Role of Heteromeric GPCR Interactions in Pain/Analgesia

Abstract

The mammalian response to pain is extremely complex, involving multiple nervous pathways in the brain and spinal cord as well as in the periphery. The chemical signaling that links individual neurons in these pathways makes use of a great variety of neurotransmitters and neuromodulators, most of which act at G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). In fact, most of the known GPCR types have been shown to play some role in pain processing (1,2).