The capsaicin receptor VR1 is a polymodal nociceptor activated by multiple stimuli. It has been reported that protein kinase C plays a role in the sensitization of VR1. Protein kinase D/PKC is a member of the protein kinase D serine/threonine kinase family that exhibits structural, enzymological, and regulatory features distinct from those of the PKCs, with which they are related. As part of our effort to optimize conditions for evaluating VR1 pharmacology, we found that treatment of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells heterologously expressing rat VR1 (CHO/rVR1) with butyrate enhanced rVR1 expression and activity. The expression of PKC and PKC1, but not of other PKC isoforms, was also enhanced by butyrate treatment, suggesting the possibility that these two isoforms might contribute to the enhanced activity of rVR1. In support of this hypothesis, we found the following. 1) Overexpression of PKC enhanced the response of rVR1 to capsaicin and low pH, and expression of a dominant negative variant of PKC reduced the response of rVR1. 2) Reduction of endogenous PKC using antisense oligonucleotides decreased the response of exogenous rVR1 expressed in CHO cells as well as of endogenous rVR1 in dorsal root ganglion neurons. 3) PKC localized to the plasma membrane when overexpressed in CHO/rVR1 cells. 4) PKC directly bound to rVR1 expressed in CHO cells as well as to endogenous rVR1 in dorsal root ganglia or to an N-terminal fragment of rVR1, indicating a direct interaction between PKC and rVR1. 5) PKC directly phosphorylated rVR1 or a longer N-terminal fragment (amino acids 1-118) of rVR1 but not a shorter one (amino acids 1-99). 6) Mutation of S116A in rVR1 blocked both the phosphorylation of rVR1 by PKC and the enhancement by PKC of the rVR1 response to capsaicin. We conclude that PKC functions as a direct modulator of rVR1.The vanilloid receptor type 1 (VR1 or TRPV1)1 is a vanilloidgated, nonselective cation channel that belongs to the transient receptor potential (TRP) channel superfamily. VR1 is expressed on small diameter neurons within sensory ganglia and accounts for the highly selective action of vanilloids as excitatory agents for nociceptors. In addition to vanilloids, heat and protons also influence vanilloid receptors and nociceptive pathways, and VR1 thus can be viewed as a molecular integrator of chemical and physical stimuli that elicit pain (1). Following tissue injury, the magnitude of VR1 responses is modulated by the combined effects of protons, temperature, endogenous ligands, and signaling pathways, and this modulation of VR1 activity contributes to the sensitization of nociceptors associated with the development of allodynia and hyperalgesia (2).Current evidence implicates multiple signaling pathways in the modulation of VR1. PKA reduces vanilloid receptor type 1 (VR1) desensitization and directly phosphorylates VR1 (3). PKC␣ contributes to VR1 activation by pH (4), and PKC⑀ both directly phosphorylates VR1 and is implicated in the development of hyperalgesia (19). Finally, p38 mitogen-activated ...