Changes in TRP Channels Expression in Painful Conditions

Over the last fifteen years after the successful cloning of the first nociceptive Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) channel, TRP Vanilloid 1, other members of the TRP channel family have been cloned, characterized and implicated in different modalities of pain. Tremendous progress has been made with regard to the specific role of these TRP channels in nociception using electrophysiological and molecular methods, along with behavioral models combined with gene disruption techniques. This review summarizes the evidence supporting the role of TRP channels (TRP Vanilloid 1, TRP Vanilloid 2, TRP Vanilloid 3, TRP Vanilloid 4, TRP Ankyrin 1, TRP Melastatin 2, TRP Melastatin 3, TRP Melastatin 8, TRP Mucolipin 3 and TRP Canonical 1, 6) involved in nociception. The review also highlights the current status and future avenues for developing TRP channel modulators as analgesic agents.