treatment methods for post-operative pain can cause considerable side effects and are often only partially effective. The latest findings reveal a new possibility for localized and targeted therapy.
The study has now been published in the renowned journal "Science Immunology". In their research, the team led by Philipp Starkl, Shane Cronin and Josef Penninger built on earlier findings on the role of the substance tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) in neuropathic pain: the higher the concentration of BH4, the more severe the pain. " Whether this correlation also applies to postoperative pain has not yet been investigated, " says Josef Penninger (Clinical Department of Laboratory Medicine at MedUni Vienna, IMBA, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig), describing the initial situation of the study.
In a series of experiments on mouse models with surgically induced skin injuries and with the help of novel analytical methods, the researchers revealed both the central role of BH4 in postoperative pain and the underlying mechanisms. As it turned out, the innate immune system plays a decisive role here. The signaling cascade initiated by tissue injury starts in special immune cells (mast cells) .