Nat Commun. 2026 Jan 26;17(1):620. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-67819-w
Light-induced analgesia provides a drug-free optical method for pain relief via activation of TRAAK k+ channels
Marion Bied1,2,3, Arnaud Landra-Willm1,2,3, Anne Amandine Chassot1,2,3, Edward Francisco Mendez-Otalvaro4, Benjamin Sueur5, Kilian Roßmann6, Elvira de la Peña7, Pascal Fossat5, Stephen J Tucker8,9, Jacques Noël2,3,10, Wojciech Kopec4,11, Felix Viana7, Johannes Broichhagen6, Eric Boué-Grabot5, Guillaume Sandoz12,13,14
Affiliations
1Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS, INSERM, iBV, Nice, France.
2Laboratories of Excellence, Ion Channel Science and Therapeutics, Nice, France.
3Fédération Hospitalo-Universitaire InovPain, Cote d’Azur University, University Hospital Centre Nice, Nice, France.
4Computational Biomolecular Dynamics Group, Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Göttingen, Germany.
5Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, F-33000, Bordeaux, France.
6Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP), Berlin, Germany.
7Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández-CSIC, San Juan de Alicante, Spain.
8Department of Physics, Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
9Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
10Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS, INSERM, IPMC, Valbonne, France.
11Department of Chemistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
12Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS, INSERM, iBV, Nice, France.
13Laboratories of Excellence, Ion Channel Science and Therapeutics, Nice, France.
14Fédération Hospitalo-Universitaire InovPain, Cote d’Azur University, University Hospital Centre Nice, Nice, France.
Abstract
Pain management in animal experimentation is crucial for both ethical and scientific reasons, as unmanaged pain can distort physiological responses compromising data reliability. Current strategies are often invasive and pharmacology-based, introducing variability and confounding effects. Here, we present Light-Induced Analgesia, a drug-free, non-invasive method for pain relief in animals. We show that 365 nm illumination activates the pain-inhibitory TRAAK two-pore domain potassium (K2P) channel. This activation is driven by the oxidation of a native methionine at TRAAK’s regulatory fenestration site, triggering a conformational switch from its inactive (down) to active (up) state. We further demonstrate that this mechanism can be transferred to other related K2Ps via a single-point mutation, rendering them light-sensitive. In rodents, gentle skin exposure to 365 nm is sufficient to activate endogenous TRAAK, silence nociceptors, and produce potent, long-lasting analgesia that outperforms standard treatments. Light-Induced Analgesia thus offers an effective, drug-free alternative that can enhance animal welfare and experimental reliability in preclinical research.
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-67819-w