Electrophysiological and computational analysis of Cav3.2 channel variants associated with familial trigeminal neuralgia

Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a rare form of chronic neuropathic pain characterized by spontaneous or elicited paroxysms of electric shock-like or stabbing pain in a region of the face. While most cases occur in a sporadic manner and are accompanied by intracranial vascular compression of the trigemi...

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Veröffentlicht in:Molecular brain 2022-11, Vol.15 (1), p.1-91, Article 91
Hauptverfasser: Mustafá, Emilio R, Gambeta, Eder, Stringer, Robin N, Souza, Ivana A, Zamponi, Gerald W, Weiss, Norbert
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a rare form of chronic neuropathic pain characterized by spontaneous or elicited paroxysms of electric shock-like or stabbing pain in a region of the face. While most cases occur in a sporadic manner and are accompanied by intracranial vascular compression of the trigeminal nerve root, alteration of ion channels has emerged as a potential exacerbating factor. Recently, whole exome sequencing analysis of familial TN patients identified 19 rare variants in the gene CACNA1H encoding for Ca v 3.2T-type calcium channels. An initial analysis of 4 of these variants pointed to a pathogenic role. In this study, we assessed the electrophysiological properties of 13 additional TN-associated Ca v 3.2 variants expressed in tsA-201 cells. Our data indicate that 6 out of the 13 variants analyzed display alteration of their gating properties as evidenced by a hyperpolarizing shift of their voltage dependence of activation and/or inactivation resulting in an enhanced window current supported by Ca v 3.2 channels. An additional variant enhanced the recovery from inactivation. Simulation of neuronal electrical membrane potential using a computational model of reticular thalamic neuron suggests that TN-associated Ca v 3.2 variants could enhance neuronal excitability. Altogether, the present study adds to the notion that ion channel polymorphisms could contribute to the etiology of some cases of TN and further support a role for Ca v 3.2 channels.
ISSN:1756-6606
1756-6606
DOI:10.1186/s13041-022-00978-9