A University of Alabama at Birmingham researcher has uncovered a potential new pathway for treating chronic nerve pain, a condition that affects millions of people and remains challenging to manage with existing therapies.
Yu Shin Kim, Ph.D., Presidential Faculty Scholar Professor and professor in the Department of Endodontics in UAB School of Dentistry, co-led a study that identified a protein known as TWIK-1 as a key contributor to the development and persistence of neuropathic pain. The findings were published in Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy (impact factor 81.2).
The research examined how TWIK-1 functions within the nervous system and found that the protein plays distinct roles in normal sensation and chronic pain. Researchers discovered that reducing TWIK-1 activity in specific sensory neurons lessened persistent pain-related hypersensitivity following nerve injury while preserving normal sensation, suggesting a possible path toward future pain therapies.
"Understanding how chronic pain develops is essential to developing better treatments," Kim said. "These findings identify TWIK-1 as a promising target for future research aimed at reducing neuropathic pain."
For dentistry, advances in pain science have implications that extend well beyond chronic nerve conditions. Ashraf Fouad, D.D.S., M.S., chair of the Department of Endodontics, said discoveries such as these could ultimately contribute to new approaches for managing pain associated with dental procedures, trauma and inflammatory conditions.
"At first glance, this potassium channel appears to be a promising target for innovative analgesics," Fouad said. "That could have implications for postoperative pain, traumatic pain and even flare-ups."
The findings add to a growing body of research focused on developing more precise, non-opioid approaches to pain management. Researchers say the study provides new insight into the biological mechanisms that drive persistent pain and highlights TWIK-1 as an important area for future investigation.