Ion channels are pore-forming membrane proteins that allow ions to pass through the channel pore. Their functions include establishing a resting membrane potential, shaping action potentials and other electrical signals by gating the flow of ions across the cell membrane, controlling the flow of ions across secretory and epithelial cells, and regulating cell volume. Ion channels are present in the membranes of all cells. Ion channels are one of the two classes of ionophoric proteins, the other being ion transporters.
In physiology, nociception, also nocioception; from Latin nocere 'to harm/hurt') is the sensory nervous system's process of encoding noxious stimuli. It deals with a series of events and processes required for an organism to receive a painful stimulus, convert it to a molecular signal, and recognize and characterize the signal to trigger an appropriate defensive response.
A nociceptor is a sensory neuron that responds to damaging or potentially damaging stimuli by sending "possible threat" signals to the spinal cord and the brain. The brain creates the sensation of pain to direct attention to the body part, so the threat can be mitigated; this process is called nociception.
Transient receptor potential channels are a group of ion channels located mostly on the plasma membrane of numerous animal cell types. Most of these are grouped into two broad groups: Group 1 includes TRPC, TRPV, TRPVL, TRPM, TRPS, TRPN, and TRPA. Group 2 consists of TRPP and TRPML. Other less-well categorized TRP channels exist, including yeast channels and a number of Group 1 and Group 2 channels present in non-animals. Many of these channels mediate a variety of sensations such as pain, temperature, different kinds of taste, pressure, and vision. In the body, some TRP channels are thought to behave like microscopic thermometers and used in animals to sense hot or cold. Some TRP channels are activated by molecules found in spices like garlic (allicin), chili pepper (capsaicin), wasabi ; others are activated by menthol, camphor, peppermint, and cooling agents; yet others are activated by molecules found in cannabis or stevia. Some act as sensors of osmotic pressure, volume, stretch, and vibration. Most of the channels are activated or inhibited by signaling lipids and contribute to a family of lipid-gated ion channels.
The transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V member 1 (TRPV1), also known as the capsaicin receptor and the vanilloid receptor 1, is a protein that, in humans, is encoded by the TRPV1 gene. It was the first isolated member of the transient receptor potential vanilloid receptor proteins that in turn are a sub-family of the transient receptor potential protein group. This protein is a member of the TRPV group of transient receptor potential family of ion channels. Fatty acid metabolites with affinity for this receptor are produced by cyanobacteria, which diverged from eukaryotes at least 2000 million years ago (MYA). The function of TRPV1 is detection and regulation of body temperature. In addition, TRPV1 provides a sensation of scalding heat and pain (nociception). In primary afferent sensory neurons, it cooperates with TRPA1 to mediate the detection of noxious environmental stimuli.
TRPC is a family of transient receptor potential cation channels in animals.
TRPV is a family of transient receptor potential cation channels in animals. All TRPVs are highly calcium selective.
Transient receptor potential canonical 1 (TRPC1) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the TRPC1 gene.
Transient receptor potential cation channel, subfamily M, member 2, also known as TRPM2, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the TRPM2 gene.
Transient receptor potential cation channel, subfamily A, member 1, also known as transient receptor potential ankyrin 1, TRPA1, or The Wasabi Receptor, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the TRPA1 gene.
Transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily M member 5 (TRPM5), also known as long transient receptor potential channel 5 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the TRPM5 gene.
Transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V member 4 is an ion channel protein that in humans is encoded by the TRPV4 gene.
Transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily M member 3 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the TRPM3 gene.
Mechanosensation is the transduction of mechanical stimuli into neural signals. Mechanosensation provides the basis for the senses of light touch, hearing, proprioception, and pain. Mechanoreceptors found in the skin, called cutaneous mechanoreceptors, are responsible for the sense of touch. Tiny cells in the inner ear, called hair cells, are responsible for hearing and balance. States of neuropathic pain, such as hyperalgesia and allodynia, are also directly related to mechanosensation. A wide array of elements are involved in the process of mechanosensation, many of which are still not fully understood.
David Jay Julius is an American physiologist and Nobel Prize laureate known for his work on molecular mechanisms of pain sensation and heat, including the characterization of the TRPV1 and TRPM8 receptors that detect capsaicin, menthol, and temperature. He is a professor at the University of California, San Francisco.
PF-4840154 is a pyrimidine derivative discovered by Pfizer at its Sandwich, Kent research center. The compound is a potent, selective activator of both the human (EC50 = 23 nM) and rat (EC50 = 97 nM) TRPA1 channels. This compound elicits nociception in a mouse model through TRPA1 activation. PF-4840154 is used as a reference agonist of the TRPA1 channel for in-vitro high-throughput screening purposes, and is superior to allyl isothiocyanate for this use. The TRPA1 channel is considered an attractive pain target based on the fact that TRPA1 knockout mice showed near complete attenuation of pain behaviors in some pre-clinical development models.
The transient receptor potential Ca2+ channel (TRP-CC) family (TC# 1.A.4) is a member of the voltage-gated ion channel (VIC) superfamily and consists of cation channels conserved from worms to humans. The TRP-CC family also consists of seven subfamilies (TRPC, TRPV, TRPM, TRPN, TRPA, TRPP, and TRPML) based on their amino acid sequence homology:
- the canonical or classic TRPs,
- the vanilloid receptor TRPs,
- the melastatin or long TRPs,
- ankyrin (whose only member is the transmembrane protein 1 [TRPA1])
- TRPN after the nonmechanoreceptor potential C (nonpC), and the more distant cousins,
- the polycystins
- and mucolipins.
Wasabi receptor toxin (WaTx) is the active component of the venom of the Australian black rock scorpion Urodacus manicatus. WaTx targets TRPA1, also known as the wasabi receptor or irritant receptor. WaTx is a cell-penetrating toxin that stabilizes the TRPA1 channel open state while reducing its Ca2+-permeability, thereby eliciting pain and pain hypersensitivity without the neurogenic inflammation that typically occurs in other animal toxins.
ASP-7663 is a chemical compound which acts as a potent, selective activator of the TRPA1 channel. It has protective effects on cardiac tissue, and is used for research into the function of the TRPA1 receptor.
JT-010 is a chemical compound which acts as a potent, selective activator of the TRPA1 channel, and has been used to study the role of this receptor in the perception of pain, as well as other actions such as promoting repair of dental tissue after damage.
