TRPA1 channels mediate acute neurogenic inflammation and pain produced by bacterial endotoxins

The capsaicin (vanilloid) receptor VR1 is a cation channel expressed by primary sensory neurons of the "pain" pathway. Heterologously expressed VR1 can be activated by vanilloid compounds, protons, or heat (>43 degrees C), but whether this channel contributes to chemical or thermal sensitivity in vivo is not known. Here, we demonstrate that sensory neurons from mice lacking VR1 are severely deficient in their responses to each of these noxious stimuli. VR1-/- mice showed normal responses to noxious mechanical stimuli but exhibited no vanilloid-evoked pain behavior, were impaired in the detection of painful heat, and showed little thermal hypersensitivity in the setting of inflammation. Thus, VR1 is essential for selective modalities of pain sensation and for tissue injury-induced thermal hyperalgesia.

TRPA1 is an excitatory ion channel targeted by pungent irritants from mustard and garlic. TRPA1 has been proposed to function in diverse sensory processes, including thermal (cold) nociception, hearing, and inflammatory pain. Using TRPA1-deficient mice, we now show that this channel is the sole target through which mustard oil and garlic activate primary afferent nociceptors to produce inflammatory pain. TRPA1 is also targeted by environmental irritants, such as acrolein, that account for toxic and inflammatory actions of tear gas, vehicle exhaust, and metabolic byproducts of chemotherapeutic agents. TRPA1-deficient mice display normal cold sensitivity and unimpaired auditory function, suggesting that this channel is not required for the initial detection of noxious cold or sound. However, TRPA1-deficient mice exhibit pronounced deficits in bradykinin-evoked nociceptor excitation and pain hypersensitivity. Thus, TRPA1 is an important component of the transduction machinery through which environmental irritants and endogenous proalgesic agents depolarize nociceptors to elicit inflammatory pain.

Mammals detect temperature with specialized neurons in the peripheral nervous system. Four TRPV-class channels have been implicated in sensing heat, and one TRPM-class channel in sensing cold. The combined range of temperatures that activate these channels covers a majority of the relevant physiological spectrum sensed by most mammals, with a significant gap in the noxious cold range. Here, we describe the characterization of ANKTM1, a cold-activated channel with a lower activation temperature compared to the cold and menthol receptor, TRPM8. ANKTM1 is a distant family member of TRP channels with very little amino acid similarity to TRPM8. It is found in a subset of nociceptive sensory neurons where it is coexpressed with TRPV1/VR1 (the capsaicin/heat receptor) but not TRPM8. Consistent with the expression of ANKTM1, we identify noxious cold-sensitive sensory neurons that also respond to capsaicin but not to menthol.