In search of the holy grail for Drosophila TRP.
Activation of the archetypal Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) channel, which is essential for Drosophila phototransduction, depends on a phospholipase C (PLC). However, the precise mechanism linking PLC to the gating of TRP has been elusive. In this issue of Neuron, Leung et al. provide compelling evidence that a diacylglycerol (DAG) lipase (INAE), acting downstream of the PLC, is essential for opening TRP. These results strongly support the model that a DAG metabolite is critical for TRP activation and suggest that mammalian DAG lipases may play similar roles.
Montell
Craig
C
Departments of Biological Chemistry and Neuroscience, Center for Sensory Biology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. cmontell@jhmi.edu
D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D004330:Drosophila; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology; D050051:Transient Receptor Potential Channels / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology
D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D050051:Transient Receptor Potential Channels