Project 8: Phytotherapeutics in Neuroprotection
Discovery of novel natural products for the treatment of peripheral neuropathy
Peripheral neuropathy is a serious complication caused by various conditions, including chemotherapy, diabetes mellitus, traumatic injury, infections and many more. It is caused by damage to the somatosensory nervous system manifesting in sensory sensations such as tingling, burning, numbness, and the most severe symptom – pain. Approximately 800 million people worldwide suffer from neuropathic pain and it is becoming a significant burden for both patients and for their health care providers. Unfortunately, there are no disease-modifying therapies available and symptomatic treatment strategies show only limited efficacy and clinical success, leading to neuropathic pain negatively impacting the quality of the patient’s life and considerably increasing healthcare costs.
The aim of this interdisciplinary project is to identify, isolate and characterize natural product-based new drug candidates to find novel therapeutic options for the treatment of peripheral neuropathy. In order to achieve this, we plan to establish cell models of peripheral neuropathy of different pathological genesis. Therefore, we will use differentiated neuronal cell lines as well as primary human Schwann cells and iPSC derived peripheral sensory neurons. Finally, we aim to integrate fully functional and differentiated peripheral sensory neurons in our 3D full thickness skin model to reproduce the cutaneous-immuno-neuronal crosstalk and gain further insight into the pathology of neuropathy in the context of the local human environment. These models will be used to screen extracts of various natural origin for their bioactivity in a bioactivity-guided approach.
Selected publications:
- Wiegand V, Gao Y, Teusch N. Pharmacological Effects of Paeonia lactiflora Focusing on Painful Diabetic Neuropathy. Planta Med. Dec 2024;90(15):1115-1129. doi:10.1055/a-2441-6488
