title: Neurobiology of TRPC2: from gene to behavior.
abstract: The mammalian vomeronasal organ (VNO), a part of the accessory olfactory system, plays an essential role in the sensing of pheromonal signals. The VNO has emerged as an excellent model to investigate the functional role of transient receptor potential (TRP) channels in intact neurons and intact physiological systems. TRPC2, a member of the (canonical) TRPC subfamily, is highly localized to the dendritic tip of vomeronasal sensory neurons. Phenotypic analysis of mice exhibiting a targeted deletion in the TRPC2 gene has established that TRPC2 occupies a fundamental role in the transduction machinery underlying the detection of pheromone signals by the VNO. TRPC2-deficient mice exhibit striking behavioral defects in the regulation of sexual and social behaviors. A previously unknown Ca(2+)-permeable, diacylglycerol (DAG)-activated cation channel found at the dendritic tip of vomeronasal neurons is severely defective in TRPC2 mutants, providing the first clear example for the existence of native DAG-gated cation channels in the mammalian nervous system. The experimental strategy employed in the mouse VNO now serves as a powerful model for examining the native functions of other TRP genes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology and Program in Neuroscience, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 20 Penn Street, Baltimore, MD 21201-1509, USA. fzufa001@umaryland.edu
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zufall
authors.forename: Kyrill
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ukhanov
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lucas
authors.forename: E R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Liman
authors.forename: Trese
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Leinders-Zufall
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D019852:Diacylglycerol Kinase / Q000378:metabolism; D004075:Diglycerides / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D018034:Olfactory Receptor Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D010675:Pheromones / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology; D050052:TRPC Cation Channels / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D010738:Type C Phospholipases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D019147:Vomeronasal Organ / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D004075:Diglycerides; D010675:Pheromones; D050052:TRPC Cation Channels; C491858:Trpc2 protein, mouse; D019852:Diacylglycerol Kinase; D010738:Type C Phospholipases