Volume 11 Issue 2
TRP Channels as Lower Urinary Tract Sensory Targets
Karl-Erik Andersson
1Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC 27101, USA
2Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, 223 62 Lund, Sweden
Abstract
Several members of the transient receptor potential (TRP) superfamily, including TRPV1, TRPV2, TRPV4, TRM4, TRPM8 and TRPA1, are expressed in the lower urinary tract (LUT), not only in neuronal fibers innervating the bladder and urethra, but also in the urothelial and muscular layers of the bladder and urethral walls. In the LUT, TRP channels are mainly involved in nociception and mechanosensory transduction. Animal studies have suggested the therapeutic potential of several TRP channels for the treatment of both bladder over- and underactivity and bladder pain disorders,; however translation of this finding to clinical application has been slow and the involvement of these channels in normal human bladder function, and in various pathologic states have not been established. The development of selective TRP channel agonists and antagonists is ongoing and the use of such agents can be expected to offer new and important information concerning both normal physiological functions and possible therapeutic applications.
Keywords: lower urinary tract; bladder; urethra; TRPV1; TRPV2; TRPV4; TRPM8 and TRPA1