Discovery and development of novel small molecule inhibitors of the human Hyperpolarization activated Cyclic Nucleotide-gated 2 (HCN2) ion channel for the treatment of inflammatory and neuropathic pain (360G-Wellcome-099259_Z_12_E)

Treatments for inflammatory pain (IP) and neuropathic pain (NP) are frequently ineffective and have many side effects. Scientists in Professor Peter McNaughton's laboratory at the University of Cambridge have discovered that both IP and NP are abolished in mice when an ion channel is genetically deleted. This suggests that drugs blocking this ion channel will have value as novel analgesics. IP is associated with injury, infection or chronic conditions such as arthritis; and NP is caused by nerve damage in conditions such as post-herpetic neuralgia and diabetic neuropathy. Both IP and NP can impose major limitations on lifestyle and working patterns and currently available treatments have major drawbacks. For example, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories cause gastric and renal damage; and opioids cause constipation and problems with tolerance and addiction. The team aims to develop selective ion channel blockers, which avoid those that play essential roles in the heart and brain, and test them in animal models of IP and NP. In separate parallel studies they will use a known non-selective blocker to carry out proof-of-principle studies in human NP.