Trigeminal neuropathic pain is alleviated by inhibition of Cav3.3 T-type calcium channels in mice.

Trigeminal neuropathic pain is alleviated by inhibition of Cav3.3 T-type calcium channels in mice. Channels (Austin). 2020 Dec 07;: Authors: Montera M, Goins A, Cmarko L, Weiss N, Westlund High KN, Alles SRA Abstract In this brief report, we demonstrate that the Cav3.3 T-type voltage-gated calcium channel subtype is involved in our FRICT-ION model of chronic trigeminal neuropathic pain. We first showed that the Cacna1i gene encoding Cav3.3 is significantly upregulated in whole trigeminal ganglia of FRICT-ION mice compared to controls at week 10 post-injury. We confirmed protein upregulation of Cav3.3 compared to controls using Western blot analysis of whole trigeminal ganglia tissues. Finally, we demonstrated that intraperitoneal injection of a selective TAT-based Cav3.3 blocking peptide in FRICT-ION mice significantly reduces Cav3.3 protein expression at the peak anti-allodynic effect (4 hrs post-injection) of the attenuated neuropathic pain behavior. We also suggest that blockade of Cav3.3 may be more effective in attenuating trigeminal neuropathic pain in female than male FRICT-ION mice. Therefore, blocking or attenuating Cav3.3 function may be an effective strategy for treatment of trigeminal neuropathic pain. PMID: 33283622 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Channels - Category: Molecular Biology Tags: Channels (Austin) Source Type: research