title: The Na(V)1.7 sodium channel: from molecule to man.
abstract: The voltage-gated sodium channel Na(V)1.7 is preferentially expressed in peripheral somatic and visceral sensory neurons, olfactory sensory neurons and sympathetic ganglion neurons. Na(V)1.7 accumulates at nerve fibre endings and amplifies small subthreshold depolarizations, poising it to act as a threshold channel that regulates excitability. Genetic and functional studies have added to the evidence that Na(V)1.7 is a major contributor to pain signalling in humans, and homology modelling based on crystal structures of ion channels suggests an atomic-level structural basis for the altered gating of mutant Na(V)1.7 that causes pain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, and Center for Neuroscience and Regeneration Research, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06510, USA.
authors.forename: Sulayman D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Dib-Hajj
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Joel A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Black
authors.forename: Stephen G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Waxman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001703:Biophysics; D006801:Humans; D008958:Models, Molecular; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D062556:NAV1.7 Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D010146:Pain / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D010525:Peripheral Nerves / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D026941:Sodium Channel Blockers / Q000494:pharmacology; D013779:Tetrodotoxin / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D062556:NAV1.7 Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel; C486866:SCN9A protein, human; D026941:Sodium Channel Blockers; D013779:Tetrodotoxin