MicroRNA and pain

Abstract

Pain is an important protective system that alerts organisms to actual or possible tissue damage. However, a variety of pathologies can lead to chronic pain that is no longer beneficial. Lesions or diseases of the somatosensory nervous system cause intractable neuropathic pain that occasionally lasts even after the original pathology subsides. Chronic inflammatory diseases like arthritis are also associated with severe pain. Because conventional analgesics such as non-steroidal anti inflammatory drugs and opioids have limited efficacy and/or severe adverse events associated with long-term use, chronic pain remains a major problem in clinical practice. Recently, causal roles of microRNAs in chronic pain and their therapeutic potential have been emerging. microRNA expressions are altered not only at the primary origin of pain, but also along the somatosensory pathways. Notably, microRNA expressions are differentially affected depending on the causes of chronic pain. This chapter summarizes current insights into the roles of microRNAs in pain based on the underlying pathologies.