TRPV4 as osmosensor: a transgenic approach.
The transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) ion channel was named initially vanilloid-receptor-related osmotically activated channel (VR-OAC). Preliminary answers to the question, "What is the function of the trpv4 gene in live animals ?" are highlighted briefly in this review. In trpv4 null mice, TRPV4 is necessary for the maintenance of osmotic equilibrium, and in Caenorhabditis elegans transgenic for mammalian TRPV4, TRPV4 directs the osmotic avoidance response in the context of the ASH "nociceptive" neuron. The molecular mechanisms of gating of TRPV4 in vivo need to be determined; in particular, whether TRPV4 in live animals is gated via phosphorylation of defined amino-acid residues or more directly through the osmotic stimulus itself.
Liedtke
Wolfgang
W
Center for Translational Neuroscience, Duke University Medical Center, Box 2900, Durham, NC 27710, USA. wolfgang@neuro.duke.edu
D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D050916:TRPV Cation Channels / Q000502:physiology*; D050051:Transient Receptor Potential Channels / Q000502:physiology
D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; C108820:OSM-9 protein, C elegans; D050916:TRPV Cation Channels; D050051:Transient Receptor Potential Channels; C486576:Trpv4 protein, mouse