(Press-News.org) Peripheral nerve injury reduces the ability of macrophages to clear dead or dying cells – a process known as efferocytosis – leading to chronic pain
Restoring efferocytosis ability reduced neuropathic pain in lab models
Efferocytosis is a potential therapeutic target for chronic neuropathic pain
Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered that targeting a specific immune process could help improve recovery after nerve injury and reduce chronic pain.
The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), was led by Peter Grace, Ph.D., associate professor of Symptom Research. The findings reveal that peripheral neuropathy, which can be caused by nerve injury, reduces the ability of macrophage immune cells to clear dead or dying cells – a process called efferocytosis – and leads to chronic pain. Targeting or stimulating efferocytosis could be a viable treatment option.
“Chronic neuropathic pain after nerve injury can be debilitating for many patients,” Grace said. “We’re hopeful that these insights can provide meaningful clinical applications.”
What is peripheral neuropathy and how do macrophages help?
Peripheral neuropathy – damage to the peripheral nervous system – results in inflammation and chronic neuropathic pain. This condition affects millions of people around the world but remains poorly understood.
Macrophages – certain types of immune cells – prevent inflammation and fix nerve damage using special receptors called MERTK, which recognize the “eat me” signals on dead or dying cells. These macrophages can switch from pro-inflammatory to anti-inflammatory and engulf the dead cells in a process known as efferocytosis. However, it is unclear why this process does not seem to work after peripheral nerve injury.
What did the researchers discover in this study?
The researchers showed that nerve injury releases proteins that remove the MERTK receptor from macrophages, reducing efferocytosis in lab models. This leads to chronic pain, neuronal hyperactivity, nerve and tissue damage and ongoing inflammation. Restoring the ability of macrophages to clear dead cells reduced neuropathic pain and improved tissue repair in these models.
What does this mean for patients with nerve injury?
While these findings are preclinical, they suggest that stimulating efferocytosis is a potential new therapeutic strategy to prevent inflammatory signaling, improve nerve repair and resolve neuropathic pain in patients with nerve injury.
This research is part of MD Anderson’s Cancer Neuroscience Program, which is dedicated to uncovering the interactions between cancer and the nervous system to help patients survive and thrive throughout their cancer journey.
***
This work was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and a Rita Allen Foundation Award in Pain. For a full list of collaborating authors, disclosures and funding sources, see the full paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
END
Researchers identify novel therapeutic target to improve recovery after nerve injury
2026-01-07
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Microbes in breast milk help populate infant gut microbiomes
2026-01-07
Most conversations about breast milk tend to focus on topics like nutrients, antibodies and bonding time rather than bacteria. But it turns out that human milk carries its own tiny community of microbes, and those passengers may help shape a baby’s developing gut microbiome — which in turn can impact nutrient absorption, metabolic regulation, immune system development, and more.
A new study published in Nature Communications provides one of the most detailed portraits yet of how different combinations of bacteria in human milk contribute to the assembly of infants’ ...
Reprogramming immunity to rewrite the story of Type 1 diabetes
2026-01-07
In the battle against type 1 diabetes (T1D), one researcher at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) is leading a bold new front. With $1 million in funding from Breakthrough T1D, the leading global T1D research and advocacy organization, Leonardo Ferreira, Ph.D., assistant professor of Pharmacology and Immunology, and his collaborators at partnering institutions will explore a new approach to treating – and potentially curing – the disease.
The team aims to reimagine how the immune system interacts with the pancreas by combining stem cell biology, immunology and transplantation science. The project’s goal is deceptively simple: to restore beta cell ...
New tool narrows the search for ideal material structures
2026-01-07
Princeton researchers have developed a new tool to speed the discovery of advanced materials known as metal organic frameworks, or MOFs.
MOFs are an emerging class of materials that form microscopic sponge-like structures with vast interior surface area. That quality promises to transform how society traps, absorbs and filters substances at the molecular level. The researchers say this could lead to better battery chemistry, more efficient carbon capture and improved access to clean water.
