Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Feb;153(2):473-484.
doi: 10.1016/j.pain.2011.11.014. Epub 2011 Dec 14.

Menthol pain relief through cumulative inactivation of voltage-gated sodium channels

Christelle Gaudioso  1 , Jizhe Hao, Marie-France Martin-Eauclaire, Mélanie Gabriac, Patrick Delmas
Affiliations

Menthol pain relief through cumulative inactivation of voltage-gated sodium channels

Christelle Gaudioso et al. Pain. 2012 Feb.

Abstract

Menthol is a natural compound of plant origin known to produce cool sensation via the activation of the TRPM8 channel. It is also frequently part of topical analgesic drugs available in a pharmacy, although its mechanism of action is still unknown. Compelling evidence indicates that voltage-gated Na(+) channels are critical for experiencing pain sensation. We tested the hypothesis that menthol may block voltage-gated Na(+) channels in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons. By use of a patch clamp, we evaluated the effects of menthol application on tetrodotoxin (TTX)-resistant Nav1.8 and Nav1.9 channel subtypes in DRG neurons, and on TTX-sensitive Na(+) channels in immortalized DRG neuron-derived F11 cells. The results indicate that menthol inhibits Na(+) channels in a concentration-, voltage-, and frequency-dependent manner. Menthol promoted fast and slow inactivation states, causing use-dependent depression of Na(+) channel activity. In current clamp recordings, menthol inhibited firing at high-frequency stimulation with minimal effects on normal neuronal activity. We found that low concentrations of menthol cause analgesia in mice, relieving pain produced by a Na(+) channel-targeting toxin. We conclude that menthol is a state-selective blocker of Nav1.8, Nav1.9, and TTX-sensitive Na(+) channels, indicating a role for Na(+) channel blockade in the efficacy of menthol as topical analgesic compound.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Akopian AN, Souslova V, England S, Okuse K, Ogata N, Ure J, Smith A, Kerr BJ, McMahon SB, Boyce S, Hill R, Stanfa LC, Dickenson AH, Wood JN. The tetrodotoxin-resistant sodium channel SNS has a specialized function in pain pathways. Nat Neurosci. 1999;2:541-548.
    1. Alami M, Vacher H, Bosmans F, Devaux C, Rosso JP, Bougis PE, Tytgat J, Darbon H, Martin-Eauclaire MF. Characterization of Amm VIII from Androctonus mauretanicus mauretanicus: a new scorpion toxin that discriminates between neuronal and skeletal sodium channels. Biochem J. 2003;375:551-560.
    1. Amaya F, Wang H, Costigan M, Allchorne AJ, Hatcher JP, Egerton J, Stean T, Morisset V, Grose D, Gunthorpe MJ, Chessell IP, Tate S, Green PJ, Woolf CJ. The voltage-gated sodium channel Na(v)1.9 is an effector of peripheral inflammatory pain hypersensitivity. J Neurosci. 2006;26:12852-12860.
    1. Behrendt HJ, Germann T, Gillen C, Hatt H, Jostock R. Characterization of the mouse cold-menthol receptor TRPM8 and vanilloid receptor type-1 VR1 using a fluorometric imaging plate reader (FLIPR) assay. Br J Pharmacol. 2004;141:737-745.
    1. Blair NT, Bean BP. Roles of tetrodotoxin (TTX)-sensitive Na+ current, TTX-resistant Na+ current, and Ca2+ current in the action potentials of nociceptive sensory neurons. J Neurosci. 2002;22:10277-10290.

Publication types

MeSH terms