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Papers of the Week


Papers: 24 Aug 2019 - 30 Aug 2019


Animal Studies, Pharmacology/Drug Development


2019 Sep 05


Cell


178


6

Editor's Pick

A Cell-Penetrating Scorpion Toxin Enables Mode-Specific Modulation of TRPA1 and Pain.

Authors

Lin King JV, Emrick JJ, Kelly MJS, Herzig V, King GF, Medzihradszky KF, Julius D
Cell. 2019 Sep 05; 178(6):1362-1374.e16.
PMID: 31447178.

Abstract

TRPA1 is a chemosensory ion channel that functions as a sentinel for structurally diverse electrophilic irritants. Channel activation occurs through an unusual mechanism involving covalent modification of cysteine residues clustered within an amino-terminal cytoplasmic domain. Here, we describe a peptidergic scorpion toxin (WaTx) that activates TRPA1 by penetrating the plasma membrane to access the same intracellular site modified by reactive electrophiles. WaTx stabilizes TRPA1 in a biophysically distinct active state characterized by prolonged channel openings and low Ca permeability. Consequently, WaTx elicits acute pain and pain hypersensitivity but fails to trigger efferent release of neuropeptides and neurogenic inflammation typically produced by noxious electrophiles. These findings provide a striking example of convergent evolution whereby chemically disparate animal- and plant-derived irritants target the same key allosteric regulatory site to differentially modulate channel activity. WaTx is a unique pharmacological probe for dissecting TRPA1 function and its contribution to acute and persistent pain.