Many people feel constant nerve pain. Even a light touch can hurt a lot. Scientists think this pain starts when tiny power plants inside cells, called mitochondria, stop working in damaged nerves.
Researchers at Duke University School of Medicine tried to fix those power plants. They added healthy mitochondria to damaged nerves in both human tissue samples and mouse experiments.
The new mitochondria lowered pain from diabetic nerve damage and from chemotherapy. In some animals, the pain relief lasted almost two days.
Instead of just blocking pain signals, this method gives nerve cells the energy they need to work properly.
Healthy Mitochondria Help Nerves RepairRecent studies show that cells can share mitochondria with each other. This sharing may help with many illnesses, from obesity to stroke.
At Duke, scientists focused on satellite glial cells. These cells hug sensory neurons and can pass healthy mitochondria to them through tiny bridges called tunneling nanotubes.
If the transfer stops, nerves start to break down, causing pain, tingling, and numbness, especially in the hands and feet.
“Sharing energy helps keep nerves from hurting,” said Professor Ji, a Duke anesthesiology and neurobiology professor.
When the researchers boosted this mitochondrial sharing in mice, pain‑related behavior fell by up to half.
Key Protein FoundThe team also injected isolated mitochondria directly into the dorsal root ganglia – clusters of nerves that send feeling information to the brain.
Only healthy mitochondria worked. Mitochondria taken from people with diabetes did not relieve pain.
They discovered that a protein called MYO10 is essential for building the nanotube bridges that move mitochondria between cells.
New Hope for Pain TreatmentMore research is needed, especially detailed images of how the bridges work inside living nerves.
Still, this hidden communication system between nerves and glial cells could lead to medicines that treat chronic pain at its source instead of just hiding the symptoms.