SENSORY NERVE FIBERS,NOCICEPTORS

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Roles of transient receptor potential channels in pain

A theme that emerges from this review is that TRPV1, TRPM8 and TRPA1 are not

simple channel mediators of heat, cold and pungency, respectively, but instead

serve multidimensional roles in signaling multimodal sensory stimuli. TRPM8 is

required for cold detection, and contributes to cold pain, cold hypersensitivity

after injury, and cooling analgesia. TRPV1 is a molecular fulcrum for activation

and sensitization of primary afferent neurons to heat, acid, and numerous

endogenous inflammatory mediators and is a plays an essential role in the

peripheral hyperalgesia that accompanies tissue injury. Growing evidence

indicates that TRPA1 acts as a similar molecular integrator, via its activation,

sensitization and facilitation of multiple signaling pathways, including sensory

transduction, nociception, inflammation and oxidative stress.Whereas significant

strides for roles of these channels are being made at the cellular level in

nociceptors, other levels of the nervous system that need to be charted include

their roles in synaptic plasticity in the spinal cord, brainstem and descending

systems.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2683630/?tool=pubmed

http://www.genecards.org/cgi-bin/carddisp.pl?gene=TRPA1