Thermo-TRP Channels in Pain Sensation: An Overview | Chapter 03 | Modern Advances in Pharmaceutical Research Vol. 3
The perception of temperature is a
major component of sensory experience of animal and human organisms. A
sensitive response of the nervous system to changes in temperature is of
predominant importance for homeo-therms to maintain a stable body temperature.
Recent investigations in central and peripheral thermosensitivity have
emphasized the importance of temperature-activated transient receptor potential
(TRP) cation channels and they are being ardently pursued as targets for
analgesic drug discovery. They are the largest group of sensory detectors
expressed in nerve terminals and pain receptors activated by temperature and
provide information about thermal changes in the environment. These temperature
sensitive or thermo-TRP channels (TRPA1, TRPM8, TRPV1, TRPV2, TRPV3 and TRPV4)
have been characterized to date that exhibit sensitivity to increases or
decreases in temperature as well as to chemical substances that elicit similar
hot or cold sensations. The thermal thresholds of many thermo-TRP channels are
known to be modulated by extracellular mediators, released by tissue damage or
inflammation. Antagonists or blockers of these channels are likely as promising
targets for new analgesic drugs at the periphery and central levels and thus,
controlling the modulation of thermo-TRP channels by inflammatory mediators and
ligands may be a useful alternative strategy in developing novel analgesics.
Author(s) Details
Merab G. Tsagareli
Laboratory of Pain and
Analgesia, Beritashvili Center for Experimental Biomedicine, Tbilisi 0160,
Georgia.
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