fnins-14-00620 June 27, 2020 Time: 15:13 # 1 REVIEW published: 24 June 2020 doi: 10.3389/fnins.2020.00620 Kynurenine and Tetrahydrobiopterin Pathways Crosstalk in Pain Hypersensitivity Ananda Staats Pires1,2, Vanessa X. Tan1, Benjamin Heng1, Gilles J. Guillemin1* and Alexandra Latini2* 1 Neuroinflammation Group, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Centre for Motor Neuron Disease Research, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2 Laboratório de Bioenergética e Estresse Oxidativo, Departamento de Bioquímica, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil Despite the identification of molecular mechanisms associated with pain persistence, no Edited by: significant therapeutic improvements have been made. Advances in the understanding Marianthi Papakosta, of the molecular mechanisms that induce pain hypersensitivity will allow the Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, United States development of novel, effective, and safe therapies for chronic pain. Various pro- Reviewed by: inflammatory cytokines are known to be increased during chronic pain, leading Wladyslaw-Lason, to sustained inflammation in the peripheral and central nervous systems. The Institute of Pharmacology (PAS), Poland pro-inflammatory environment activates additional metabolic routes, including the Ewa Krystyna kynurenine (KYN) and tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) pathways, which generate bioactive Szczepanska-Sadowska, soluble metabolites with the potential to modulate neuropathic and inflammatory pain Medical University of Warsaw, Poland sensitivity. Inflammation-induced upregulation of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) *Correspondence: Gilles J. Guillemin and guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase I (GTPCH), both rate-limiting enzymes
[email protected] of KYN and BH4 biosynthesis, respectively, have been identified in experimental Alexandra Latini
[email protected] chronic pain models as well in biological samples from patients affected by chronic pain.