Treatment of chronic pain remains an unmet medical need. The neuronal voltage-gated potassium Kv7/KCNQ/M channel has been implicated as a therapeutic target for chronic pain. However, whether pharmacological activation of the Kv7 channel can alleviate pain remains elusive. In this study, we show that selective activation of native M-currents by a novel channel opener SCR2682 reduces repetitive firings of dorsal root ganglia (DRG) sensory neurons. Intraperitoneal administration of SCR2682 relieves mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia in rat models of pain induced by complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) or spared nerve injury (SNI) in a dose-dependent manner without affecting locomotor activity. The antinociceptive efficacy of SCR2682 can be reversed by the channel-specific blocker XE991. Furthermore, SCR2682 increases Kv7.2/KCNQ2 mRNA and protein expression in DRG neurons from rats in the SNI model of neuropathic pain. Taken together, pharmacological activation of neuronal Kv7 channels by opener SCR2682 can alleviate pain in rats, thus possessing therapeutic potential for chronic pain or hyperexcitability-related neurologic disorders. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: A novel voltage-gated potassium Kv7 channel opener SCR2682 inhibits action potential firings in dorsal root ganglia sensory neurons and exhibits efficacy in antinociception, thus possessing a developmental potential for treatment of chronic pain or epilepsy.
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