Nociceptive Transducers

Capsaicin, a pungent ingredient present in hot peppers, is a potent activator of a subset of sensory neurons that normally only respond to potentially tissue damaging noxious stimuli (nociceptors), including those associated with the cough reflex (Davenport et al. 2007 Fuller et al. 1985 Fuller 1991 Mazzone et al. 2007b). The capsaicin receptor, TRPV 1, was the first transducer of nociceptive information to be cloned and characterized (Caterina et al. 1997). 

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