Chante Muller (Chemistry and Biochemistry) received new funding from the National Institutes of Health – National Research Service Award for the project “The Ionotropic Cannabinoid Receptor TRPV1.” Dr. Patricia Reggio is co-principal investigator on the project.
This is an F31 fellowship project with the goal of understanding cannabinoid interaction with TRPV1, via computational (Dr. Patricia Reggio, UNC Greensboro) and experimental (Dr. Mary Abood, Temple University) studies.
TRPV1 is a transient receptor potential ion channel that is located in the peripheral nervous system and has been implicated in the perception of pain. The complexities and etiologies of chronic pain varies greatly, encompassing many symptoms, conditions, and pathways.
Current therapies rely heavily on opioid medications which, while having their benefits, can cause unwanted side effects and can result in addictive behaviors. However, cannabis has been used for centuries for its analgesic properties, offering a safer alternative to chronic pain treatment. Because of its location in the peripheral nervous system as well as the desensitization it undergoes upon activation, TRPV1 makes an ideal target for novel pain therapeutics.
The scientific premise of this project is to identify residues responsible for cannabinoid ligand action at TRPV1 via various computational methods and test these results via mutagenesis. The information and understanding that this project will provide will be used to rationally design drugs that will exploit the paradoxical analgesic effect elicited by the desensitization TRPV1.
