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Emerging Concepts in Ion Channel Biophysics
Tuesday Speaker Abstracts
13
TRP Channels in Noxious Heat Sensing and Pain
Thomas Voets
.
KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Acute pain represents a crucial alarm signal to protect us from injury. Whereas the nociceptor
neurons that convey pain signals have been well-characterized, the identity of the molecular
sensors responsible for detecting noxious thermal or mechanical insults remains largely elusive.
Here, evidence will be presented that acute noxious heat sensing in vitro and in vivo is mediated
by a set of three functionally redundant heat-activated TRP channels. Combined elimination of
all three channels eliminates heat-induced pain responses, but does not affect pain responses to
cold or mechanical stimuli, or thermal preference. Pharmacological inhibition of these channels
has differential effects on pathological hypersensitivity and pain.
Cryo-EM Imaging of a Voltage-gated Channel with Membrane Potential Applied
Frederick Sigworth
.
Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
No Abstract