TRP Channel

TRP Channel (Transient receptor potential channel) is a group of ion channels located mostly on the plasma membrane of numerous human and animal cell types. There are about 28 TRP channels that share some structural similarity to each other. These are grouped into two broad groups: Group 1 includes TRPC ("C" for canonical), TRPV ("V" for vanilloid), TRPM ("M" for melastatin), TRPN, and TRPA. In group 2, there are TRPP ("P" for polycystic) and TRPML ("ML" for mucolipin). Many of these channels mediate a variety of sensations like the sensations of pain, hotness, warmth or coldness, different kinds of tastes, pressure, and vision. TRP channels are relatively non-selectively permeable to cations, including sodium, calcium and magnesium. TRP channels are initially discovered in trp-mutant strain of the fruit fly Drosophila. Later, TRP channels are found in vertebrates where they are ubiquitously expressed in many cell types and tissues. TRP channels are important for human health as mutations in at least four TRP channels underlie disease.