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Voltage-Gated Ion Channels as Molecular Targets for Pain

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Abstract

Pain signaling is critically dependent on voltage-gated ion channels that shape the action potential firing properties of peripheral afferents including pain-signaling dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons. Dysregulated expression of these critically important ion channels following nerve injury and in response to inflammation and gain-of-function changes in the channels due to mutations produce hyperexcitability which underlies pain. Thus, a major theme in translational research on pain has focused on the search for pharmacological modulators of ion channels, with an emphasis on development of modulators of peripheral channels that do not play major roles in the CNS or heart. This chapter summarizes recent advances on voltage-gated sodium, calcium, and potassium channels that are being explored as molecular targets for the treatment of pain.

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Acknowledgments

GWZ is a Canada Research Chair and is supported from grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. SGW is the Bridget M. Flaherty Professor of Neurology, Neurobiology and Pharmacology at Yale and is supported by grants from the Rehabilitation Research Service and Biomedical Laboratory Research Service, Department of Veterans Affairs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Cumming School of Medicine University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB, Canada, T2N4N11

    Gerald W. Zamponi PhD

  2. Department of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, 15 York Street, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA

    Chongyang Han PhD & Stephen G. Waxman MD, PhD

  3. Center for Neuroscience and Regeneration Research, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 950 Campbell Avenue, West Haven, CT, 06516, USA

    Chongyang Han PhD & Stephen G. Waxman MD, PhD

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  1. Gerald W. Zamponi PhD
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  2. Chongyang Han PhD
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  3. Stephen G. Waxman MD, PhD
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Correspondence to Stephen G. Waxman MD, PhD .

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  1. UnivofCA-SanDiego,VeteransAdmintnMedCntr, Translational Neuroscience Institute, La Jolla, California, USA

    Mark H. Tuszynski

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Zamponi, G.W., Han, C., Waxman, S.G. (2016). Voltage-Gated Ion Channels as Molecular Targets for Pain. In: Tuszynski, M. (eds) Translational Neuroscience. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7654-3_22

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