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Updated: Jul 18, 2026

A Simple and Inexpensive Method for Determining Cold Sensitivity and Adaptation in Mice
Published on: March 17, 2015
Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 modulates nociceptive signaling through direct phosphorylation of transient receptor
Tej K Pareek1, Jason Keller, Sashi Kesavapany
1Functional Genomics Section, Craniofacial Developmental Biology and Regeneration Branch, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Abstract:
Transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1), a ligand-gated cation channel highly expressed in small-diameter sensory neurons, is activated by heat, protons, and capsaicin. The phosphorylation of TRPV1 provides a versatile regulation of intracellular calcium levels and is critical for TRPV1 function in responding to a pain stimulus. We have previously reported that cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) activity regulates nociceptive signaling. In this article we report that the Cdk5-mediated phosphorylation of TRPV1 at threonine-407 can modulate agonist-induced calcium influx. Inhibition of Cdk5 activity in cultured dorsal root ganglia neurons resulted in a significant reduction of TRPV1-mediated calcium influx, and this effect could be reversed by restoring Cdk5 activity. Primary nociceptor-specific Cdk5 conditional-knockout mice showed reduced TRPV1 phosphorylation, resulting in significant hypoalgesia. Thus, the present study indicates that Cdk5-mediated TRPV1 phosphorylation is important in the regulation of pain signaling.
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