The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor in skin, dorsal root ganglion and spinal cord: an ideal target gene for RNA interference therapy for pain relief

The NMDA receptor plays an important role in induction of pain hyperalgesia and allodynia by tissue trauma. Although the analgesic effect of NMDA receptor antagonists has been well reported in various experimental study and clinical pain trial, serious side effects were reported and limited their use in clinical medication. To obtain NMDA receptor antagonist with less side effects, an alternative approach is to use subtype-selective NMDA receptor antagonists. However, the effects of current available NMDA receptor antagonist’s drug are not absolute specific for antagonizing specific NMDA receptor subtypes.