Project funded by the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR) under the “Neuron Cofund 2 2025” call
Project number: NeuronCofund2/DECIPHER/0001/2025
Total project value: 1 565 236,00 EUR
Funding amount for Łukasiewicz – PORT: 299 971 EUR
Project implementation period: 01/09/2026 – 31/08/2029
Project leader: Dr Mateusz Kucharczyk
Consortium:
King’s College London – United Kingdom (Coordinator) University Hospital Würzburg – Germany (Partner) Łukasiewicz Research Network – PORT Polish Center for Technology Development – Poland (Partner) University of Zurich – Switzerland (Partner) Istanbul University – Turkey (Partner)
38 million adults in Europe live with chronic pain caused by nerve damage, called “neuropathic pain.” Neuropathic pain can be caused, for example, by diabetes or cancer treatment. It feels quite different from other types of pain, causing shooting, stabbing and burning sensations that are very hard to bear. Worse still, painkillers do not work in neuropathic pain for most people.
DECIPHER aims to identify new therapeutic targets for neuropathic pain. The project builds on recent findings suggesting that CD90+ stromal cells may contribute to the development and persistence of neuropathic pain.
As part of the project, we plan to:
- test whether the abundance of CD90+ stromal cells is associated with neuropathic pain severity;
- determine whether CD90+ stromal cells can cause sensory neuron hyperexcitability;
- identify potential new therapeutic targets by inhibiting mediators released by CD90+ stromal cells.
Our international consortium brings together experts from different disciplines. The Polish partner, Łukasiewicz – PORT, is responsible for preclinical evaluation of selected therapeutic targets in established and new mouse models of neuropathic pain, using behavioral testing and in vivo calcium imaging. Together, we aim to: better understand why some people with neuropathy experience pain while others do not;
- investigate whether small skin biopsies could provide a less invasive alternative to nerve biopsies for diagnosing certain neuropathies;sprawdzenie, czy analiza niewielkich próbek skóry może stanowić mniej inwazyjną alternatywę dla biopsji nerwu w diagnostyce wybranych neuropatii;
- identify promising therapeutic targets for the development of more effective treatments for neuropathic pain.
