• Ana Paula Luiz, Olga Kopach, Sonia Santana-Varela, and John N Wood.
• Molecular Nociception Group, Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, Gower St, London, WC1E 6BT, UK. a.luiz@ucl.ac.uk.
• Mol Pain. 2015 Nov 25; 11: 72.

BackgroundTrigeminal neuralgia is accompanied by severe mechanical, thermal and chemical hypersensitivity of the orofacial area innervated by neurons of trigeminal ganglion (TG). We examined the role of the voltage-gated sodium channel subtype Nav1.9 in the development of trigeminal neuralgia.ResultsWe found that Nav1.9 is required for the development of both thermal and mechanical hypersensitivity induced by constriction of the infraorbital nerve (CION). The CION model does not induce change on Nav1.9 mRNA expression in the ipsilateral TG neurons when evaluated 9 days after surgery.ConclusionsThese results demonstrate that Nav1.9 channels play a critical role in the development of orofacial neuropathic pain. New routes for the treatment of orofacial neuropathic pain focussing on regulation of the voltage-gated Nav1.9 sodium channel activity should be investigated.

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