American journal of physiology. Gastrointestinal and liver physiology
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Am. J. Physiol. Gastrointest. Liver Physiol. · Jun 2013
Transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 mediates chronic pancreatitis pain in mice.
Chronic pancreatitis (CP) is a devastating disease characterized by persistent and uncontrolled abdominal pain. Our lack of understanding is partially due to the lack of experimental models that mimic the human disease and also to the lack of validated behavioral measures of visceral pain. The ligand-gated cation channel transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) mediates inflammation and pain in early experimental pancreatitis. ⋯ Inflammatory changes and pain indexes were significantly reduced in trpa1(-/-) mice. In conclusion, we have characterized in mice a model of CP that resembles the human condition, with marked histological changes and behavioral measures of pain. We have demonstrated, using novel and objective pain measurements, that TRPA1 mediates inflammation and visceral hypersensitivity in CP and could be a therapeutic target for the treatment of sustained inflammatory abdominal pain.