TRPV1 and TRPM8 are sensory nerve ion channels activated by heating and cooling, respectively. A variety of physical and chemical stimuli activate these receptors in a synergistic manner but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Both channels are voltage sensitive, and temperature and ligands modulate this voltage dependence. Thus, a voltage-sensing mechanism has become an attractive model to explain the generalized gating of these and other thermo-sensitive TRP channels. We show here using whole-cell and single channel measurements that voltage produces only a partial activation of TRPV1 and TRPM8. At room temperature (20-25• C) membrane depolarization evokes responses that saturate at ∼50-60% of the maximum open probability. Furthermore, high concentrations of capsaicin (10 μM), resiniferatoxin (5 μM) and menthol (6 mM) reveal voltage-independent gating. Similarly, other modes of TRPV1 regulation including heat, protein kinase C-dependent phosphorylation, and protons enhance both the efficacy and sensitivity of voltage activation. In contrast, the TRPV1 antagonist capsazepine produces the opposite effects. These data can be explained by an allosteric model in which voltage, temperature, agonists and inverse agonists are independently coupled, either positively or negatively, to channel gating. Thus, voltage acts separately but in concert with other stimuli to regulate channel activation, and, therefore, a voltage-sensitive mechanism is unlikely to represent a final, gating mechanism for these channels.

General anesthetics (GAs) have transformed surgery through their actions to depress the central nervous system and blunt the perception of surgical insults. Counterintuitively, many of these agents activate peripheral nociceptive neurons. However, the underlying mechanisms and significance of these effects have not been explored. Here, we show that clinical concentrations of noxious i.v. and inhalation GAs excite sensory neurons by selectively activating TRPA1, a key ion channel in the pain pathway. Further, these GAs induce pain-related responses in mice that are abolished in TRPA1-null animals. Significantly, TRPA1-dependent neurogenic inflammation is greater in mice anesthetized with pungent compared with nonpungent anesthetics. Thus, our results show that TRPA1 is essential for sensing noxious GAs. The pronociceptive effects of GAs combined with surgical tissue damage could lead to a paradoxical increase in postoperative pain and inflammation.

SUMMARY NMDA receptors (NMDARs) play a central role in development, synaptic plasticity and neurological disease. NMDAR subunit composition defines their biophysical properties and downstream signaling. Casein kinase 2 (CK2) phosphorylates the NR2B subunit within its PDZ-binding domain; however, the consequences for NMDAR localization and function are unclear. Here we show that CK2 phosphorylation of NR2B regulates synaptic NR2B and NR2A in response to activity. We find that CK2 phosphorylates NR2B, but not NR2A, to drive NR2B-endocytosis and remove NR2B from synapses resulting in an increase in synaptic NR2A expression. During development there is an activity-dependent switch from NR2B to NR2A at cortical synapses. We observe an increase in CK2 expression and NR2B phosphorylation over this same critical period, and show that the acute activity-dependent switch in NR2 subunit composition at developing hippocampal synapses requires CK2 activity. Thus CK2 plays a central role in determining the NR2 subunit content of synaptic NMDARs.

Nicotine exerts its behavioral and additive actions through a family of brain nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). Enhancing α7-type nAChR signaling improves symptoms in Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia. The pharmaceutical study of α7 receptors is hampered because these receptors do not form their functional pentameric structure in cell lines, and mechanisms that underlie α7 receptor assembly in neurons are not understood. Here, a genomic screening strategy solves this long-standing puzzle and identifies NACHO, a transmembrane protein of neuronal endoplasmic reticulum that mediates assembly of α7 receptors. NACHO promotes α7 protein folding, maturation through the Golgi complex, and expression at the cell surface. Knockdown of NACHO in cultured hippocampal neurons or knockout of NACHO in mice selectively and completely disrupts α7 receptor assembly and abolishes α7 channel function. This work identifies NACHO as an essential, client-specific chaperone for nAChRs and has implications for physiology and disease associated with these widely distributed neurotransmitter receptors.

