PHARMACOLOGICAL MODULATORS OF NAV1.1 VOLTAGE-GATED SODIUM CHANNELS ASSOCIATED WITH MECHANICAL PAIN

摘要

The present invention provides the use of compounds which selectively block the Nav1.1 subtype of voltage-gated sodium (Nav) channels, whose role in nociception and pain has been unexplored. The present invention demonstrates that Nav1.1-expressing fibers are modality specific nociceptors: their activation elicits robust pain behaviors without neurogenic inflammation and produces profound hypersensitivity to mechanical, but not thermal, stimuli. In the gut, high-threshold mechanosensitive fibers also express Nav1.1 and show enhanced toxin sensitivity in a model of irritable bowel syndrome. The present invention provides an unexpected role for Nav1.1 in regulating the excitability of sensory nerve fibers that underlie mechanical pain, and provides methods of screening for other peptides and small molecules that can modulate Nav1.1 channels and their use in treatment of neurological disorders.