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Editorial Board Members’ Collection Series: Pain

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pharmacology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 January 2025 | Viewed by 3243

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Main Regional Center for Pain Relief & Supportive Care, La Maddalena Cancer Center, 90100 Palermo, Italy
Interests: cancer pain; supportive care; symptom management; palliative care
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Guest Editor
Nociception Group, Section of Anaesthetic, Pain Medicine and Intensive Care, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
Interests: pain; primary sensory neurons; spinal cord; nociceptive processing; peripheral tissue-primary sensory neuron cross talk

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The prevalence of chronic pain continues to expand worldwide. While much effort has been invested in understanding the molecular pathology of chronic pain, progress on molecular therapeutic options to prevent or attenuate the progression of pain syndromes has been much slower. To accelerate the translation of basic molecular science data into practice, we organized a Special Issue of the International Journal of Molecular Sciences. We wish to collect high-quality research and review papers describing and discussing recent advances in molecular science aspects of the pharmacology of pain. We encourage authors to submit manuscripts presenting new insights into molecular pathogenesis and the development of novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of chronic pain. We are particularly interested in submissions dealing with molecular mechanisms which transform acute to chronic pain syndromes associated with peripheral, as well as central nervous system pathologies.

Prof. Dr. Sebastiano Mercadante
Dr. István Nagy
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • cancer
  • inflammation
  • neuropathy
  • primary sensory neurons
  • spinal cord
  • brain

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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24 pages, 7066 KiB  
Article
Epigenetic Regulation and Molecular Mechanisms of Burn Injury-Induced Nociception in the Spinal Cord of Mice
by Zoltán Mészár, Virág Erdei, Péter Szücs and Angelika Varga
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(15), 8510; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25158510 - 4 Aug 2024
Viewed by 907
Abstract
Epigenetic mechanisms, including histone post-translational modifications (PTMs), play a critical role in regulating pain perception and the pathophysiology of burn injury. However, the epigenetic regulation and molecular mechanisms underlying burn injury-induced pain remain insufficiently explored. Spinal dynorphinergic (Pdyn) neurons contribute to heat hyperalgesia [...] Read more.
Epigenetic mechanisms, including histone post-translational modifications (PTMs), play a critical role in regulating pain perception and the pathophysiology of burn injury. However, the epigenetic regulation and molecular mechanisms underlying burn injury-induced pain remain insufficiently explored. Spinal dynorphinergic (Pdyn) neurons contribute to heat hyperalgesia induced by severe scalding-type burn injury through p-S10H3-dependent signaling. Beyond p-S10H3, burn injury may impact various other histone H3 PTMs. Double immunofluorescent staining and histone H3 protein analyses demonstrated significant hypermethylation at H3K4me1 and H3K4me3 sites and hyperphosphorylation at S10H3 within the spinal cord. By analyzing Pdyn neurons in the spinal dorsal horn, we found evidence of chromatin activation with a significant elevation in p-S10H3 immunoreactivity. We used RNA-seq analysis to compare the effects of burn injury and formalin-induced inflammatory pain on spinal cord transcriptomic profiles. We identified 98 DEGs for burn injury and 86 DEGs for formalin-induced inflammatory pain. A limited number of shared differentially expressed genes (DEGs) suggest distinct central pain processing mechanisms between burn injury and formalin models. KEGG pathway analysis supported this divergence, with burn injury activating Wnt signaling. This study enhances our understanding of burn injury mechanisms and uncovers converging and diverging pathways in pain models with different origins. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Editorial Board Members’ Collection Series: Pain)
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Review

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23 pages, 1461 KiB  
Review
Epigenetic Landscapes of Pain: DNA Methylation Dynamics in Chronic Pain
by Huan-Yu Xiong, Arne Wyns, Jente Van Campenhout, Jolien Hendrix, Elke De Bruyne, Lode Godderis, Siobhan Schabrun, Jo Nijs and Andrea Polli
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(15), 8324; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25158324 - 30 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1442
Abstract
Chronic pain is a prevalent condition with a multifaceted pathogenesis, where epigenetic modifications, particularly DNA methylation, might play an important role. This review delves into the intricate mechanisms by which DNA methylation and demethylation regulate genes associated with nociception and pain perception in [...] Read more.
Chronic pain is a prevalent condition with a multifaceted pathogenesis, where epigenetic modifications, particularly DNA methylation, might play an important role. This review delves into the intricate mechanisms by which DNA methylation and demethylation regulate genes associated with nociception and pain perception in nociceptive pathways. We explore the dynamic nature of these epigenetic processes, mediated by DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) and ten-eleven translocation (TET) enzymes, which modulate the expression of pro- and anti-nociceptive genes. Aberrant DNA methylation profiles have been observed in patients with various chronic pain syndromes, correlating with hypersensitivity to painful stimuli, neuronal hyperexcitability, and inflammatory responses. Genome-wide analyses shed light on differentially methylated regions and genes that could serve as potential biomarkers for chronic pain in the epigenetic landscape. The transition from acute to chronic pain is marked by rapid DNA methylation reprogramming, suggesting its potential role in pain chronicity. This review highlights the importance of understanding the temporal dynamics of DNA methylation during this transition to develop targeted therapeutic interventions. Reversing pathological DNA methylation patterns through epigenetic therapies emerges as a promising strategy for pain management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Editorial Board Members’ Collection Series: Pain)
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