Members of the a-amino-3-hydroxyl-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) subtype of ionotropic glutamate receptors mediate the majority of fast synaptic transmission within the mammalian brain and spinal cord, representing attractive targets for therapeutic intervention. Here, we describe novel AMPA receptor modulators that require the presence of the accessory protein CACNG8, also known as transmembrane AMPA receptor regulatory protein g8 (TARP-g8). Using calcium flux, radioligand binding, and electrophysiological assays of wild-type and mutant forms of TARP-g8, we demonstrate that these compounds possess a novel mechanism of action consistent with a partial disruption of the interaction between the TARP and the pore-forming subunit of the channel. One of the molecules, 5-[2-chloro-6-(trifluoromethoxy)phenyl]-1,3-dihydrobenzimidazol-2-one (JNJ-55511118), had excellent pharmacokinetic properties and achieved high receptor occupancy following oral administration. This molecule showed strong, dose-dependent inhibition of neurotransmission within the hippocampus, and a strong anticonvulsant effect. At high levels of receptor occupancy in rodent in vivo models, JNJ-55511118 showed a strong reduction in certain bands on electroencephalogram, transient hyperlocomotion, no motor impairment on rotarod, and a mild impairment in learning and memory. JNJ-55511118 is a novel tool for reversible AMPA receptor inhibition, particularly within the hippocampus, with potential therapeutic utility as an anticonvulsant or neuroprotectant. The existence of a molecule with this mechanism of action demonstrates the possibility of pharmacological targeting of accessory proteins, increasing the potential number of druggable targets.

TRPV1, the archetypal member of the vanilloid TRP family, was initially identified as the receptor for capsaicin, the pungent ingredient in hot chili peppers. The receptor has a diverse tissue distribution, with high expression in sensory neurons. TRPV1 is a nonselective cation channel with significant permeability to calcium, protons, and large polyvalent cations. It is the most polymodal TRP channel, being activated by numerous stimuli, including heat, voltage, vanilloids, lipids, and protons/cations. TRPV1 acts as a molecular integrator of physical and chemical stimuli in peripheral nociceptor terminals and plays a critical role in thermal inflammatory hyperalgesia. In addition, TRPV1 may regulate a variety of physiological functions in different organ systems. Various second messenger systems regulate TRPV1 activity, predominantly by serine-threonine phosphorylation. In this review, we provide a concise summary of the information currently available about this channel.

Disrupted excitatory synapse maturation in GABAergic interneurons may promote neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. However, establishing developmental programs for nascent synapses in GABAergic cells is confounded by their sparsity, heterogeneity and late acquisition of subtype-defining characteristics. We investigated synaptic development in mouse interneurons targeting cells by lineage from medial ganglionic eminence (MGE) or caudal ganglionic eminence (CGE) progenitors. MGE-derived interneuron synapses were dominated by GluA2-lacking AMPA-type glutamate receptors (AMPARs), with little contribution from NMDA-type receptors (NMDARs) throughout development. In contrast, CGE-derived cell synapses had large NMDAR components and used GluA2-containing AMPARs. In neonates, both MGE- and CGE-derived interneurons expressed primarily GluN2B subunit–containing NMDARs, which most CGE-derived interneurons retained into adulthood. However, MGE-derived interneuron NMDARs underwent a GluN2B-to-GluN2A switch that could be triggered acutely with repetitive synaptic activity. Our findings establish ganglionic eminence–dependent rules for early synaptic integration programs of distinct interneuron cohorts, including parvalbumin- and cholecystokinin-expressing basket cells.

Summary In cerebral cortex there is a developmental switch from NR2B- to NR2A-containing NMDA receptors (NMDARs) driven by activity and sensory experience. This subunit switch alters NMDAR function, influences synaptic plasticity, and its dysregulation is associated with neurological disorders. However, the mechanisms driving the subunit switch are not known. Here we show in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons that the NR2B- to NR2A switch driven acutely by activity requires activation of NMDARs and mGluR5, involves PLC, Ca2+ release from IP3R-dependent stores and PKC activity. In mGluR5 knock-out mice the developmental NR2B-NR2A switch in CA1 is deficient. Moreover, in visual cortex of mGluR5 knock-out mice the NR2B-NR2A switch evoked in vivo by visual experience is absent. Thus we establish that mGluR5 and NMDARs are required for the activity-dependent NR2B-NR2A switch and play a critical role in experience-dependent regulation of NMDAR subunit composition in vivo.