The genes of Neanderthal man bequeathed us a greater sensitivity to pain
People carrying three genetic variants inherited from Neanderthals are more sensitive to certain types of pain, according to a new study led by researchers at UCL, University College of London.
The findings, published in Communications Biology , are the latest findings to demonstrate how past interbreeding with Neanderthals influenced the genetics of modern humans.
Researchers have found that people carrying three so-called Neanderthal variants of the SCN9A gene, implicated in sensory neurons, are more sensitive to pain from skin pricking after prior exposure to mustard oil.
Previous research has identified three SCN9A gene variants – known as M932L, V991L and D1908G – in sequenced Neanderthal genomes and reported increased pain sensitivity in humans carrying all three variants. However, the specific sensory responses affected by these variants were unclear prior to this study.
An international team led by researchers from UCL, Aix-Marseille University, the University of Toulouse, the Open University, Fudan University and the University of Oxford, and funded in part by Wellcome, measured the threshold of the pain of 1,963 people from Colombia in response to a series of stimuli.
The SCN9A gene encodes a sodium channel that is expressed at high levels in sensory neurons that detect signals from damaged tissue. The researchers found that the D1908G variant of the gene was present in approximately 20% of the chromosomes in this population, and that approximately 30% of the chromosomes carrying this variant also had the M932L and V991L variants.
The authors found that the three variants were associated with a lower pain threshold in response to skin pricking after prior exposure to mustard oil, but not in response to heat or pressure. Furthermore, possession of all three variants was associated with greater pain sensitivity than possession of only one of them.
By analyzing the genomic region that includes SCN9A with genetic data from 5,971 people from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, the authors found that the three Neanderthal variants were more common in populations with a higher percentage of Native American ancestry, such as the Peruvian population, where the average percentage of Native American ancestry was 66%.
The authors propose that Neanderthal variants may sensitize sensory neurons by altering the nerve impulse generation threshold. The authors hypothesize that the variants may be more common in populations with higher percentages of Native American ancestry, due to chance and population bottlenecks that occurred during the initial occupation of the Americas. While acute pain can moderate behavior and prevent further injury, scientists say more research is needed to determine whether the presence of these variants and increased pain sensitivity may have been advantageous during human evolution.
Previous research led by Dr Kaustubh Adhikari (UCL Genetics, Evolution & Environment and The Open University) has shown that humans also inherited genetic material from Neanderthals that influences the shape of our noses*.
Dr Adhikari commented: “Over the last 15 years, since the Neanderthal genome was first sequenced, we have learned more and more about what we inherited from them as a result of interbreeding tens of thousands of years ago .
“Sensitivity to pain is an important survival characteristic that allows us to avoid painful things that could cause us serious harm. Our findings suggest that Neanderthals may have been more sensitive to certain types of pain, but further research is needed to understand why this was the case and whether these specific genetic variants were evolutionarily advantageous."
First author Dr Pierre Faux (Aix-Marseille University and University of Toulouse) said: “We have shown how variations in our genetic code can alter the way we perceive pain, including the genes that modern humans they acquired from Neanderthals. But genes are just one of many factors, including environment, past experiences and psychological factors, that influence pain.”
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The article Neanderthal genes bequeathed us greater sensitivity to pain comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/i-geni-delluomo-di-neanderthal-ci-hanno-lasciato-in-eredita-una-maggiore-sensibilita-al-dolore/ on Wed, 18 Oct 2023 19:00:48 +0000.