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This study investigated quantifiable measures of cutaneous innervation and algesic keratinocyte biomarkers to determine correlations with clinical measures of patient pain perception, with the intent to better discriminate between diabetic patients with painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (PDPN) compared to patients with low-pain diabetic peripheral neuropathy (lpDPN) or healthy control subjects. A secondary objective was to determine if topical treatment with a 5% lidocaine patch resulted in correlative changes among the quantifiable biomarkers and clinical measures of pain perception, indicative of potential PDPN pain relief. This open-label proof-of-principle clinical research study consisted of a pre-treatment skin biopsy, a 4-week topical 5% lidocaine patch treatment regimen for all patients and controls, and a post-treatment skin biopsy. Clinical measures of pain and functional interference were used to monitor patient symptoms and response for correlation with quantitative skin biopsy biomarkers of innervation (PGP9.5 and CGRP), and epidermal keratinocyte biomarkers (Nav1.6, Nav1.7, CGRP). Importantly, comparable significant losses of epidermal neural innervation (intraepidermal nerve fibers; IENF) and dermal innervation were observed among PDPN and lpDPN patients compared with control subjects, indicating that innervation loss alone may not be the driver of pain in diabetic neuropathy. In pre-treatment biopsies, keratinocyte Nav1.6, Nav1.7, and CGRP immunolabeling were all significantly increased among PDPN patients compared with control subjects. Importantly, no keratinocyte biomarkers were significantly increased among the lpDPN group compared with control. In post-treatment biopsies, the keratinocyte Nav1.6, Nav1.7, and CGRP immunolabeling intensities were no longer different between control, lpDPN, or PDPN cohorts, indicating that lidocaine treatment modified the PDPN-related keratinocyte increases. Analysis of the PDPN responder population demonstrated that increased pretreatment keratinocyte biomarker immunolabeling for Nav1.6, Nav1.7, and CGRP correlated with positive outcomes to topical lidocaine treatment. Epidermal keratinocytes modulate the signaling of IENF, and several analgesic and algesic signaling systems have been identified. These results further implicate epidermal signaling mechanisms as modulators of neuropathic pain conditions, highlight a novel potential mode of action for topical treatments, and demonstrate the utility of comprehensive skin biopsy evaluation to identify novel biomarkers in clinical pain studies.

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