Abstract
BackgroundThe tetrodotoxin-resistant voltage-gated sodium channel Nav1.8 (SNS1/PN3) is expressed by nociceptors and may play a role in pain states.MethodsUsing specific antibodies for immunohistochemistry, we studied Nav1.8 – immunoreactivity in human dental pulp in relation to the neuronal marker neurofilament. Human tooth pulp was extracted from teeth harvested from a total of twenty-two patients (fourteen without dental pain, eight patients with dental pain).ResultsFibres immunoreactive for Nav1.8, were significantly increased on image analysis in the painful group: median (range) Nav1.8 to Neurofilament % area ratio, non-painful 0.059 (0.006–0.24), painful 0.265 (0.13–0.5), P = 0.0019.ConclusionNav1.8 sodium channels may thus represent a therapeutic target in trigeminal nerve pain states.
Highlights
The tetrodotoxin-resistant voltage-gated sodium channel Nav1.8 (SNS1/PN3) is expressed by nociceptors and may play a role in pain states
Nav1.8 sodium channels may represent a therapeutic target in trigeminal nerve pain states
The majority of nerve fibres terminate in the coronal region of the pulp, forming a subodontoblast plexus, with 40% terminating in the dentinal tubules close to the odontoblast processes [3]
Summary
The tetrodotoxin-resistant voltage-gated sodium channel Nav1.8 (SNS1/PN3) is expressed by nociceptors and may play a role in pain states. Pain is the most common symptom of diseased tooth pulp, often a result of coronal caries of the tooth, affecting up to 80% of the western population during their lives. The mature human dental pulp is densely innervated with over 900 axons entering the average human premolar tooth [1] that originate from the trigeminal ganglion. Primary and permanent tooth pulps contain 70–90% C-fibres [3], myelinated fibres mostly of the A delta category [3], with few myelinated fibres of the. Strong correlations have been reported between the afferent discharge frequency of human pulp nociceptors and pain levels [4]. Far, no correlation has been established between pain characteristics and histology of the pulp [5,6]
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