Objective
Neuro-immune alterations in the peripheral and central nervous system play a role in the pathophysiology of chronic pain, and non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) regulate both immune and neuronal processes. Therefore, ncRNAPain proposes that ncRNAs are critically important master switches for chronic pain.
ncRNAPain represents a multidisciplinary consortium of clinical partners, molecular and systems-level neuroscientists, bioinformatics and ncRNA experts. In order to gain knowledge on the mechanisms of chronic pain, ncRNAPain will investigate ncRNAs specifically in neurogenic and neuropathic pain, including headache.
ncRNAPain will provide novel understanding of ncRNA regulation of processes modulating nociception and endogenous analgesia and of the importance of ncRNAs in circuitries and cognitive, emotional and behavioural components of pain. ncRNAPain will reveal insights into the concerted function of ncRNAs in the control of macromolecular complexes in neurons, glia and immune cells and signals used for neuroimmune communication in the pain pathway. Based on these findings, ncRNAPain will identify and validate specific ncRNAs as new druggable molecular targets for pain prevention and relief. ncRNAPain will identify pain predisposing ncRNA expression patterns and polymorphisms in ncRNAS and/or their binding sites as biomarkers for pain and inter-individual variations in the response to painful stimuli and analgesic drugs. ncRNA-based diagnostic tools will be developed and provided to enable better patient stratification, improved mechanism-based treatment and targeted prevention strategies for high risk individuals.
ncRNAPain will provide novel understanding of the induction and maintenance of chronic pain and is committed to translate pre-clinical and clinical results and developments into clinical applications for the benefit of the patients, to improve the patients’ quality of life and reduce the societal burden of chronic pain across Europe.
Fields of science
Call for proposal
FP7-HEALTH-2013-INNOVATION-1
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
CP-FP - Small or medium-scale focused research projectCoordinator
6020 Innsbruck
Austria