BioCentury
ARTICLE | Distillery Therapeutics

Neurology

February 14, 2018 12:55 AM UTC

Cell culture and mouse studies suggest inhibiting S. aureus AgrA or activating TRPV1 could help treat S. aureus-induced pain. In co-cultures of mouse dorsal root ganglion cells and S. aureus, knockout of S. aureus AgrA in the bacteria decreased neuronal activity compared with normal AgrA expression. In a mouse challenge model of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) infection, knockout of AgrA decreased spontaneous pain behavior. Also in the model, the TRPV1 activator resiniferatoxin (RTX)decreased heat sensitivity compared with vehicle. Next steps could include testing TRPV1 activators in models of pain induced by other pathogenic bacteria.

Sorrento Therapeutics Inc. has resiniferatoxin in Phase I/II testing for cancer pain...