Genetic predictors for acute experimental cold and heat pain sensitivity in humans

• Published in: Journal of medical genetics Vol. 43; no. 8; p. e40
• Main Authors: Kim, H, Mittal, D P, Iadarola, M J, Dionne, R A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BMJ Publishing Group Ltd 01.08.2006; BMJ Publishing Group LTD; BMJ Group
• Subjects: African Americans; Amidohydrolases - genetics; Amino acids; ANOVA; Asian Americans; Brain research; Calcium Channels - genetics; cold pain; cold pain intensity; Cold Temperature; cold withdrawal time; CPI; CWT; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; Electronic Letter; Enzymes; European Continental Ancestry Group - genetics; experimental pain; FAAH; fatty acid hydrolase; Fatty acids; Female; Gene expression; Genome, Human - genetics; haplotype; Haplotypes; Haplotypes - genetics; Heat; heat pain intensity; Hot Temperature; HPI; Humans; linkage disequilibrium; Linkage Disequilibrium - genetics; Male; N-Ethylmaleimide-Sensitive Proteins - genetics; Narcotics; Nerve Tissue Proteins - genetics; one way analysis of variance; Pain; Pain - genetics; Pain Threshold - physiology; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide - genetics; Receptors, Opioid, delta - genetics; single nucleotide polymorphism; SNP; Studies; thermal pain; transient receptor potential; Transient Receptor Potential Channels - genetics; TRP; TRPA1 Cation Channel; TRPM Cation Channels - genetics; TRPV Cation Channels - genetics; VAS; visual analogue scale
• ISSN: 0022-2593; 1468-6244; 1468-6244
• DOI: 10.1136/jmg.2005.036079

Background: The genetic contribution to pain sensitivity underlies a complex composite of parallel pain pathways, multiple mechanisms, and diverse inter-individual pain experiences and expectations. Methods: Variations for genes encoding receptors related to cold and heat sensation, such as transient receptor potential A subtype 1 (TRPA1), M subtype 8 (TRPM8), V subtype 1 (TRPV1), δ opioid receptor subtype 1 (OPRD1), catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT), and fatty acid amide hydrolyase (FAAH), were investigated in four major ethnic populations. Results: We defined 13 haplotype blocks in European Americans, seven blocks in African Americans, seven blocks in Hispanic subjects, and 11 blocks in Asian Americans. Further study in European American subjects found significant associations between short duration cold pain sensitivity and variations in TRPA1, COMT, and FAAH in a gender dependent manner. Our observations demonstrate that genetic variations in TRPA1, COMT, and FAAH contribute gender specifically to individual variations in short duration cold pain sensitivity in a European American cohort. Conclusions: The effects of TRPA1 variations on experimental short duration heat pain sensitivity may contribute to inter-individual variation in pain sensitivity in humans.