Genetic mutations in cellular mechanisms of temperature, pain sensations are plausible
this year Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine – awarded to researchers David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian, respectively, from the University of California, San Francisco and Scripps Research in La Jolla, California – recognizes their seminal work in identifying and understanding genes mechanism through which our body senses temperature and pressure. Our ability to touch and sense temperature – particularly harmful temperatures – is essential to our survival and determines how we interact with our internal and external environments; Chronic pain results when the pain response goes awry. Dr. Julius used capsaicin, a key ingredient in hot chili peppers, to identify a sensor in the nerve endings of the skin that cause irritation and the cellular system that reacts to uncomfortably hot temperatures. The receptor for heat becomes activated only above 40 °C, which is close to the psychological threshold for thermal pain, thus allowing us to react to external heat. In 2002, five years after the discovery of the heat sensor, two awardees and independently, used menthol to discover a receptor that senses cold temperatures. Recent studies have found that discrimination between hot and cold temperatures is possible only through simultaneous activation of heat-sensing nerve fibers and inhibition of cold-sensing nerve fibers. Using pressure-sensitive cells, Dr. Patapoutian discovered a new class of mechanical sensors that respond to pressure on the skin and internal organs, and the perception of touch and proprioception – the position and position of our body parts. The ability to sense motion. The cellular mechanism of touch also controls important physiological processes. In addition to laboratory work, insights have been gained by studying people with genetic mutations in the cellular mechanisms of temperature, pain, touch and pressure sensation.
The discovery of pain receptors and cellular mechanisms has attracted pharmaceutical companies as these could be targets for new drugs. While challenges remain before such drugs can be clinically meaningful, there is hope that new approaches may one day overcome obstacles. Further research will help “understand the functions of receptors in a variety of physiological processes and to develop treatments for a wide range of pathological conditions”. This year’s award once again underlines the great contribution of refugees fleeing war-torn countries to science and other fields. Dr. Patapoutian, of Armenian descent, grew up in Lebanon during the country’s long civil war and fled to the US in 1986 at the age of 18. Blissfully unaware of science as a career in Lebanon, he not only “fell in love with doing basic research”, but also excelled at making path-breaking discoveries in medicine.
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