Disrupting Sensitization of Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid Subtype 1 Inhibits Inflammatory Hyperalgesia

Transient receptor potential vanilloid subtype 1 (TRPV1) is a heat-sensitive ion channel that plays a key role in enhanced pain sensation after inflammation, but directly blocking TRPV1 causes hyperthermia and decreased sensitivity to painful levels of heat in animals and humans. Here we explore an alternative analgesic strategy in which the modulation of TRPV1 is inhibited by antagonizing the interaction between TRPV1 and A kinase anchoring protein 79 (AKAP79), a scaffolding protein essential for positioning serine–threonine kinases adjacent to target phosphorylation sites. We first defined key residues in the domain in TRPV1 that interacts with AKAP79, and we then used this information to construct short peptides capable of preventing TRPV1–AKAP79 interaction. An effective peptide, when coupled to a TAT sequence conferring cell permeability, was found to be analgesic in three mouse models of inflammatory hyperalgesia. These results demonstrate the potential value of interfering with the interaction between TRPV1 and AKAP79 as a novel analgesic strategy.</jats:p

Mapping the Binding Site of TRPV1 on AKAP79: Implications for Inflammatory Hyperalgesia

Inflammation causes hyperalgesia, an enhanced sensitivity to noxious stimuli. Transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1), a thermo-TRP ion channel activated by painful levels of heat, is an important contributor because hyperalgesia is reduced when TRPV1 is either genetically deleted or pharmacologically blocked. Inflammatory mediators such as prostaglandin-E2 or bradykinin cause hyperalgesia by activating cellular kinases that phosphorylate TRPV1, a process that has recently been shown to rely on a scaffolding protein, AKAP79, to target the kinases to TRPV1. Here we use Förster resonance energy transfer, immunoprecipitation, and TRPV1 membrane trafficking experiments to identify a key region on AKAP79, between amino acids 326–336, which is responsible for its interaction with TRPV1. A peptide identical to this domain inhibited sensitization of TRPV1 in vitro, and when covalently linked to a TAT peptide to promote uptake across the cell membrane the peptide inhibited in vivo inflammatory hyperalgesia in mice. Critically, it did so without affecting pain thresholds in the absence of inflammation. These results suggest that antagonizing the TRPV1–AKAP79 interaction will be a useful strategy for inhibiting inflammatory hyperalgesia

Mapping the Binding Site of TRPV1 on AKAP79:Implications for Inflammatory Hyperalgesia

Inflammation causes hyperalgesia, an enhanced sensitivity to noxious stimuli. Transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1), a thermo-TRP ion channel activated by painful levels of heat, is an important contributor because hyperalgesia is reduced when TRPV1 is either genetically deleted or pharmacologically blocked. Inflammatory mediators such as prostaglandin-E2 or bradykinin cause hyperalgesia by activating cellular kinases that phosphorylate TRPV1, a process that has recently been shown to rely on a scaffolding protein, AKAP79, to target the kinases to TRPV1. Here we use Förster resonance energy transfer, immunoprecipitation, and TRPV1 membrane trafficking experiments to identify a key region on AKAP79, between amino acids 326–336, which is responsible for its interaction with TRPV1. A peptide identical to this domain inhibited sensitization of TRPV1 in vitro, and when covalently linked to a TAT peptide to promote uptake across the cell membrane the peptide inhibited in vivo inflammatory hyperalgesia in mice. Critically, it did so without affecting pain thresholds in the absence of inflammation. These results suggest that antagonizing the TRPV1–AKAP79 interaction will be a useful strategy for inhibiting inflammatory hyperalgesia

Hidden Multivalency in Phosphatase Recruitment by a Disordered AKAP Scaffold.

Disordered scaffold proteins provide multivalent landing pads that, via a series of embedded Short Linear Motifs (SLiMs), bring together the components of a complex to orchestrate precise spatial and temporal regulation of cellular processes. One such protein is AKAP5 (previously AKAP79), which contains SLiMs that anchor PKA and Calcineurin, and recruit substrate (the TRPV1 receptor). Calcineurin is anchored to AKAP5 by a well-characterised PxIxIT SLiM. Here we show, using a combination of biochemical and biophysical approaches, that the Calcineurin PxIxIT-binding groove also recognises several hitherto unknown lower-affinity SLiMs in addition to the PxIxIT motif. We demonstrate that the assembly is in reality a complex system with conserved SLiMs spanning a wide affinity range. The capture is analogous to that seen for many DNA-binding proteins that have a weak non-specific affinity for DNA outside the canonical binding site, but different in that it involves (i) two proteins, and (ii) hydrophobic rather than electrostatic interactions. It is also compatible with the requirement for both stable anchoring of the enzyme and responsive downstream signalling. We conclude that the AKAP5 C-terminus is enriched in lower-affinity/mini-SLiMs that, together with the canonical SLiM, maintain a structurally disordered but tightly regulated signalosome