Pharmacology of TRP Channels

Abstract

This themed issue of the British Journal of Pharmacology contains review and research articles on recent advances in transient receptor potential (TRP) channel pharmacology. The review articles, written by a panel of distinguished experts, address the rapid progress in TRP channel research in fields as diverse as oncology, urology, dermatology, migraine, inflammation and pain. These reviews are complemented by original research reports focusing, among others, on the emerging roles of TRPV1 in osteoporosis and cystitis and on evodiamine as a lead structure for the development of potent TRPV1 agonists/desensitizers. Other papers highlight the differences in TRPV3 pharmacology between recombinant and native systems, the mechanisms of TRPM3 activation/inhibition and TRPP2 as a target of naringenin, a dietary flavonoid with anticancer actions. New therapeutic opportunities in pain may arise from the strategy to combine TRP channel and cell membrane impermeant sodium channel blockers to inhibit sensory nerve activity. LINKED ARTICLES This article is part of a themed section on the pharmacology of TRP channels. To view the other articles in this section visit http://dx. Abbreviations CXCR2, chemokine CC motif receptor 2; TRP, transient receptor potential; TRPA, TRP channel subfamily A; TRPC, TRP channel subfamily C; TRPM, TRP channel subfamily M; TRPP, TRP channel polycystin subfamily; TRPV, TRP channel subfamily V The transient receptor potential (TRP) cation channel super-family is classified into six related subfamilies: the TRP channel subfamily C (canonical, TRPC), the TRP channel subfamily V (vanilloid, TRPV), the TRP channel subfamily M (melastatin, TRPM), the TRP channel subfamily A (ankyrin, TRPA), the TRP channel polycystin subfamily (TRPP) and the TRP channel mucolipin subfamily (Moran et al., 2011; Fernandes et al., 2012). The TRPs are, in general, non-selective cation channels that open in response to changes in temperature, ligand binding and other alterations of the channel protein, but are only weakly sensitive to depolariza-tion (Vay et al., 2012). Animal and human genetic studies have shown that alterations in TRP channel functions-in a pathological context known as TRP channelopathies-are causative for a variety of diseases, such as inherited pain syndrome, multiple kidney diseases and skeletal muscle disorders (Moran et al., 2011). In this themed issue, we have brought together a number of informative reviews depicting and discussing some of the basic and clinical concepts that emerge from the current TRP channel research. Since the identification of the first mam-malian TRP channels in the 1990s, these entities have been addressed as potential targets for drugs, and Kaneko and Szallasi (2014) review the current status of TRP channels from a clinical perspective. Despite accumulating evidence to implicate a number of TRP channels in a wide range of diseases , only 4 of the 28 mammalian TRP channel subunits, namely TRPM8, TRPA1, TRPV1 and TRPV3, have been exploited so far to reach the clinical stage ...

A natural agonist of mosquito TRPA1 from the medicinal plant Cinnamosma fragrans that is toxic, antifeedant, and repellent to the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti

“…Consistent with covalent binding of CDIAL and CFRAG to Ag TRPA1, the deactivation rates of Ag TRPA1 upon washing out either molecule was much slower than the corresponding activation rates. Rapid inactivation of Ag TRPA1 was only observed upon the addition of ruthenium red, which occludes the conductive pores of TRP channels [ 64 ]. In contrast to the asymmetric chemical activation/deactivation of Ag TRPA1 by CDIAL and CFRAG, the thermal activation/deactivation of Ag TRPA1 is symmetric and rapidly reversible [ 34 ].…”

TRP channels in schistosomes

“…↑, activation or sensitization; ↓, inhibition. List of selected TRP channel modulators and targets adapted from Fernandez-Carvajal et al., 2015, Schaefer, 2014, Alexander et al., 2015.…”

The expression and function of TRPV4 channels in primate retinal ganglion cells and bipolar cells

“…TRPs are variably modulated by temperature, osmolality, membrane tension, phorbol esters and G-protein-mediated regulation 16 , which allows identification of TRPV4. TRPV4 opens by pressure 17 , membrane stretch 18 , warm temperature and specific pharmacological agonists like GSK1016790A (GSK) and 4αPDD 15,19 . TRPV4, TRPM8, and TRPV3 work at similar temperatures.…”