※ 引述《honu (水母)》之铭言： : http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070530132405.htm : 出自Sciencedaily网站，这个网站还蛮好看的，英文不难 : 不过暂时没力气翻了，有人要接手吗？ 刚好吃饱没事做....XDD : Detecting Cold, Feeling Pain: Study Reveals Why Menthol Feels Fresh : Science Daily — Scientists have identified the receptor in cells of the : peripheral nervous system that is most responsible for the body's ability to : sense cold. 测冷感痛: 研究揭露薄荷脑令人感到清爽的秘密! 科学每日－科学家已发现位於边缘神经系统中的特定受器, 该受器负责身体感觉寒冷的能力。 : The finding, reported on-line in the journal "Nature" (May 30, 2007), reveals : one of the key mechanisms by which the body detects temperature sensation. : But in so doing it also illuminates a mechanism that mediates how the body : experiences intense stimuli -- temperature, in this case -- that can cause : pain. 这项发现於期刊"自然"(2007/5/30)线上发表後, 揭示了人体侦测温度知觉的关键机制之一。 这项研究同样地也点亮了调节身体经历强烈刺激而产生痛觉的机制, 在这个例子中, 这个刺激便是温度。 : As such, the receptor -- known as menthol receptor TRPM8 -- provides a target : for studying acute and chronic pain, as can result from inflammatory or nerve : injury, the researchers say, and a potential new target for treating pain. 就该受器－－正确名称为「薄荷脑受器TRPM8」－－而言, 提供了研究刺痛与慢性疼痛的指标, 这些疼痛可能由发炎或神经受损所导致, 研究者表示, 这将是治疗疼痛具有前景的新指标。 : "By understanding how sensory receptors work, how thresholds for temperature : are determined, we gain insight into how these thresholds change in the : setting of injury, such as inflammatory and nerve injury, and how these : changes may contribute to chronic pain," says senior author David Julius, : PhD, chairman and professor of physiology at UCSF. UCSF生理学博士、系长兼教授资深研究者大卫朱立思说: 了解感觉受器运作的原理、温度绝对阈的测定, 使得我们能够洞察这些阈值在受伤时、发炎时以及神经受损时的改变, 这些改变或许会导致慢性疼痛。 : The menthol receptor, and other temperature receptors discovered in recent : years by the Julius lab, offer potential targets for developing analgesic : drugs that act in the peripheral, nervous system, rather than centrally, : where opiate receptors act, he says. 大卫说, 薄荷脑受器以及进几年在朱立思的实验室中发现的其余几个温度受器, 将提供发展作用於边缘神经系统的止痛药一个具有前景的指标, 而不项以往的止痛药作用於麻醉或镇定的受器。 : The finding is a milestone in an investigation the team began several years : ago. In 2002, the researchers discovered that the receptor was activated by : chemical cooling agents such as menthol, a natural product of mint, and cool : air. They reported their discovery, or "cloning," of the receptor in "Nature" : (March 7, 2002), hypothesizing that the receptor would play a key role in : sensing cold. However, some subsequent papers questioned this theory. 这项发现是该团队进行调查几年後一个重要的里程碑。 2002年, 研究人员发现某些受器会受化学冷却传导媒介所启动, 这些传导媒介有薄荷脑－－薄荷的自然产物、冷空气。 他们在"自然"杂志(2002/3/7)报告了他们对於这些受器的研究发现, 并假设这个受器在侦测寒冷时扮演了举足轻重的角色。 然而一些後继的研究报告动摇了这个理论。 === 耶～刚好翻到一半 有人要接力吗 还是要等我洗完澡 XDDDD === : In the current study, the team confirmed their hypothesis by "knocking out" : the gene that synthesizes the receptor, both in sensory neurons in cell : culture and in mice. The cells in culture were unresponsive to cooling : agents, including menthol. The genetically engineered mice did not : discriminate between warm and cold surfaces until the temperature dropped to : extremes. : "It's been known for years that menthol and related cooling agents evoke the : psychophysical sensation of cold -- somehow by interacting with the aspect of : the sensory nervous system that's related to cold detection," says Julius. : The current study, he says -- led by Diana M. Bautista, PhD, and Jan Siemens, : PhD, of the Julius lab and Joshua M. Glazer, PhD, of the lab of co-senior : author Cheryl Stucky, PhD, of the Medical College of Wisconsin -- puts that : question to rest. : As the mice lacking the gene were not completely insensitive to cold -- they : avoided contact with surfaces below 10 degrees C, though with reduced : efficiency -- the next step, says Julius, will be to illuminate this residual : aspect of cold sensation. : The finding is the latest of a series of discoveries led by the Julius lab on : the molecular mechanisms of temperature sensation and pain. In 1997, the lab : cloned the gene for the capsaicin receptor, the main pungent ingredient in : some chili peppers (Nature, Oct. 23, 1997), and in 2000 reported that, in : mice, the receptor triggers the nerves to fire pain signals when they are : exposed to high ambient heat or the fiery properties of peppery food. : (Science, April 14, 2000). The study demonstrated that capsaicin and noxious : heat elicit the sensation of burning pain through activation of the same : receptor on sensory neurons. : Most recently, they identified the receptor of isothiocyanate compounds, : which constitute the pungent ingredients in such plants as wasabi and yellow : mustard. In response to high temperatures, the receptor produces pain and : irritation. : "All of these studies use natural products to understand pain mechanisms in : the periphery of the body, where they are first sensed," says Julius. : Ultimately, pain signals are transmitted from the peripheral nervous system : into the body's central nervous system -- moving through nerves in the spinal : cord and brain stem up to the brain, which prompts a response, or "feeling." : Co-author of the current study Allan Basbaum, PhD, also of UCSF, is a pioneer : of research into the mechanism of chronic pain within the central nervous : system. : The Julius team's complementary work is focused at the level of the sensory : nerve fiber, where the signals are first initiated. "We want to know," Julius : says, "how do you detect these stimuli to begin with" How do your sensory : nerve endings do this to begin with" And what are the biochemical and : biophysical mechanisms that account for this"" : All three receptors the Julius lab has discovered are members of the TRP : family of ion channels expressed on sensory neurons. The latest finding adds : to the evidence, says Julius, that TRP channels are the principal transducers : of thermal stimuli in the mammalian periphery nervous system. : Other co-authors of the study were Pamela R. Tsuruda, PhD, of UCSF, and : Sven-Eric Jordt, PhD, of Yale University School of Medicine. : The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Burroughs : Welcome Fund and the Human Frontiers Science Program Organization. : Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by University of : California - San Francisco --

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