RESEARCH ARTICLE
The Role of TRP Channels in Migraine
Gerry Stephen Oxford1, Joyce Harts Hurley*, 2
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2013Volume: 6
First Page: 37
Last Page: 49
Publisher ID: TOPAINJ-6-37
DOI: 10.2174/1876386301306010037
Article History:
Received Date: 9/08/2012Revision Received Date: 9/08/2012
Acceptance Date: 16/08/2012
Electronic publication date: 08/3/2013
Collection year: 2013
open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
TRP channels are members of a large family of non-selective cation channels. The family which numbers over 30 is classified into 6 groups based on amino acid sequence homology. TRP channels are distributed in many peripheral tissues as well as central and peripheral nervous system. These channels are important in sensing a wide range of chemical and physical stimuli. Several TRP channels, including TRPV1 and TRPA1 are important in pain transduction pathways. This review will focus on the function of TRP channels in the trigeminovascular system and other anatomical regions which are relevant to migraine. We will discuss the possible role of TRP channels in migraine, including the potential role of TRPV1 in the hypersensitivity and allodynia frequently observed in migraine patients. We will review the status of TRP channel drugs in migraine therapeutics. We will also discuss the possible roles of TRP channels in triggering migraine attacks, a process which is not well-understood.