Oxidative challenges sensitize the capsaicin receptor by covalent cysteine modification.

The capsaicin receptor TRPV1, one of the major transduction channels in the pain pathway, integrates information from extracellular milieu to control excitability of primary nociceptive neurons. Sensitization of TRPV1 heightens pain sensation to moderately noxious or even innocuous stimuli. We report here that oxidative stress markedly sensitizes TRPV1 in multiple species' orthologs. The sensitization can be recapitulated in excised inside-out membrane patches, reversed by strong reducing agents, and blocked by pretreatment with maleimide that alkylates cysteines. We identify multiple cysteines required for full modulation of TRPV1 by oxidative challenges. Robust oxidative modulation recovers the agonist sensitivity of receptors desensitized by prolonged exposure to capsaicin. Moreover, oxidative modulation operates synergistically with kinase or proton modulations. Thus, oxidative modulation is a robust mechanism tuning TRPV1 activity via covalent modification of evolutionarily conserved cysteines and may play a role in pain sensing processes during inflammation, infection, or tissue injury.