Transgenic Mice for the Translational Study of Neuropathic Pain and Dystonia

Abstract

Murine models are fundamental in the study of clinical conditions and the development of new drugs and treatments. Transgenic technology has started to offer advantages in oncology, encompassing all research fields related to the study of painful syndromes. Knockout mice or mice overexpressing genes encoding for proteins linked to pain development and maintenance can be produced and pain models can be applied to transgenic mice to model the most disabling neurological conditions. Due to the association of movement disorders with sensitivity and pain processing, our group focused for the first time on the role of the torsinA gene GAG deletion—responsible for DYT1 dystonia—in baseline sensitivity and neuropathic responses. The aim of the present report are to review the complex network that exists between the chaperonine-like protein torsinA and the baseline sensitivity pattern—which are fundamental in neuropathic pain—and to point at its possible role in neurodegenerative diseases.