Human heat sensation: A randomized crossover trial

Sci Adv. 2024 Sep 6;10(36):eado3498. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.ado3498. Epub 2024 Sep 4.

Abstract

Sensing of noxious heat has been reported to be mediated by TRPV1, TRPA1, TRPM3, and ANO1 in mice, and this is redundant so that the loss of one receptor is at least partially compensated for by others. We have established an infusion-based human heat pain model. Heat-induced pain probed with antagonists for the four receptors did not match the redundancy found in mice. In healthy participants, only TRPV1 contributes to the detection of noxious heat; none of the other three receptors are involved. TRPV1 inhibition reduced the pain at all noxious temperatures, which can also be seen as an increase in the temperature that causes a particular level of pain. However, even if the TRPV1-dependent shift in heat detection is about 1°C, at the end of the temperature ramp to 52°C, most heat-induced pain remains unexplained. This difference between species reopens the quest for the molecular safety net for the detection of noxious heat in humans.

Publication types

  • Randomized Controlled Trial

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Animals
  • Cross-Over Studies
  • Female
  • Hot Temperature*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Pain
  • TRPA1 Cation Channel / antagonists & inhibitors
  • TRPA1 Cation Channel / genetics
  • TRPA1 Cation Channel / metabolism
  • TRPV Cation Channels* / antagonists & inhibitors
  • TRPV Cation Channels* / metabolism
  • Thermosensing*
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • TRPV Cation Channels
  • TRPV1 protein, human
  • TRPA1 Cation Channel