Targeting the Main Sources of Reactive Oxygen Species Production: Possible Therapeutic Implications in Chronic Pain

Title:Targeting the Main Sources of Reactive Oxygen Species Production: Possible Therapeutic Implications in Chronic Pain

Volume: 22 Issue: 12

Author(s): Peng-Fei Cheng, Yuan-He, Meng-Meng Ge, Da-Wei Ye*, Jian-Ping Chen*Jin-Xi Wang*

Affiliation:

• Cancer Center, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China

• Department of Pain Management, Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Tongji Shanxi Hospital, Third Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030032, China

• Division of Colorectal Surgery, Third Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Tongji Shanxi Hospital, Taiyuan, 030032, China

Abstract: Humans have long been combating chronic pain. In clinical practice, opioids are firstchoice analgesics, but long-term use of these drugs can lead to serious adverse reactions. Finding new, safe and effective pain relievers that are useful treatments for chronic pain is an urgent medical need. Based on accumulating evidence from numerous studies, excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) contribute to the development and maintenance of chronic pain. Some antioxidants are potentially beneficial analgesics in the clinic, but ROS-dependent pathways are completely inhibited only by scavenging ROS directly targeting cellular or subcellular sites. Unfortunately, current antioxidant treatments do not achieve this effect. Furthermore, some antioxidants interfere with physiological redox signaling pathways and fail to reverse oxidative damage. Therefore, the key upstream processes and mechanisms of ROS production that lead to chronic pain in vivo must be identified to discover potential therapeutic targets related to the pathways that control ROS production in vivo. In this review, we summarize the sites and pathways involved in analgesia based on the three main mechanisms by which ROS are generated in vivo, discuss the preclinical evidence for the therapeutic potential of targeting these pathways in chronic pain, note the shortcomings of current research and highlight possible future research directions to provide new targets and evidence for the development of clinical analgesics.

Cite this article as:

Cheng Peng-Fei, Yuan-He , Ge Meng-Meng, Ye Da-Wei*, Chen Jian-Ping*, Wang Jin-Xi*, Targeting the Main Sources of Reactive Oxygen Species Production: Possible Therapeutic Implications in Chronic Pain, Current Neuropharmacology 2024; 22 (12) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1570159X22999231024140544