American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology
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Am. J. Physiol. Regul. Integr. Comp. Physiol. · Nov 2007
Application of menthol to the skin of whole trunk in mice induces autonomic and behavioral heat-gain responses.
When ambient temperature is decreased in mammals, autonomic and behavioral heat-gain responses occur to maintain their core temperatures. However, what molecules in cutaneous sensory nerve endings mediate cooling-induced responses is unclear. Recently, transient receptor potential melastatin-8 (TRPM8) has been identified in cell bodies of sensory neurons as low-temperature and menthol-activated cation channel. ⋯ Menthol application induced a rise in oxygen consumption, shivering-like muscle activity, tail skin vasoconstriction (autonomic responses), and heat-seeking behavior. All of them are typical heat-gain responses. These results support the hypothesis that TRPM8 mediates cooling-induced autonomic and behavioral heat-gain responses.