Hot new structures of the cold sensor, TRPM8, reveal insights into the fundamentals of cold perception and adaptation

Fabian Gruss

doi:10.1016/j.ceca.2019.102112

Hot new structures of the cold sensor, TRPM8, reveal insights into the fundamentals of cold perception and adaptation

Cell Calcium. 2020 Jan:85:102112. doi: 10.1016/j.ceca.2019.102112. Epub 2019 Nov 16.

Author

Fabian Gruss¹

Affiliation

¹ Laboratory of Structural Neurobiology, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Center for Structural Biology, VIB, Brussels, Belgium; Structural Biology Brussels, Department of Bioengineering Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 31765906
DOI: 10.1016/j.ceca.2019.102112

Abstract

The ion channel TRPM8 has been identified as the primary cold sensor in humans, but insights into how cold perception is established remained elusive. This has changed now with newly published structures of TRPM8 in different states during channel gating, which help us understand why we feel cold and adapt to it.

Keywords: Calcium; Cold sensation; Cryo-EM; Cryo-electron microscopy; Ion channel; Menthol; TRP channel; TRPM8.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adaptation, Physiological*
Animals
Cold Temperature*
Humans
Perception*
TRPM Cation Channels / chemistry
TRPM Cation Channels / metabolism*

Substances

TRPM Cation Channels