Mitochondrial activity tunes nociceptor resilience to excitotoxicity

The capsaicin receptor, TRPV1, mediates the detection of noxious chemical and thermal stimuli by nociceptors, primary sensory neurons of the pain pathway. Overactivation of TRPV1 leads to cellular damage or death through calcium entry and excitotoxicity. We have exploited this phenomenon to conduct a systematic analysis of excitotoxicity through a genome-wide CRISPRi screen, thereby revealing a comprehensive network of regulatory pathways. We show that decreased expression of mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) components protects against capsaicin-induced toxicity and other challenges by mitigating both calcium imbalance and the generation of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species via distinct pathways. Moreover, we confirm the regulatory roles of the ETC in sensory neurons through gain-of-function and loss-of-function experiments. Interestingly, TRPV1+ sensory neurons maintain lower expression of ETC components and can better tolerate excitotoxicity and oxidative stress compared with other sensory neuron subtypes, implicating ETC tuning as an intrinsic cellular strategy that protects nociceptors against excitotoxicity.