More than half of people with HIV will experience chronic pain at some point, which is difficult to treat. new JNeurosci A paper by Hui-Lin Pan and colleagues at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center investigated how HIV causes chronic pain in mice.
Previous studies have independently linked a viral protein called glycoprotein 120 (gp120) to increased pain sensitivity and excessive signaling of a type of nerve receptor in the spine to neuralgia. Based on these findings, researchers sought to investigate whether gp120 influences signaling at this neuronal receptor. Injecting gp120 into the spines of mice increased neuroreceptor activity through a mechanism that affected specific neuronal populations. The researchers found that by using a combination of drug-based and genetic approaches targeting the molecular players involved, they could reverse the mechanisms they identified and reduce pain hypersensitivity in mice.
The researchers say this study shows how HIV-related proteins amplify pain signaling in the spinal cord, and that disrupting this mechanism may reduce pain sensitivity. Pan said he looks forward to continuing his work.We are particularly excited about the development of therapeutic approaches to disrupt proteins (particularly by targeting their interaction with neural receptors). These targeted strategies may provide more precise and effective treatments for chronic neuropathic pain, not only in HIV but potentially in other conditions.. ”
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Reference magazines:
Gautam, V. Others. (2026). HIV-1 gp120 induces nociceptive hypersensitivity through α2δ-1-coupled NMDA receptors at primary afferent excitatory neuron synapses. Journal of Neuroscience. DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0368-26.2026. https://www.jneurosci.org/content/early/2026/05/22/JNEUROSCI.0368-26.2026
