Development of Viral Vectors for Gene Therapy for Chronic Pain
Figure 1
Possible mechanisms of viral vector actions in gene therapy of chronic pain. Recombinant viral vectors encoding therapeutic genes infect target cells and express antinociceptive substances after subcutaneous inoculation or intrathecal administration. Gene products such as GAD and BDNF can lead to the release of GABA, which is an inhibitory neurotransmitter. IL-4 and IL-10 can suppress the expression of proinflammatory cytokines produced by activated glial cells and antagonize the signaling pathway activated by these cytokines. Endogenous opioid peptides have analgesic effects through opioid receptors. Nav1.7 antisense can prevent an increase in Nav1.7 expression and decrease inflammatory hyperalgesia.
