ArticleThe Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience2008
Drosophila painless is a Ca2+-requiring channel activated by noxious heat.
Article in The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 74 papers.
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Who cites it
74 citing papers in PubMed, 114 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cold sensing by a glutamate receptor drives avoidance behavior in Drosophila larvae.Current biology : CB · 2026Article
- TRP channel activation and cholinergic signaling in insect thermoregulation: evidence from the American cockroach.Journal of comparative physiology. B, Biochemical, systemic, and environmental physiology · 2026Article
- The Cellular and Circuit Basis of Temperature Sensation inAnnual review of neuroscience · 2026Review
- Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of the Abdominal Ganglion Reveals Molecular Networks and Key Genes Underlying Thermal Tolerance in Red Swamp Crayfish (Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Genome-wide identification and temperature-responsive expression profiling of TRP gene family in red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii).BMC genomics · 2026Article
- A possible role of Painless channel in the regulation of immune system activity in Tenebrio molitor L.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Gustatory avoidance of fatty acids byProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- TRPA1 for Butterfly Eyespot Formation.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Understanding animal temperature sensation: from molecular thermosensors to physiological impacts.Science China. Life sciences · 2026Review
- TRP Channels from Sensory Coding to Physiology.Metabolites · 2025Review
- Effect of capsaicin on voltage-gated sodium channels withJournal of pesticide science · 2025Article
- Voltage-gated ion channel TRP/Painless regulates the excretory function of the Malpighian tubules in larval lepidopterans.The Journal of experimental biology · 2025Article
- Fruit flies exploit behavioral fever as a defense strategy against parasitic insects.Science advances · 2025Article
- Hymenopteran-specific TRPA channel from the Texas leaf cutter ant (Atta texana) is heat and cold activated and expression correlates with environmental temperature.Insect science · 2025Article
- Alleviation of thermal nociception depends on heat-sensitive neurons and a TRP channel in the brain.Current biology : CB · 2023Article
- Effects of camphor and related compounds on slowly adapting mechanoreceptors in the rat sinus hair follicle.IBRO neuroscience reports · 2022Article
- How Temperature Influences Sleep.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Article
- Molecular Characterization of TRPA Subfamily Genes and Function in Temperature Preference inInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2021Article
- Review
14 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Thermal changes activate some members of the transient receptor potential (TRP) ion channel super family. They are primary sensors for detecting environmental temperatures. The Drosophila TRP channel Painless is believed responsible for avoidance of noxious heat because painless mutant flies display defects in heat sensing. However, no studies have proven its heat responsiveness. We show that Painless expressed in human embryonic kidney-derived 293 (HEK293) cells is a noxious heat-activated, Ca(2+)-permeable channel, and the function is mostly dependent on Ca(2+). In Ca(2+)-imaging, Painless mediated a robust intracellular Ca(2+) (Ca(2+)(i)) increase during heating, and it showed heat-evoked inward currents in whole-cell patch-clamp mode. Ca(2+) permeability was much higher than that of other cations. Heat-evoked currents were negligible in the absence of extracellular Ca(2+) (Ca(2+)(o)) and Ca(2+)(i), whereas 200 nm Ca(2+)(i) enabled heat activation of Painless. Activation kinetics were significantly accelerated in the presence of Ca(2+)(i). The temperature threshold for Painless activation was 42.6 degrees C in the presence of Ca(2+)(i), whereas the threshold was significantly increased to 44.1 degrees C when only Ca(2+)(o) was present. Temperature thresholds were further reduced after repetitive heating in a Ca(2+)-dependent manner. Ca(2+)-dependent heat activation of Painless was observed at the single-channel level in excised membranes. We found that a Ca(2+)-regulatory site is located in the N-terminal region of Painless. Painless-expressing HEK293 cells were insensitive to various thermosensitive TRP channel activators including allyl isothiocyanate, whereas mammalian TRPA1 inhibitors, ruthenium red, and camphor, reversibly blocked heat activation of Painless. Our results demonstrate that Painless is a direct sensor for noxious heat in Drosophila.
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