scholarly journals Modulation of neuropathic-pain-related behaviour by the spinal endocannabinoid/endovanilloid system

2012 ◽  
Vol 367 (1607) ◽  
pp. 3286-3299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Starowicz ◽  
Barbara Przewlocka

Neuropathic pain refers to chronic pain that results from injury to the nervous system. The mechanisms involved in neuropathic pain are complex and involve both peripheral and central phenomena. Although numerous pharmacological agents are available for the treatment of neuropathic pain, definitive drug therapy has remained elusive. Recent drug discovery efforts have identified an original neurobiological approach to the pathophysiology of neuropathic pain. The development of innovative pharmacological strategies has led to the identification of new promising pharmacological targets, including glutamate antagonists, microglia inhibitors and, interestingly, endogenous ligands of cannabinoids and the transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1). Endocannabinoids (ECs), endovanilloids and the enzymes that regulate their metabolism represent promising pharmacological targets for the development of a successful pain treatment. This review is an update of the relationship between cannabinoid receptors (CB1) and TRPV1 channels and their possible implications for neuropathic pain. The data are focused on endogenous spinal mechanisms of pain control by anandamide, and the current and emerging pharmacotherapeutic approaches that benefit from the pharmacological modulation of spinal EC and/or endovanilloid systems under chronic pain conditions will be discussed.

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 1863
Author(s):  
Philippe A. Melas ◽  
Maria Scherma ◽  
Walter Fratta ◽  
Carlo Cifani ◽  
Paola Fadda

Cannabidiol (CBD) is the most abundant non-psychoactive component of cannabis; it displays a very low affinity for cannabinoid receptors, facilitates endocannabinoid signaling by inhibiting the hydrolysis of anandamide, and stimulates both transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 and 2 and serotonin type 1A receptors. Since CBD interacts with a wide variety of molecular targets in the brain, its therapeutic potential has been investigated in a number of neuropsychiatric diseases, including anxiety and mood disorders. Specifically, CBD has received growing attention due to its anxiolytic and antidepressant properties. As a consequence, and given its safety profile, CBD is considered a promising new agent in the treatment of anxiety and mood disorders. However, the exact molecular mechanism of action of CBD still remains unknown. In the present preclinical review, we provide a summary of animal-based studies that support the use of CBD as an anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like compound. Next, we describe neuropharmacological evidence that links the molecular pharmacology of CBD to its behavioral effects. Finally, by taking into consideration the effects of CBD on DNA methylation, histone modifications, and microRNAs, we elaborate on the putative role of epigenetic mechanisms in mediating CBD’s therapeutic outcomes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 3360
Author(s):  
Mee-Ra Rhyu ◽  
Yiseul Kim ◽  
Vijay Lyall

In addition to the sense of taste and olfaction, chemesthesis, the sensation of irritation, pungency, cooling, warmth, or burning elicited by spices and herbs, plays a central role in food consumption. Many plant-derived molecules demonstrate their chemesthetic properties via the opening of transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) and transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) channels. TRPA1 and TRPV1 are structurally related thermosensitive cation channels and are often co-expressed in sensory nerve endings. TRPA1 and TRPV1 can also indirectly influence some, but not all, primary taste qualities via the release of substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) from trigeminal neurons and their subsequent effects on CGRP receptor expressed in Type III taste receptor cells. Here, we will review the effect of some chemesthetic agonists of TRPA1 and TRPV1 and their influence on bitter, sour, and salt taste qualities.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Tabea Osthues

Neuropathic pain, a form of chronic pain, is a steadily rising health problem due to health costs and increasing numbers of patients. Neuropathic pain conditions arise upon metabolic disorders, infections, chemotherapeutic treatment, trauma or nerve injury. Especially nerve injury induced neuropathic pain is characterized by spontaneous or ongoing pain due to neuroimmune interactions. Thereby, inflammatory mediators, released by the injured nerve, recruit to and activate immune cells at the site of injury. Those mediators further activate transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1), a known channel involved in pain perception, or bind to G-protein coupled receptors (GPCR) in peripheral nerve endings. The following activated second messenger signaling pathways lead to sensitization of TRPV1. One of those GPCRs is G2A. The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate the role of G2A in nerve-injury induced neuropathic pain. For this, the common mouse model of nerve-injury induced neuropathic pain, the spared-nerve injury, was used. As measurements with dynamic plantar aesthesiometer showed, G2A-deficiency leads to reduced mechanical hypersensitivity. Upon analysis with FACS, ELISA and Luminex a reduced number of macrophages and neutrophils at the injured nerve, as well as less inflammatory mediators (TNFα, IL-6, VEGF) in G2A-deficient animals was observed. In dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) there was only a reduced number of macrophages and less IL-12 observed in G2A-deficient animals. Additionally, in wild-type mice, G2A agonist 9-HODE was elevated at the injured nerve, as a LC-MS/MS analysis showed. To investigate the underlying pathways of G2A-9-HODE signaling, a proteom screen was performed. This screen revealed upregulation of multiple proteins involved in migration in wild-type macrophages. Additionally, Ca-Imaging and transwell migration assays showed that the G2A antagonist G2A11, had desensitizing effects on DRG neurons and inhibited macrophage migration. Overall, the results suggest that loss of G2A has dual effects. On the one hand loss of G2A is antinociceptive. On the other hand, G2A-deficiency leads to reduced inflammation, suggesting G2A as promising target in treatment of neuropathic pain. Here, an antagonist had inhibitory effects on the migration and the sensitization.


2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (7) ◽  
pp. E1657-E1666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Ortíz-Rentería ◽  
Rebeca Juárez-Contreras ◽  
Ricardo González-Ramírez ◽  
León D. Islas ◽  
Félix Sierra-Ramírez ◽  
...  

The Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) ion channel is expressed in nociceptors where, when activated by chemical or thermal stimuli, it functions as an important transducer of painful and itch-related stimuli. Although the interaction of TRPV1 with proteins that regulate its function has been previously explored, their modulation by chaperones has not been elucidated, as is the case for other mammalian TRP channels. Here we show that TRPV1 physically interacts with the Sigma 1 Receptor (Sig-1R), a chaperone that binds progesterone, an antagonist of Sig-1R and an important neurosteroid associated to the modulation of pain. Antagonism of Sig-1R by progesterone results in the down-regulation of TRPV1 expression in the plasma membrane of sensory neurons and, consequently, a decrease in capsaicin-induced nociceptive responses. This is observed both in males treated with a synthetic antagonist of Sig-1R and in pregnant females where progesterone levels are elevated. This constitutes a previously undescribed mechanism by which TRPV1-dependent nociception and pain can be regulated.


2018 ◽  
Vol 315 (6) ◽  
pp. C793-C802 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Shahidullah ◽  
Amritlal Mandal ◽  
Nicholas A. Delamere

Lens ion homeostasis is crucial in maintaining water content and, in turn, refractive index and transparency of the multicellular syncytium-like structure. New information is emerging on the regulation of ion transport in the lens by mechanisms that rely on transient receptor potential vanilloid (TRPV) ion channels. We found recently that TRPV1 activation leads to Ca2+/PKC-dependent ERK1/2 signaling. Here, we show that the TRPV1 agonist capsaicin (100 nM) and hyperosmotic solution (350 vs. 300 mosM) each caused an increase of bumetanide-inhibitable Rb uptake by intact porcine lenses and Na-K-2Cl cotransporter 1 (NKCC1) phosphorylation in the lens epithelium. The TRPV1 antagonist A889425 (1 µM) abolished the increases of Rb uptake and NKCC1 phosphorylation in response to hyperosmotic solution. Exposing lenses to hyperosmotic solution in the presence of MEK/ERK inhibitor U0126 (10 µM) or the with-no-lysine kinase (WNK) inhibitor WNK463 (1 µM) also prevented NKCC1 phosphorylation and the Rb uptake responses to hyperosmotic solution. WNK463 did not prevent the increase in ERK1/2 phosphorylation that occurs in response to capsaicin or hyperosmotic solution, suggesting that ERK1/2 activation occurs before WNK activation in the sequence of signaling events. Taken together, the evidence indicates that activation of TRPV1 is a critical early step in a signaling mechanism that responds to a hyperosmotic stimulus, possibly lens shrinkage. By activating ERK1/2 and WNK, TRPV1 activation leads to NKCC1 phosphorylation and stimulation of NKCC1-mediated ion transport.


2012 ◽  
Vol 116 (4) ◽  
pp. 903-917 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lenka Marsakova ◽  
Filip Touska ◽  
Jan Krusek ◽  
Viktorie Vlachova

Background The recent discovery that camphor activates and strongly desensitizes the capsaicin-sensitive and noxious heat-sensitive channel transient receptor potential vanilloid subfamily member 1 (TRPV1) has provided new insights and opened up new research paths toward understanding why this naturally occurring monoterpene is widely used in human medicine for its local counter-irritant, antipruritic, and anesthetic properties. However, the molecular basis for camphor sensitivity remains mostly unknown. The authors attempt to explore the nature of the activation pathways evoked by camphor and narrow down a putative interaction site at TRPV1. Methods The authors transiently expressed wild-type or specifically mutated recombinant TRPV1 channels in human embryonic kidney cells HEK293T and recorded cation currents with the whole cell, patch clamp technique. To monitor changes in the spatial distribution of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate, they used fluorescence resonance energy transfer measurements from cells transfected with the fluorescent protein-tagged pleckstrin homology domains of phospholipase C. Results The results revealed that camphor modulates TRPV1 channel through the outer pore helix domain by affecting its overall gating equilibrium. In addition, camphor, which generally is known to decrease the fluidity of cell plasma membranes, may also regulate the activity of TRPV1 by inducing changes in the spatial distribution of phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate on the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane. Conclusions The findings of this study provide novel insights into the structural basis for the modulation of TRPV1 channel by camphor and may provide an explanation for the mechanism by which camphor modulates thermal sensation in vivo.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. 4472
Author(s):  
Tamara Szabados ◽  
Kamilla Gömöri ◽  
Laura Pálvölgyi ◽  
Anikó Görbe ◽  
István Baczkó ◽  
...  

Cardiovascular diseases, including coronary artery disease, ischemic heart diseases such as acute myocardial infarction and postischemic heart failure, heart failure of other etiologies, and cardiac arrhythmias, belong to the leading causes of death. Activation of capsaicin-sensitive sensory nerves by the transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) capsaicin receptor and other receptors, as well as neuropeptide mediators released from them upon stimulation, play important physiological regulatory roles. Capsaicin-sensitive sensory nerves also contribute to the development and progression of some cardiac diseases, as well as to mechanisms of endogenous stress adaptation leading to cardioprotection. In this review, we summarize the role of capsaicin-sensitive afferents and the TRPV1 ion channel in physiological and pathophysiological functions of the heart based mainly on experimental results and show their diagnostic or therapeutic potentials. Although the actions of several other channels or receptors expressed on cardiac sensory afferents and the effects of TRPV1 channel activation on different non-neural cell types in the heart are not precisely known, most data suggest that stimulation of the TRPV1-expressing sensory nerves or stimulation/overexpression of TRPV1 channels have beneficial effects in cardiac diseases.


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