But scientists face a problem of choice. MOFs are highly modular, consisting of metal-ion nodes and organic molecules that link the nodes into large networks. The researchers say there ...
Artificial saliva containing sugarcane protein helps protect the teeth of patients with head and neck cancer
2026-01-07
An artificial saliva in the form of a mouthwash, produced with the CANECPI-5 protein extracted from sugarcane and modified in a laboratory, can aid in treating teeth in patients with head and neck cancer. In these cases, radiotherapy very close to the mouth can destroy salivary glands and compromise saliva production, which is essential for controlling bacteria and disease.
According to research conducted at the Bauru School of Dentistry at the University of São Paulo (FOB-USP) in Brazil, CANECPI-5 forms a protective “shield” for the teeth, guarding the enamel against weakening acids found ...
Understanding the role of linear ubiquitination in T-tubule biogenesis
2026-01-07
Transverse tubules (T-tubules) play significant role in muscle contraction. However, the underlying mechanism of their formation is yet to be elucidated. In a recent study, a research team from Japan used a Drosophila model to understand this process. The results show the involvement of LUBEL, an E3 ubiquitin ligase, in the T-tubule biogenesis. Beyond LUBEL’s role in immune response, the study reveals an unexpected function of linear ubiquitination in membrane deformation, driven by BAR-domain proteins.
Transverse tubules ...
Researchers identify urban atmosphere as primary reservoir of microplastics
2026-01-07
Over the past two decades, microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) have been recognized as emerging pollutants, detected across every environmental compartment of the Earth's system—the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere.
Their pervasive presence has drawn increasing attention from researchers focused on biogeochemical cycles and climate change. Significant gaps remain, however, in quantifying the stocks, sources, transformation, and fate of plastics, especially within the atmosphere, primarily due to analytical limitations ...
World’s oldest arrow poison – 60,000-year-old traces reveal early advanced hunting techniques
2026-01-07
Researchers have identified traces of plant poison from the South African plant gifbol on Stone Age arrowheads – the oldest known arrow poison in the world to date. The discovery, published in the scientific journal Science Advances, shows that 60,000 years ago, people in southern Africa had already developed advanced knowledge of toxic substances and how they could be used for hunting.
Researchers from South Africa and Sweden have found the oldest traces of arrow poison in the world to date. On 60,000-year-old quartz arrowheads from Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, ...
Bristol scientists discover early sponges were soft
2026-01-07
Sponges are among earth’s most ancient animals, but exactly when they evolved has long puzzled scientists. Genetic information from living sponges, as well as chemical signals from ancient rocks, suggest sponges evolved at least 650 million years ago. The research is published today [7 January] in Science Advances.
This evidence has proved highly controversial as it predates the fossil record of sponges by a minimum of 100 million years. Now an international team of scientists led by Dr M. Eleonora Rossi, from the University of Bristol’s School of Biological Sciences, ...
New study uncovers how rice viruses manipulate plant defenses to protect insect vectors
2026-01-07
Planthoppers and leafhoppers not only feed on rice plants but also act as highly efficient vectors for plant viruses, causing substantial yield losses worldwide. Notably, their persistent ability to evade natural enemies is not merely a matter of chance—it is subtly reinforced by the plant viruses they carry.
A recent study led by Prof. ZHANG Xiaoming's team at the Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), in collaboration with Prof. Ian T. Baldwin's group at the CAS Center ...
NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory spots record-breaking asteroid in pre-survey observations
2026-01-07
As part of the NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory First Look event in June 2025, Rubin announced that it had observed thousands of asteroids cruising about our Solar System, about 1900 of which have been confirmed as never-before-seen [1]. Within the flurry, a team of astronomers has discovered 19 super- and ultra-fast-rotating asteroids. One of these is the fastest-spinning asteroid larger than 500 meters (0.3 miles) ever found.
The study was led by Sarah Greenstreet, NSF NOIRLab assistant ...