December 16, 2024
Monday, December 16, 2024 – 1pm – Auditoire Maisin
Prof. Roberta GUALDANI, chercheuse qualifiée FNRS, UCLouvain, IoNS, Pôle Cellulaire et Moléculaire
TRP Channel Mutations as Key Factors in Neuropathic Pain Susceptibility
Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) channels are molecular detectors of our body. They respond to changes in the cellular environment, including temperature, chemicals, stretch/pressure, osmolarity, oxidation/reduction, and pH. Several members of the TRP channel superfamily are expressed in the nerve endings of peripheral sensory neurons and play central roles in the development of acute and chronic pain.
Using a combination of molecular modeling and biophysical techniques, I am looking for recurrent TRP channel mutations in patients with severe chronic pain to understand whether there is a genetic predisposition to the development of neuropathic pain. In this context, I recently analyzed two mutations found in patients with trigeminal neuralgia [1-3], and provided key structural insights into how these mutations may cause hyperexcitability of trigeminal neurons and lead to the onset of neuropathic pain.
[1] Gualdani et al., Neurology: Genetics (2021), 7(1)
[2] Gualdani et al., PNAS (2022), 119(38), e2119630119
[3] Gualdani et al., PNAS (2024), 121(37), e2406186121