PROJECT: JTC 2025 - Pain: DECIPHER2025

This project will impact the millions of individuals currently living with intractable chronic neuropathic pain. Based on recent novel findings in the field, we aim to investigate whether CD90+ stromal cells are the reason why neuropathic pain can persist in the absence of classical inflammation, and we will use this knowledge to identify novel analgesic targets. Our interdisciplinary team consists of clinical (Y. Parman, Turkey) and translational neuroscientists (N. š‡eyler, Germany, F. Denk, United Kingdom), stromal cell immunologists (C. Ospelt, Switzerland), physiologists (M. Kucharczyk, Poland) and patient experts. Together, we will: 1) use large-scale clinical cohorts to test whether the abundance of CD90+ stromal cells correlates with neuropathic pain in humans. 2) employ cutting-edge human in vitro models to demonstrate a causal connection between CD90+ stromal cell subtypes and peripheral neuron hyperexcitability. 3) test defined novel analgesic targets using in vitro and in vivo model systems. Our ambition is to finally explain why some individuals experience neuropathic pain, while others do not, despite seemingly living with the same degree of nerve damage. Our project will also pave the way for improved diagnostic tests to determine the presence and nature of an individual?s neuropathy and, most importantly, identify new targeted treatment options designed to eliminate the root cause of chronic neuropathic pain in the periphery.