Behavioral Testing of the Effects of Thermosensitive TRP Channel Agonists on Touch, Temperature, and Pain Sensations

Abstract

It was recently found that transient receptor potential (TRP) channels play an important role in the transduction of thermal, mechanical, and chemical stimuli underlying the somatic sensation. Several types of TRP channels exhibit sensitivity to increases or decreases in temperature, as well as to the action of chemical ligands that elicit similar thermal or painful sensations. These agents include menthol, mustard oil, cinnamaldehyde (CA), gingerol, capsaicin, camphor, eugenol, and others. Cinnamaldehyde is a pungent chemical obtained from cinnamon, which acts as an agonist of the TRPA1 channels; these channels were originally reported to be activated by cold temperatures (below 18°C). TRPA1 is also implicated in cold nociception. However, its role in the formation of cold pain is more controversial, with discrepant reports that TRPA1s do or do not respond to intense cooling. Menthol derived from plants of the mint family enhances the feeling of coldness by interacting with the cold-sensitive TRPM8 channels, but its effect on pain is less well understood. Using behavioral methods, we showed that unilateral intraplantar injection of CA (5 to 20%) induced a significant concentration-dependent decrease in the latency for ipsilateral paw withdrawal from a noxious heat stimulus, i.e., heat hyperalgesia. Cinnamaldehyde also significantly reduced mechanical withdrawal thresholds for the injected paw, i.e., evoked mechanical allodynia. Bilateral intraplantar injections of CA resulted in a significant cold hyperalgesia (cold plate test) and a weak enhancement of innocuous cold avoidance (thermal preference test). In contrast to CA, menthol in a dose-dependent manner increased the latency for noxious heat-evoked withdrawal, i.e., exerted an antinociceptive effect. Menthol did not affect mechanosensation except for a weak allodynic effect when applied in the highest concentration used (40 %), indicating that it did not exert a local anesthetic effect. Menthol had a biphasic effect on cold avoidance. High concentrations of menthol reduced cold avoidance, i.e., induced cold hypoalgesia, while low menthol concentrations significantly intensified cold avoidance. The highest menthol concentration provided cold hypoalgesia (cold plate test), while lower concentrations had no effect. Taken together, our data support the idea that TRPA1 and TRPM8 channels represent promising peripheral targets for pain modulation.