Michael Caterina
Molecules and cells that drive chronic pain
Solomon H. Snyder Professor of Neurosurgery
Department of Neurosurgery
School of Medicine
Research Overview
Our laboratory studies the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the perception of pain under healthy conditions and in the setting of pathology. Towards this goal, we utilize a wide spectrum of approaches including behavioral analysis, in vivo and in vitro imaging and electrophysiology, genome editing, image analysis, transcriptomics, biochemistry, and cell biology. One topic of study is the identification of mechanisms underlying pain in a diverse collection of rare hereditary skin conditions known as palmoplantar keratodermas. These conditions, characterized by epidermal thickening on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet, exhibit variable prevalence of pain that can significantly impact quality of life. A second topic that we study is how injured and uninjured neurons interact and change their behavior following a peripheral nerve injury, and how these changes relate to neuropathic pain. A third area of focus is on the role of RNA binding proteins as regulators of the development and maintenance of neuropathic pain. Finally, we are using synthetic biology approaches to re-engineer signal transduction pathways in order to convert signals that would have promoted pain into analgesic signals.
Additional Titles
Director, Neurosurgery Pain Research Institute
Director, Biological Chemistry Department
Selected Publications
- Weinberg RL, Kim S, Pang Z, Awad S, Hanback T, Pan B, Bettin L, Chang D, Polydefkis MJ, Qu L, Caterina MJ. Pain Hypersensitivity in SLURP1 and SLURP2 Knock-out Mouse Models of Hereditary Palmoplantar Keratoderma. Journal of Neuroscience, 2024.
- Villalón Landeros E, Kho SC, Church TR, Brennan A, Türker F, Delannoy M, Caterina MJ, Margolis SS. The nociceptive activity of peripheral sensory neurons is modulated by the neuronal membrane proteasome. Cell Reports, 2024.
- Jeon SM, Chang D, Geske A, Ginty DD, Caterina MJ. Sex-Dependent Reduction in Mechanical Allodynia in the Sural-Sparing Nerve Injury Model in Mice Lacking Merkel Cells. Journal of Neuroscience, 2021.
- Pan B, Byrnes K, Schwartz M, Hansen CD, Campbell CM, Krupiczojc M, Caterina MJ, Polydefkis M. Peripheral neuropathic changes in pachyonychia congenita. Pain, 2016.
- Pang Z, Sakamoto T, Tiwari V, Kim YS, Yang F, Dong X, Güler AD, Guan Y, Caterina MJ. Selective keratinocyte stimulation is sufficient to evoke nociception in mice. Pain, 2015.