title: Targeting Pain-evoking Transient Receptor Potential Channels for the Treatment of Pain.
abstract: Chronic pain affects billions of lives globally and is a major public health problem in the United States. However, pain management is still a challenging task due to a lack of understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of pain. In the past decades transient receptor potential (TRP) channels have been identified as molecular sensors of tissue damage and inflammation. Activation/sensitization of TRP channels in peripheral nociceptors produces neurogenic inflammation and contributes to both somatic and visceral pain. Pharmacological and genetic studies have affirmed the role of TRP channels in multiple forms of inflammatory and neuropathic pain. Thus pain-evoking TRP channels emerge as promising therapeutic targets for a wide variety of pain and inflammatory conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Biology and Pharmacology, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 6431 Fannin Street, Houston, TX 77030;
authors.forename: Jialie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Biology and Pharmacology, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 6431 Fannin Street, Houston, TX 77030;
authors.forename: Edgar T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Walters
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Boulevard, Galveston, TX 77555-1069.
authors.forename: Susan M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Carlton
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Biology and Pharmacology, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 6431 Fannin Street, Houston, TX 77030;
authors.forename: Hongzhen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hu
keywords: Transient receptor potential channels; drug target.; inflammation; neuropathy; pain; pain management