Prdm12, a key transcriptional regulator of the nociceptive lineage

Nociceptors are the specialized peripheral sensory neurons that detect potentially damaging stimuli and lead to the sensation of pain. Pain is essential for our self-preservation. However, there are individuals who are unable to feel pain from birth. The biological basis of their painlessness is either aberrant development or malfunctioning of nociceptors. Prdm12 is a recently identified evolutionarily conserved epigenetic transcriptional regulator whose mutation insensitivity to pain. Prdm12 is selectively expressed in sensory ganglia in developing nociceptors and remains expressed in mature nociceptors in adult animals. Recent studies have shown that Prdm12 is required for the specification of the entire nociceptive lineage. In this chapter, we summarize the current state of knowledge of Prdm12, its implication in human disorders of pain and its function and mechanism of action in developing nociceptors. We discuss its potential for the development of novel therapeutic approaches of chronic pain, in which epigenetic mechanisms are prevailing.