Interaction Of TRP Channels And Inflammatory Mediators: A Critical Role In Visceral Pain
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$308,747.00
Summary
Transient receptor potential, or TRP channels, are involved in generating many of the sensations we feel, such as touch and pain. The function of these channels can be altered by substances released by the body during inflammation. Some TRP channels have specialized roles in signalling pain from the colon which can be enhanced during colonic inflammation. Understanding how TRP channels and inflammatory mediators function and interact is essential if we are to find treatments for colonic pain.
Interactions Of Gastric Hormones With Vagal Afferent Pathways And The Role Of This System In Obesity
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$550,918.00
Summary
When we feel full after a meal it is the result of a variety of different nerve signals from the gut in response to distension of the stomach and specific nutrients. These signals are disordered in obesity and this project aims to find out how to correct this problem in this modern day epidemic.
Peripheral Neuropathy And Pain: Role Of The Sphingosine Kinase-sphingosine 1-phosphate System
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$282,905.00
Summary
Understanding the neural mechanisms that generate pathological pain remains one of the essential goals for the development of effective treatments for pain, chronic pain with less side effects. Lipids are able to modulate pain perception. We will determine the role of a molecule named sphingosine 1-phosphate as a basis for the development of therapies for the treatment of neuropathic pain.
Transient Receptor Potential Channels (TRPs) As Transducers And Targets In Primary Visceral Afferents
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$669,130.00
Summary
Transient receptor potential, or TRP channels, are involved in generating many of the sensations we perceive, such as heat, cold, touch and pain. Some TRP channels are specialized to signal pain from visceral organs, which we must investigate if we are to find treatments for visceral pain, which are currently lacking.
Mechanisms Of Mechanotransduction In Primary Visceral Afferents
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$253,500.00
Summary
Mechanotransduction is the process whereby mechanical stimuli are converted into signals in sensory nerves. This forms the basis of touch, hearing, position sense and many aspects of internal perception. It also constitutes a major component of pain. Our group aims to discover the molecular basis of mechanotransduction in mammals, and in particular how it relates to signaling of events in the digestive system. We and our collaborators have been among the first to explore this question, and have ....Mechanotransduction is the process whereby mechanical stimuli are converted into signals in sensory nerves. This forms the basis of touch, hearing, position sense and many aspects of internal perception. It also constitutes a major component of pain. Our group aims to discover the molecular basis of mechanotransduction in mammals, and in particular how it relates to signaling of events in the digestive system. We and our collaborators have been among the first to explore this question, and have found that three genes are responsible for many aspects of mechanotransduction. Each gene is transcribed to produce a channel or pore in the membrane of sensory nerve fibres which responds to mechanical forces by allowing ions to enter and induce electrical signals. Our early findings in mice with disruption of individual genes indicate that a complex positive and negative interaction of these channels must underlie normal mechanotransduction. However, these channels must represent only a part of the transduction mechanism, with extracellular and intracellular anchors inevitably playing a major role. The identity of such anchoring proteins in mammals is currently emerging, and we are fortunate to have access to mice deficient in specific genes that will provide information about candidates for this role. Through our studies on mechanotransduction in the digestive system in parallel with our collaborators' studies on mechanotransduction in skin we shall not only identify the fundamental mechanisms of mammalian mechanotransduction, but also reveal which components of mechanotransducers are peculiar to the gut. Such peculiarities provide molecular targets for therapy of diseases in which alteration of mechanosensory signaling is itself an aim.Read moreRead less
Effects Of Saccadic Eye Movements On Perception And Visual Memory.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$255,750.00
Summary
We all make rapid eye movements, called saccades, three times a second all our waking lives. They allow us to direct our gaze at what catches our attention, but they sweep images across our retinas and alter all the linkages between the eyes and the brain. The question at the heart of this project is how the visual system maintains perceptual stability given the disruption to the flow of visual input that saccades necessarily cause. It has to do more than suppress disturbing signals; it has to l ....We all make rapid eye movements, called saccades, three times a second all our waking lives. They allow us to direct our gaze at what catches our attention, but they sweep images across our retinas and alter all the linkages between the eyes and the brain. The question at the heart of this project is how the visual system maintains perceptual stability given the disruption to the flow of visual input that saccades necessarily cause. It has to do more than suppress disturbing signals; it has to link the present with the past. In recent years we and others have made substantial progress toward answering this question. In this project we plan a four-pronged attack that will take us further. We anticipate that our results will reveal how the visual system maintains and adjusts its representations of space and time, integrates signals from before and after saccades, and regulates the flow of information from memory to achieve a seamless melding of the present with the past. This project is not directed at any particular clinical problem, but disturbances of perception and memory are aspects of many clinical conditions. If we succeed in our aims what we discover will constitute a major scientific discovery which should find application to many conditions in which perception and memory are disturbed, from dyslexia to brain damage and even affective disorders such as schizophrenia and depression.Read moreRead less
Examining The Role Of ASIC Channels In Pain Through The Development Of Subtype-specific ASIC Channel Modulators.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$617,256.00
Summary
Acid sensing ion channels (ASICs) sense changes in acidity in the body. They are found throughout the body and may underlie nerve damage in stroke and some types of pain. ASICs also have many as yet unknown functions. A lack of selective tools to study ASICs is a major barrier to a complete understanding of what they do. This proposal aims to modify three animal toxins which block these receptors to make useful tools to study their function, in particular their role in sensing pain.