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Urinary bladder pain is a primary symptom associated with interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome. We used systemic injections of cyclophosphamide (CYP), an alkylating antineoplastic agent, to induce cystitis and examine the roles of 2 channels previously demonstrated to be required for inflammatory visceral hyperalgesia: transient receptor potential vanilloid-1 (TRPV1) and ankyrin-1 (TRPA1). Injection of CYP (100 mg/kg, i.p.) every other day for 5 days was accompanied by bladder edema and urothelial ulceration, but without significant plasma extravasation or infiltration of neutrophils. Toluidine blue staining showed a significant increase in the number of degranulated bladder mast cells after CYP treatment. Despite this mild pathology, CYP-treated mice exhibited bladder hyperalgesia 1 day after the final injection that persisted 7 days later. Although many previous studies of visceral hyperalgesia have reported changes in dorsal root ganglion neuron TRPV1 expression and/or function, we found no change in bladder afferent TRPV1 expression or sensitivity on the basis of the percentage of bladder afferents responsive to capsaicin, including at submaximal concentrations. In contrast, the percentage of bladder afferents expressing functional TRPA1 protein (i.e., those responsive to mustard oil) increased ∼2.5-fold 1 day after CYP treatment, and remained significantly elevated 7 days later. Moreover, bladder hyperalgesia was reversed by acute treatment with the TRPA1 antagonist HC-030031 (300 mg/kg, i.p.). Our results indicate that CYP-induced bladder hyperalgesia can be induced without robust inflammation or changes in primary afferent TRPV1. However, significant changes were observed in TRPA1 expression, and blockade of TRPA1 alleviated CYP-induced bladder hyperalgesia., (Copyright © 2014 International Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Visceral afferents expressing transient receptor potential (TRP) channels TRPV1 and TRPA1 are thought to be required for neurogenic inflammation and development of inflammatory hyperalgesia. Using a mouse model of chronic pancreatitis (CP) produced by repeated episodes (twice weekly) of caerulein-induced AP (AP), we studied the involvement of these TRP channels in pancreatic inflammation and pain-related behaviors. Antagonists of the two TRP channels were administered at different times to block the neurogenic component of AP. Six bouts of AP (over 3 wks) increased pancreatic inflammation and pain-related behaviors, produced fibrosis and sprouting of pancreatic nerve fibers, and increased TRPV1 and TRPA1 gene transcripts and a nociceptive marker, pERK, in pancreas afferent somata. Treatment with TRP antagonists, when initiated before week 3, decreased pancreatic inflammation and pain-related behaviors and also blocked the development of histopathological changes in the pancreas and upregulation of TRPV1, TRPA1, and pERK in pancreatic afferents. Continued treatment with TRP antagonists blocked the development of CP and pain behaviors even when mice were challenged with seven more weeks of twice weekly caerulein. When started after week 3, however, treatment with TRP antagonists was ineffective in blocking the transition from AP to CP and the emergence of pain behaviors. These results suggest: (1) an important role for neurogenic inflammation in pancreatitis and pain-related behaviors, (2) that there is a transition from AP to CP, after which TRP channel antagonism is ineffective, and thus (3) that early intervention with TRP channel antagonists may attenuate the transition to and development of CP effectively.

