CeMM is honored to host Prof. Daniele Piomelli, a world-renowned neuroscientist and pharmacologist from the University of California, Irvine (UCI), where he holds the Louise Turner Arnold Chair in Neurosciences and directs the UCI Institute for the Study of Cannabis.
Prof. Piomelli's academic journey is rooted in excellence, having trained under James H. Schwartz and Eric Kandel at Columbia University, and Paul Greengard at Rockefeller University—three giants in neuroscience, two of whom (Kandel and Greengard) were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2000. He later collaborated with Nobel Laureate Gerald Edelman at the Neurosciences Institute in San Diego.
With over 400 peer-reviewed publications, 34 patents, and leadership roles in both academia and biotech innovation, Prof. Piomelli is also the Editor-in-Chief of Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, the leading journal in the field.
Programm
Talk abstract: Peripheral injury reprograms spinal oligodendroglial metabolism, triggering neuronal Aβ release that drives the progression to pain chronicity. Four days after paw injury, mouse spinal oligodendrocytes—but not other cells—suppress mitochondrial respiration and redirect glycolytic end-products toward the biosynthesis of plasticity-related biomass and away from myelin production.This shift destabilizes white matter and disrupts axonal function, leading to neuronal APP buildup, BACE1 upregulation, Aβ amyloid release, and —after pain has become persistent— Alzheimer's-like plaque formation. Enhancing Aβ clearance or blocking its production post injury prevents pain chronification. The lipid hydrolase NAAA governs the metabolic shift in oligodendrocytes along with all its downstream effects. These findings uncover an unexpected mechanistic link between chronic pain and neurodegeneration, positioning Aβ amyloid as a target for chronic pain therapy.