Scientists have identified the first gene that pulls the plug on ailing nerve cell branches from within the nerve cell, possibly helping to trigger the painful condition known as neuropathy.
The condition is a side effect of some forms of chemotherapy and can also afflict patients with cancer, diabetes, kidney failure, viral infections, neurodegenerative disorders and other ailments.
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis showed that blocking the dual leucine zipper kinase (DLK) gene inhibits degeneration of ailing nerve cell branches, possibly preventing neuropathy.
"Neuropathy can become so extraordinarily painful that some patients stop taking their chemotherapy, regardless of the consequences in their fight against cancer," says co-senior author Aaron DiAntonio, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of developmental biology. "So we're very excited about the possibilities this gene may offer for reducing that pain."
The findings are published online on March 15 in Nature Neuroscience.