Sensory nerve fibres can detect changes in temperature over a remarkably wide range, a process that has been proposed to involve direct activation of thermosensitive excitatory transient receptor potential (TRP) ion channels. One such channel--TRP melastatin 8 (TRPM8) or cold and menthol receptor 1 (CMR1)--is activated by chemical cooling agents (such as menthol) or when ambient temperatures drop below approximately 26 degrees C, suggesting that it mediates the detection of cold thermal stimuli by primary afferent sensory neurons. However, some studies have questioned the contribution of TRPM8 to cold detection or proposed that other excitatory or inhibitory channels are more critical to this sensory modality in vivo. Here we show that cultured sensory neurons and intact sensory nerve fibres from TRPM8-deficient mice exhibit profoundly diminished responses to cold. These animals also show clear behavioural deficits in their ability to discriminate between cold and warm surfaces, or to respond to evaporative cooling. At the same time, TRPM8 mutant mice are not completely insensitive to cold as they avoid contact with surfaces below 10 degrees C, albeit with reduced efficiency. Thus, our findings demonstrate an essential and predominant role for TRPM8 in thermosensation over a wide range of cold temperatures, validating the hypothesis that TRP channels are the principal sensors of thermal stimuli in the peripheral nervous system.

The formalin model is widely used for evaluating the effects of analgesic compounds in laboratory animals. Injection of formalin into the hind paw induces a biphasic pain response; the first phase is thought to result from direct activation of primary afferent sensory neurons, whereas the second phase has been proposed to reflect the combined effects of afferent input and central sensitization in the dorsal horn. Here we show that formalin excites sensory neurons by directly activating TRPA1, a cation channel that plays an important role in inflammatory pain. Formalin induced robust calcium influx in cells expressing cloned or native TRPA1 channels, and these responses were attenuated by a previously undescribed TRPA1-selective antagonist. Moreover, sensory neurons from TRPA1-deficient mice lacked formalin sensitivity. At the behavioral level, pharmacologic blockade or genetic ablation of TRPA1 produced marked attenuation of the characteristic flinching, licking, and lifting responses resulting from intraplantar injection of formalin. Our results show that TRPA1 is the principal site of formalin's pain-producing action in vivo, and that activation of this excitatory channel underlies the physiological and behavioral responses associated with this model of pain hypersensitivity.analgesia ͉ inflammation ͉ trp channel ͉ formaldehyde T he formalin model was developed Ͼ30 years ago to assess pain and evaluate analgesic drugs in laboratory animals (1). In this test, a dilute (0.5-5%) formalin solution (in which formaldehyde is the active ingredient) is injected into the paw of a rodent, and pain-related behaviors are assessed over two temporally distinct phases, including an initial robust phase in which paw lifting, licking, and f linching are scored during the first 10 min, followed by a transient decline in these behaviors and a subsequent second phase of behavior lasting 30 -60 min (2, 3).Compounds that typically affect the first phase (Phase I) include local anesthetics, such as lidocaine (4). The second phase (Phase II) is proposed to result from activity-dependent sensitization of CNS neurons within the dorsal horn (3, 5, 6). Many analgesics, including intrathecal nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (7), NMDA antagonists (8, 9), morphine (1, 10), and gabapentin (11, 12), inhibit only Phase II responses, but not Phase I.The formalin test has several advantages over other models, in that spontaneous pain-related responses can be observed in a freely moving unrestrained animal. Once injected, no additional stimulus is required to evoke nocifensive behaviors, and behaviors can be scored over a prolonged period such that the precise onset and duration of analgesics can be assessed (1). However, despite the utility and widespread use of the formalin model in pain research, the mechanism by which formalin triggers C-fiber activation remains unknown (13) and is often attributed to tissue injury (1,3,9).In this study, we show that formalin activates primary afferent sensory neurons through a specific and direct action o...

TRPA1 is an excitatory ion channel expressed by a subpopulation of primary afferent somatosensory neurons that contain substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide. Environmental irritants such as mustard oil, allicin, and acrolein activate TRPA1, causing acute pain, neuropeptide release, and neurogenic inflammation. Genetic studies indicate that TRPA1 is also activated downstream of one or more proalgesic agents that stimulate phospholipase C signaling pathways, thereby implicating this channel in peripheral mechanisms controlling pain hypersensitivity. However, it is not known whether tissue injury also produces endogenous proalgesic factors that activate TRPA1 directly to augment inflammatory pain. Here, we report that recombinant or native TRPA1 channels are activated by 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE), an endogenous ␣,␤-unsaturated aldehyde that is produced when reactive oxygen species peroxidate membrane phospholipids in response to tissue injury, inflammation, and oxidative stress. HNE provokes release of substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide from central (spinal cord) and peripheral (esophagus) nerve endings, resulting in neurogenic plasma protein extravasation in peripheral tissues. Moreover, injection of HNE into the rodent hind paw elicits pain-related behaviors that are inhibited by TRPA1 antagonists and absent in animals lacking functional TRPA1 channels. These findings demonstrate that HNE activates TRPA1 on nociceptive neurons to promote acute pain, neuropeptide release, and neurogenic inflammation. Our results also provide a mechanism-based rationale for developing novel analgesic or anti-inflammatory agents that target HNE production or TRPA1 activation.oxidative stress ͉ sensory signaling ͉ TRP channel ͉ nociception

SUMMARY Toxins have evolved to target regions of membrane ion channels that underlie ligand binding, gating, or ion permeation, and have thus served as invaluable tools for probing channel structure and function. Here we describe a peptide toxin from the Earth Tiger tarantula that selectively and irreversibly activates the capsaicin- and heat-sensitive channel, TRPV1. This high avidity interaction derives from a unique tandem repeat structure of the toxin that endows it with an antibody-like bivalency, illustrating a new paradigm in toxin structure and evolution. The ‘double-knot’ toxin traps TRPV1 in the open state by interacting with residues in the presumptive pore-forming region of the channel, highlighting the importance of conformational changes in the outer pore region of TRP channels during activation.