加拿大麦吉尔大学Reza Sharif-Naeini课题组的研究发现TACAN离子通道参与感应机械疼痛。2020年2月20日，《细胞》杂志在线发表了这一成果。

研究人员鉴定了离子通道TACAN（Tmem120A），发现其参与感知机械疼痛。TACAN表达在伤害性感受器的一个子集中，其异源表达会增加细胞系中机械力引发的电流。研究人员在合成脂质中纯化和重构了有功能的TACAN离子通道。最后，伤害性感受器特异的可诱导性敲除TACAN降低了伤害感受器的机械敏感性，并降低了对疼痛刺激的反应行为，但对热刺激或触觉刺激没有反应。因此，研究人员猜想TACAN是有助于感知机械疼痛的离子通道。

据介绍，机械力转导是将机械刺激转换为电信号的过程，是必要生理功能的基本过程；这些必要生理功能包括触摸和疼痛感知、听力和本体感觉。尽管已经确定了其中某些功能的机制，但仍然不清楚感知疼痛的重要分子。

附：英文原文

Title: TACAN Is an Ion Channel Involved in Sensing Mechanical Pain

Author: Lou Beaulieu-Laroche, Marine Christin, Annmarie Donoghue, Francina Agosti, Noosha Yousefpour, Hugues Petitjean, Albena Davidova, Craig Stanton, Uzair Khan, Connor Dietz, Elise Faure, Tarheen Fatima, Amanda MacPherson, Stephanie Mouchbahani-Constance, Daniel G. Bisson, Lisbet Haglund, Jean A. Ouellet, Laura S. Stone, Jonathan Samson, Mary-Jo Smith, Kjetil Ask, Alfredo Ribeiro-da-Silva, Rikard Blunck, Kate Poole, Emmanuel Bourinet, Reza Sharif-Naeini

Issue&Volume: 2020-02-20

Abstract: Mechanotransduction, the conversion of mechanical stimuli into electrical signals,is a fundamental process underlying essential physiological functions such as touchand pain sensing, hearing, and proprioception. Although the mechanisms for some ofthese functions have been identified, the molecules essential to the sense of painhave remained elusive. Here we report identification of TACAN (Tmem120A), an ion channelinvolved in sensing mechanical pain. TACAN is expressed in a subset of nociceptors,and its heterologous expression increases mechanically evoked currents in cell lines.Purification and reconstitution of TACAN in synthetic lipids generates a functionalion channel. Finally, a nociceptor-specific inducible knockout of TACAN decreasesthe mechanosensitivity of nociceptors and reduces behavioral responses to painfulmechanical stimuli but not to thermal or touch stimuli. We propose that TACAN is anion channel that contributes to sensing mechanical pain.

DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.01.033

Source: https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(20)30114-8