Figure 5: Optical activation of TRPV1 in C-fibre nociceptors.
From: Photoswitchable fatty acids enable optical control of TRPV1
(a) A typical sample trace showing the activation of a heat-sensitive C-fibre nociceptor (C-MH) by optical switching of AzCA4 (1 μM) with λ=365 nm light and CAP (1 μM) application in wt mice. No photostimulation occurred in Trpv1−/− mice. (b,c) The average AP spiking rate (red) and the spiking rate for individual C-MHs (grey) in response to photostimulation in the presence of AzCA4 (1 μM, n=19), and activation by CAP (1 μM, n=6). (d) The latencies to the occurrence of the first AP spikes after photostimulation and after the application of CAP (*P<0.05, Mann–Whitney test). (e) A second photostimulation in the presence of AzCA4 by λ=365 nm light can be triggered 5 min after the first photostimulation; data are represented as the mean and s.d. of the number of spikes per 1 s bins of all activated C-MH.
