The invention relates to the use of: (a) an isolated
gene sequence that is down-regulated in the
spinal cord in response to streptozocin-induced diabetes; (b) an isolated
gene sequence comprising a
nucleic acid sequence of Tables I to X. (c) an isolated
gene sequence having at least 80%
sequence identity with a
nucleic acid sequence of Tables I to X; (d) an isolated
nucleic acid sequence that is hybridizable to any of the gene sequences according to (a), (b) or (c) under stringent hybridisation conditions; (e) a recombinant vector comprising a
gene sequence or
nucleic acid sequence according to any one of (a) to (d); (f) a host
cell containing the vector according to (e); (g) a non-
human animal having in its
genome an introduced
gene sequence or
nucleic acid sequence or a removed or down-regulated
gene sequence or
nucleic acid sequence according to any one of (a) to (d); (h) an isolated polypeptide comprising an
amino acid sequence at least 90% identical to an
amino acid sequence encoded by a
nucleotide sequence according to any one of (a) to (d), or a polypeptide variant thereof with sequential
amino acid deletions from the
C terminus and / or the N-terminus; or (i) an isolated polypeptide encoded by a
nucleotide sequence according to any one of (a) to (d); or (k) an isolated
antibody that binds specifically to a polypeptide according to (h) or (i); in the screening of compounds for the treatment of pain, or for the diagnosis of pain. The invention also relates to the use of naturally occurring compounds such as
peptide ligands of the expression products of the above gene sequences and their associated
signal transduction pathways for use in the treatment of pain.