The nerve growth factor (NGF) and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) families of growth factors regulate the sensitivity of sensory neurons. The ion channels transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) and transient receptor potential channel, subfamily A, member 1 (TRPA1), are necessary for development of inflammatory hypersensitivity and are functionally potentiated by growth factors. We have shown previously that inflamed skin exhibits rapid increases in artemin mRNA with slower, smaller increases in NGF mRNA. Here, using mice, we show that, in inflamed colon, mRNA for both growth factors increased with a pattern distinct from that seen in skin. Differences were also seen in the pattern of TRPV1 and TRPA1 mRNA expression in DRG innervating inflamed skin and colon. Growth factors potentiated capsaicin (a specific TRPV1 agonist) and mustard oil (a specific TRPA1 agonist) behavioral responses in vivo, raising the question as to how these growth factors affect individual afferents. Because individual tissues are innervated by afferents with unique properties, we investigated modulation of TRPV1 and TRPA1 in identified afferents projecting to muscle, skin, and colon. Muscle and colon afferents are twice as likely as skin afferents to express functional TRPV1 and TRPA1. TRPV1 and TRPA1 responses were potentiated by growth factors in all afferent types, but compared with skin afferents, muscle afferents were twice as likely to exhibit NGF-induced potentiation and one-half as likely to exhibit artemin-induced potentiation of TRPV1. Furthermore, skin afferents showed no GDNF-induced potentiation of TRPA1, but 43% of muscle and 38% of colon afferents exhibited GDNF-induced potentiation. These results show that interpretation of afferent homeostatic mechanisms must incorporate properties that are specific to the target tissue.

The bladder and distal colon are innervated by lumbar splanchnic (LSN) and pelvic nerves (PN) whose axons arise from dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons at thoracolumbar (TL) and lumbosacral (LS) spinal levels, respectively. In an attempt to understand the molecular basis of differences between LSN and PN mechanosensitive afferents, we analyzed the gene expression of two potentially counteracting ion channel groups involved in mechanosensation, transient receptor potential channels (TRPV1 and TRPA1) and mechanosensitive two pore-domain K(+) (K(2P)) channels (TREK-1, TREK-2 and TRAAK), in TL and LS DRG neurons innervating mouse bladder or distal colon. The proportion of TRPV1-expressing cells (41∼61%) did not differ between TL and LS neurons innervating bladder or colon. TRPA1 was seldom detected in bladder LS neurons whereas it was expressed in 64∼66% of bladder TL, colon TL and colon LS neurons. Coexpression of TRPV1 and TRPA1 was frequent. TREK-1-expressing cells were more prevalent in LS than TL ganglia in both bladder- and colon-DRG neurons. All three K(2P) channels were detected more frequently in TRPV1-positive neurons in TL ganglia. More than half of TL neurons expressing only TRPA1 were devoid of any of the three K(2P) channels, whereas all TL neurons expressing both TRPA1 and TRPV1 expressed at least one of the K(2P) channels. These results reveal clear differences between LSN and PN sensory pathways in TRPA1 and TREK-1 gene expression and in the gene expression of K(2P) channels in TRPV1-expressing neurons. This study further documents heterogeneity of visceral afferents based on combinations of the five channels examined., (Copyright © 2011 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background & Aims: The transient receptor potential (TRP) channels TRPV1 and TRPA1 have each been associated with regulation of efferent properties of primary afferent neurons that initiate neurogenic inflammation and are required for the development of inflammatory hyperalgesia. To evaluate the role of these channels in producing pain during pancreatic inflammation, we studied pancreatic nodose ganglion (NG) and dorsal root ganglion (DRG) sensory neurons (identified by content of retrograde tracer) and behavioral outcomes in a mouse model of acute pancreatitis., Methods: Pancreatic inflammation was induced by 8 hourly injections of cerulein (50 μg/kg). The extent of inflammation, pancreatic neuron TRP channel expression and function and excitability, and pain-related behaviors were evaluated over the course of the following week., Results: Histology and myeloperoxidase activity confirmed pancreatic inflammation that was associated with increased excitability and messenger RNA expression of the TRP channels in NG and DRG pancreatic neurons. Calcium imaging of pancreatic NG and DRG neurons from mice given cerulein revealed increased responses to TRP agonists. TRPV1 and TRPA1 antagonists attenuated cerulein-induced pain behaviors and pancreatic inflammation; they had a synergistic effect., Conclusions: Pancreatic inflammation significantly increased the expression and functional properties of TRPV1 and TRPA1, as well as the excitability of pancreatic sensory neurons in vagal and spinal pathways. TRP channel antagonists acted synergistically to reverse pancreatic inflammation and associated pain behaviors; reagents that target interactions between these channels might be developed to reduce pain in patients with acute pancreatitis., (Copyright © 2011 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)