The NaV1.7 sodium channel: from molecule to man

SD Dib-Hajj, Y Yang, JA Black… - Nature Reviews …, 2013 - nature.com
SD Dib-Hajj, Y Yang, JA Black, SG Waxman
Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 2013nature.com
The voltage-gated sodium channel NaV1. 7 is preferentially expressed in peripheral somatic
and visceral sensory neurons, olfactory sensory neurons and sympathetic ganglion neurons.
NaV1. 7 accumulates at nerve fibre endings and amplifies small subthreshold
depolarizations, poising it to act as a threshold channel that regulates excitability. Genetic
and functional studies have added to the evidence that NaV1. 7 is a major contributor to pain
signalling in humans, and homology modelling based on crystal structures of ion channels …
Abstract
The voltage-gated sodium channel NaV1.7 is preferentially expressed in peripheral somatic and visceral sensory neurons, olfactory sensory neurons and sympathetic ganglion neurons. NaV1.7 accumulates at nerve fibre endings and amplifies small subthreshold depolarizations, poising it to act as a threshold channel that regulates excitability. Genetic and functional studies have added to the evidence that NaV1.7 is a major contributor to pain signalling in humans, and homology modelling based on crystal structures of ion channels suggests an atomic-level structural basis for the altered gating of mutant NaV1.7 that causes pain.
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