Inflammatory hyperalgesia due to TRPV1, the pepper spray receptor in the cornea

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

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Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract This request for an administrative supplement to promote diversity will allow Dr. Shauna Otto (PhD expected March, 2021) to train as a postdoctoral scholar in the Gordon lab. She will work on subaims 1b and 2a of the parent grant. These aims address the molecular mechanisms by which the inflammatory factor Nerve Growth Factor regulate sensitization to painful stimuli in pain receptor neurons. This is an especially important system to understand in the cornea, where suppression of Nerve Growth Factor signaling has been shown to both relieve pain and interfere with healing during injury/inflammation. Dr. Otto?s will train directly under Dr. Gordon in the experimental methods required: single-molecule assays for phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) activity using supported lipid bilayers. Using this system, Dr. Otto will study the interactions between the ARD region of TRPV1, the pain-transducing ion channel, and PI3K