Gram-negative bacterial infections are accompanied by inflammation and somatic or visceral pain. These symptoms are generally attributed to sensitization of nociceptors by inflammatory mediators released by immune cells. Nociceptor sensitization during inflammation occurs through activation of the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) signalling pathway by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a toxic by-product of bacterial lysis. Here we show that LPS exerts fast, membrane delimited, excitatory actions via TRPA1, a transient receptor potential cation channel that is critical for transducing environmental irritant stimuli into nociceptor activity. Moreover, we find that pain and acute vascular reactions, including neurogenic inflammation (CGRP release) caused by LPS are primarily dependent on TRPA1 channel activation in nociceptive sensory neurons, and develop independently of TLR4 activation. The identification of TRPA1 as a molecular determinant of direct LPS effects on nociceptors offers new insights into the pathogenesis of pain and neurovascular responses during bacterial infections and opens novel avenues for their treatment.

7Kv channels constitute a large and ubiquitous family of membrane proteins present in both excitable and nonexcitable cells. In nonexcitable cells, their function as feedback regulators of resting V M has been proposed to participate in many cellular functions ranging from secretion to cell migration, proliferation, and apoptotic death. Kv channel genes can give rise to an even larger number of functional Kv currents, via heteromultimerization, association with accessory subunits, Kv1 .3 Channels Can Modulate Cell Proliferation during Phenotypic switch by an ion-Flux independent MechanismPilar Cidad,* Laura Jiménez-Pérez,* Daniel García-Arribas, Eduardo Miguel-Velado, Sendoa Tajada, Christian Ruiz-McDavitt, José R. López-López, † M. Teresa Pérez-García † Objective-Phenotypic modulation of vascular smooth muscle cells has been associated with a decreased expression of all voltage-dependent potassium channel (Kv)1 channel encoding genes but Kcna3 (which encodes Kv1.3 channels). In fact, upregulation of Kv1.3 currents seems to be important to modulate proliferation of mice femoral vascular smooth muscle cells in culture. This study was designed to explore if these changes in Kv1 expression pattern constituted a landmark of phenotypic modulation across vascular beds and to investigate the mechanisms involved in the proproliferative function of Kv1.3 channels. Methods and Results-Changes in Kv1.3 and Kv1.5 channel expression were reproduced in mesenteric and aortic vascular smooth muscle cells, and their correlate with protein expression was electrophysiologicaly confirmed using selective blockers. Heterologous expression of Kv1.3 and Kv1.5 channels in HEK cells has opposite effects on the proliferation rate. The proproliferative effect of Kv1.3 channels was reproduced by "poreless" mutants but disappeared when voltagedependence of gating was suppressed. Conclusion-These

CaV1.3 channels regulate excitability in many neurons. As is the case for all voltage-gated channels, it is widely assumed that individual CaV1.3 channels behave independently with respect to voltage-activation, open probability, and facilitation. Here, we report the results of super-resolution imaging, optogenetic, and electrophysiological measurements that refute this long-held view. We found that the short channel isoform (CaV1.3S), but not the long (CaV1.3L), associates in functional clusters of two or more channels that open cooperatively, facilitating Ca2+ influx. CaV1.3S channels are coupled via a C-terminus-to-C-terminus interaction that requires binding of the incoming Ca2+ to calmodulin (CaM) and subsequent binding of CaM to the pre-IQ domain of the channels. Physically-coupled channels facilitate Ca2+ currents as a consequence of their higher open probabilities, leading to increased firing rates in rat hippocampal neurons. We propose that cooperative gating of CaV1.3S channels represents a mechanism for the regulation of Ca2+ signaling and electrical activity.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.15744.001