24 research outputs found
Identifying the ion channels responsible for signaling gastro-intestinal based pain
We are normally unaware of the complex signalling events which continuously occur within our internal organs. Most of us only become cognisant when sensations of hunger, fullness, urgency or gas arise. However, for patients with organic and functional bowel disorders pain is an unpleasant and often debilitating reminder. Furthermore, chronic pain still represents a large unmet need for clinical treatment. Consequently, chronic pain has a considerable economic impact on health care systems and the afflicted individuals. In order to address this need we must understand how symptoms are generated within the gut, the molecular pathways responsible for generating these signals and how this process changes in disease states.Stuart M. Brierley, Patrick A. Hughes, Andrea M. Harrington, Grigori Y. Rychkov and L. Ashley Blacksha
Dopamine type 2 receptor expression and function in rodent sensory neurons projecting to the airways
Recommended from our members
Mechanisms of protease-activated receptor 2-evoked hyperexcitability of nociceptive neurons innervating the mouse colon
Agonists of protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2) evoke hyperexcitability of dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons by unknown mechanisms. We examined the cellular mechanisms underlying PAR2-evoked hyperexcitability of mouse colonic DRG neurons to determine their potential role in pain syndromes such as visceral hyperalgesia. Colonic DRG neurons were identified by injecting Fast Blue and DiI retrograde tracers into the mouse colon. Using immunofluorescence, we found that DiI-labelled neurons contained PAR2 immunoreactivity, confirming the presence of receptors on colonic neurons. Whole-cell current-clamp recordings of acutely dissociated neurons demonstrated that PAR2 activation with a brief application (3 min) of PAR2 agonists, SLIGRL-NH2 and trypsin, evoked sustained depolarizations (up to 60 min) which were associated with increased input resistance and a marked reduction in rheobase (50% at 30 min). In voltage clamp, SLIGRL-NH2 markedly suppressed delayed rectifier IK currents (55% at 10 min), but had no effect on the transient IA current or TTX-resistant Na+ currents. In whole-cell current-clamp recordings, the sustained excitability evoked by PAR2 activation was blocked by the PKC inhibitor, calphostin, and the ERK1/2 inhibitor PD98059. Studies of ERK1/2 phosphorylation using confocal microscopy demonstrated that SLIGRL-NH2 increased levels of immunoreactive pERK1/2 in DRG neurons, particularly in proximity to the plasma membrane. Thus, activation of PAR2 receptors on colonic nociceptive neurons causes sustained hyperexcitability that is related, at least in part, to suppression of delayed rectifier IK currents. Both PKC and ERK1/2 mediate the PAR2-induced hyperexcitability. These studies describe a novel mechanism of sensitization of colonic nociceptive neurons that may be implicated in conditions of visceral hyperalgesia such as irritable bowel syndrome
Recommended from our members
Cigarette smoke–induced neurogenic inflammation is mediated by α,β-unsaturated aldehydes and the TRPA1 receptor in rodents
Cigarette smoke (CS) inhalation causes an early inflammatory response in rodent airways by stimulating capsaicin-sensitive sensory neurons that express transient receptor potential cation channel, subfamily V, member 1 (TRPV1) through an unknown mechanism that does not involve TRPV1. We hypothesized that 2 α,β-unsaturated aldehydes present in CS, crotonaldehyde and acrolein, induce neurogenic inflammation by stimulating TRPA1, an excitatory ion channel coexpressed with TRPV1 on capsaicin-sensitive nociceptors. We found that CS aqueous extract (CSE), crotonaldehyde, and acrolein mobilized Ca2+ in cultured guinea pig jugular ganglia neurons and promoted contraction of isolated guinea pig bronchi. These responses were abolished by a TRPA1-selective antagonist and by the aldehyde scavenger glutathione but not by the TRPV1 antagonist capsazepine or by ROS scavengers. Treatment with CSE or aldehydes increased Ca2+ influx in TRPA1-transfected cells, but not in control HEK293 cells, and promoted neuropeptide release from isolated guinea pig airway tissue. Furthermore, the effect of CSE and aldehydes on Ca2+ influx in dorsal root ganglion neurons was abolished in TRPA1-deficient mice. These data identify α,β-unsaturated aldehydes as the main causative agents in CS that via TRPA1 stimulation mediate airway neurogenic inflammation and suggest a role for TRPA1 in the pathogenesis of CS-induced diseases
Recommended from our members
Neurogenic responses mediated by vanilloid receptor-1 (TRPV1) are blocked by the high affinity antagonist, iodo-resiniferatoxin
1. Stimulation of the vanilloid receptor-1 (TRPV1) results in the activation of nociceptive and neurogenic inflammatory responses. Poor specificity and potency of TRPV1 antagonists has, however, limited the clarification of the physiological role of TRPV1. 2. Recently, iodo-resiniferatoxin (I-RTX) has been reported to bind as a high affinity antagonist at the native and heterologously expressed rat TRPV1. Here we have studied the ability of I-RTX to block a series of TRPV1 mediated nociceptive and neurogenic inflammatory responses in different species (including transfected human TRPV1). 3. We have demonstrated that I-RTX inhibited capsaicin-induced mobilization of intracellular Ca(2+) in rat trigeminal neurons (IC(50) 0.87 nM) and in HEK293 cells transfected with the human TRPV1 (IC(50) 0.071 nM). 4. Furthermore, I-RTX significantly inhibited both capsaicin-induced CGRP release from slices of rat dorsal spinal cord (IC(50) 0.27 nM) and contraction of isolated guinea-pig and rat urinary bladder (pK(B) of 10.68 and 9.63, respectively), whilst I-RTX failed to alter the response to high KCl or SP. 5. Finally, in vivo I-RTX significantly inhibited acetic acid-induced writhing in mice (ED(50) 0.42 μmol kg(−1)) and plasma extravasation in mouse urinary bladder (ED(50) 0.41 μmol kg(−1)). 6. In in vitro and in vivo TRPV1 activated responses I-RTX was ∼3 log units and ∼20 times more potent than capsazepine, respectively. This high affinity antagonist, I-RTX, may be an important tool for future studies in pain and neurogenic inflammatory models