Goshajinkigan, a Traditional Japanese Medicine, Suppresses Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Nav1.4 Currents in C2C12 Cells.

Ryota Imai,Yuko Maejima,Shoichiro Horita,Masaru Shimizu,Keisuke Hagihara,Kenju Shimomura,Yuko Ono

doi:10.1089/biores.2019.0034

Ryota Imai, Yuko Maejima + Show 5 more

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https://doi.org/10.1089/biores.2019.0034

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Abstract

Goshajinkigan (GJG) is a traditional Japanese Kampo medicine used clinically to treat muscle pain in Japan. However, its underlying mechanism remains unclear. Since voltage-gated sodium channel (Nav) 1.4 is involved in skeletal muscle contraction, we investigated the possibility that GJG may affect Nav1.4 currents. By using an electrophysiological technique on skeletal muscle cell line C2C12, we found that GJG suppresses Nav1.4 currents in C2C12 cells. It is suggested that GJG may improve skeletal muscle stiffness or cramps by inhibiting abnormal Nav1.4 excitation. GJG may act as a Nav1.4 blocker and may be useful to treat muscle stiffness and clamps as well as easing the pain.

Highlights

Voltage-gated sodium channels (Nav) are important to initiate and propagate action potential in the excitable tissues such as the skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, and nerve
It is assumed that the excessive activation of Nav1.4 may cause abnormal skeletal muscle contraction
Sodium channel blockers are known to be effective for muscle stiffness in patients with a mutation in the SCN4A gene encoding Nav1.4 and for muscle cramps in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients.[3,4]

Summary

Introduction

Voltage-gated sodium channels (Nav) are important to initiate and propagate action potential in the excitable tissues such as the skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, and nerve. Sodium channel blockers are known to be effective for muscle stiffness in patients with a mutation in the SCN4A gene encoding Nav1.4 and for muscle cramps in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients.[3,4]. GJG is reported to improve chemotherapy-induced and diabetic neuropathy.[5,6] recently, the effects of GJG on the skeletal muscle have been focused.[7,8,9] Some clinical reports show that GJG relieves pain caused by skeletal muscle cramps.[10,11,12] GJG may suppress abnormal skeletal muscle excitation and relieve muscle stiffness or cramps

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