Voltage Dependence of the Cation-Nonselective TRP Channels

Abstract

Named for the transient receptor potential channels in Drosophila visual transduction, TRP channels are ubiquitously expressed in virtually all animals. •TRPs are classified into three subtypes based on sequence homology: short, long, and osm-9-like •TRP proteins assemble into tetrameric cation channels •Activated by the phospholipase C pathway associated with metabotropic receptors •May be gated by depletion of intracellular Ca2+ stores or DAG •Heteromultimeric channels may contribute to the electrophysiological properties and activation mechanism of TRPs •We studied currents from HEK293 cells expressing both human TRP1 and murine TRP4 to determine the effect of heteromer formation.We were hoping to understand how heteromer formation affects the voltage dependence of TRP channels, regardless of a dependence on Ca2+ for activation