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Updated: Jun 18, 2026
08:35
A Simple and Inexpensive Method for Determining Cold Sensitivity and Adaptation in Mice
Published on: March 17, 2015
Modulation of the cold-activated cation channel TRPM8 by surface charge screening
Frank Mahieu1, Annelies Janssens, Maarten Gees
1KU Leuven, Laboratory of Ion Channel Research, Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Leuven, Belgium.
The Journal of Physiology
|December 2, 2009
Summary
The transient receptor potential melastatin 8 (TRPM8) channel
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Molecular Biology
- Biophysics
Background:
- TRPM8 channels mediate cold sensation and are modulated by extracellular ions.
- The precise mechanisms of TRPM8 modulation by Ca(2+) and protons remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of surface charge screening in TRPM8 modulation by extracellular divalent cations and protons.
- To quantify the surface charge density of TRPM8 channels.
Main Methods:
- Electrophysiological recordings of TRPM8 currents.
- Analysis of voltage dependence shifts using Gouy-Chapman-Stern theory.
Main Results:
- Extracellular divalent cations and protons inhibit TRPM8 currents via surface charge screening.
- These modulators induce parallel shifts in TRPM8 voltage dependence towards positive potentials.
- Estimated fixed negative surface charge density of 0.0098–0.0126 charges/Ų.
Conclusions:
- Surface charge screening provides a direct explanation for extracellular Ca(2+) effects on TRPM8 and cold-sensitive neurons.
- This study is the first to describe surface charge screening effects on a TRP channel.
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