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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2022 Feb 10.
Published in final edited form as: Annu Rev Physiol. 2020 Oct 21;83:205–230. doi: 10.1146/annurev-physiol-031220-095215

Table 2.

Summary of molecular cold sensors in different model systems

Cold sensors Species Tact Q10 Remarks References
TRPM8 Mouse ~27°C 24 Cool sensor mediating cool sensation 65, 68
TRPC5 Mouse ~25°C ~10 Cool sensitive in vitro
No notable thermal phenotype in KO mice		 72
GC-G Mouse Over 30°C ND Cool sensing in Grueneberg ganglion 73
TRPA1 Mouse, human Variable ~10 Heat sensitive under physiological conditions, but cold sensitive under oxidative stress conditions 84, 161
GluK2 Mouse ~18°C ND Cold sensitive in vitro
Knockdown of GluK2 suppresses noxious cold, but not cool, sensation in DRG neurons		 86
IR21a, −25a, −93a Drosophila ND ND May form a heteromeric cool sensor 76, 77
TRPA1 C. elegans ~20°C ND Promotes longevity at low temperatures 15, 80, 148
GLR-3 C. elegans ~18°C ND A metabotropic cold sensor driving cold avoidance behavior 86

Abbreviations: DRG, dorsal root ganglia; GC-G, guanylyl cyclase G; KO, knockout; ND, not determined; Tact, temperature activation threshold.