16/02/2026 - Julien NOVARINO : Cancer pain is controlled by enkephalins produced by regulatory T cells

LES LUNDIS DE SAINT-ANTOINE

Bâtiment Kourilsky - 11h–12h

Salle des Conférences (Rez de Chaussée),

184 rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, Paris

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LUNDI 16 FEVRIER 2026

Cancer pain is controlled by enkephalins produced by regulatory T cells

Julien NOVARINO

Post-Doc / CIMI (Centre d’Immunologie et Maladies Infectieuses) / INSERM

Invited by Bertrand BELLIER team Guillaume DOROTHEE (guillaume.dorothee@inserm.fr)

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Regulatory T cells (Treg) are essential for maintaining homeostasis and reducing inflammation, but they also perform non-immune functions, such as regulating pain. The mechanisms involved are poorly understood. We recently described that Treg express the proenkephalin (Penk) gene at high levels, this gene coding for the precursor of enkephalins opioid peptides with analgesic functions. Conditional deletion of Penk in Treg, using a Foxp3CRE-ERT2-Penkflox mouse model causes thermal hypersensitivity in mice without affecting Treg’s immunosuppressive functions (Aubert et al).
Cancer-related pain is a major issue for cancer patients, whether directly due to tumor growth itself or indirectly due to chemotherapies. Interestingly, the initial stages of cancer are rarely painful, which can delay diagnosis. We demonstrated that tumor-infiltrating Treg express Penk at higher levels than those in other sites. Using the same model of conditional deletion of Penk in Treg, we obtained results that strongly suggest tumor-recruited Treg mask tumor growth-related and chemotherapy-induced pain by producing enkephalins.