Kimberly Gomez, Harrison J Stratton, Paz Duran, Santiago Loya, Cheng Tang, Aida Calderon-Rivera, Liberty François-Moutal, May Khanna, Cynthia L Madura, Shizhen Luo, Bryan McKiver, Edward Choi, Dongzhi Ran, Lisa Boinon, Samantha Perez-Miller, M Imad Damaj, Aubin Moutal, Rajesh Khanna
Small molecules directly targeting the voltage-gated sodium channel (VGSC) NaV 1.7 have not been clinically successful. We reported that preventing the addition of a small ubiquitin-like modifier onto the NaV 1.7-interacting cytosolic collapsin response mediator protein 2 (CRMP2) blocked NaV 1.7 function and was antinociceptive in rodent models of neuropathic pain. Here, we discovered a CRMP2 regulatory sequence (CRS) unique to NaV 1.7 that is essential for this regulatory coupling. CRMP2 preferentially bound to the NaV 1...
August 8, 2023: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America