Are alpha 9 alpha 10 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors a pain target for alpha-conotoxins?

The synthetic alpha-conotoxin Vc1.1 is a small disulfide bonded peptide currently in development as a treatment for neuropathic pain. Unlike Vc1.1, the native post-translationally modified peptide vc1a does not act as an analgesic in vivo in rat models of neuropathic pain. It has recently been proposed that the primary target of Vc1.1 is the alpha 9 alpha 10 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR). We show that Vc1.1 and its post-translationally modified analogs vc1a, [P6O]Vc1.1, and [E14 gamma]Vc1.1 are equally potent at inhibiting ACh-evoked currents mediated by alpha 9 alpha 10 nAChRs. This suggests that alpha 9 alpha 10 nAChRs are unlikely to be the molecular mechanism or therapeutic target of Vc1.1 for the treatment of neuropathic pain

Are α9α10 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors a pain target for α-conotoxins?

The synthetic α-conotoxin Vc1.1 is a small disulfide bonded peptide currently in development as a treatment for neuropathic pain. Unlike Vc1.1, the native post-translationally modified peptide vc1a does not act as an analgesic in vivo in rat models of neuropathic pain. It has recently been proposed that the primary target of Vc1.1 is the α9α10 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR). We show that Vc1.1 and its post-translationally modified analogs vc1a, [P6O]Vc1.1, and [E14γ]Vc1.1 are equally potent at inhibiting ACh-evoked currents mediated by α9α10 nAChRs. This suggests that α9α10 nAChRs are unlikely to be the molecular mechanism or therapeutic target of Vc1.1 for the treatment of neuropathic pain

Spatiotemporal authentication system architecture for smart campus safety

Abstract A Smart Campus is a protected area within Smart Cities (Cities 2.0) where physical security of assets is vital for the continuous operation of the university. Concretely, there are specific mission-critical areas on the campus, which should be protected from unauthorized and malicious individuals. This paper describes a sustainable Smart Campus system architecture based on individuals’ spatiotemporal authentication fingerprint, generated by fusing data from mobile GPS devices and CCTV cameras infrastructure to detect malicious user behavior. The system incorporates unobtrusive monitoring to collect data from such individuals. While the system monitors for unauthorized access to restricted locations within the campus area, data are analyzed by an intrusion detection algorithm that sets off alarms and prompts physical evacuation. The efficiency of the proposed system is evaluated by gauging the prediction accuracy of alarms triggered and response time to the actual incidents on the campus. Results are promising for the adoption of the proposed system architecture by universities in Cities 2.0