Researchers at the University of Arizona Health Sciences identified a new way to make opioids safer, increasing the pain-relieving properties of opioids while decreasing unwanted side effects through the spinal inhibition of a Heat shock protein 90 isoform. Opioids are the gold standard of chronic pain treatment, but they come with a host of negative side effects including constipation, addiction potential and respiratory depression that can lead to death. This study, published in Scientific Reports , offers a potential new way to treat acute and chronic pain by reducing the amount of opioid needed for pain relief while also lowering its addiction potential.
We have been investigating the role of Heat shock protein 90 in regulating opioid signaling in the spinal cord for some time. This study provides proof of principle that Hsp90 isoform inhibitors are effective at improving opioid pain relief and reducing side effects. This is the critical link that makes our work translationally relevant, giving us a clear path forward to develop a new drug that could benefit millions of people who live with chronic pain.
" John Streicher, PhD, member of the Comprehensive Center for Pain & Addiction at UArizona Health Sciences and a professor in the College of Medicine – Tucson's Department of Pharmacology Heat shock protein 90 is a chaperone protein that helps other proteins function, including those that promote tumor growth. It has been studied primarily in the context of cancer. Strei.