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Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Controllable Ion Channel Expression through Inducible Transient Transfection
Published on: February 17, 2017
Extracellular pH dynamically controls cell surface delivery of functional TRPV5 channels
Tim T Lambers1, Elena Oancea, Theun de Groot
1Department of Physiology, Nijmegen Centre for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Extracellular pH regulates calcium channel TRPV5 cell surface expression. Vesicles containing TRPV5 channels transiently interact with the cell membrane, controlling calcium transport.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Physiology
- Biophysics
Background:
- Extracellular pH influences ion transport and ion channel activity.
- The Ca(2+)-selective transient receptor potential vanilloid 5 (TRPV5) channel is crucial for calcium homeostasis.
- TRPV5 functions as the apical gate for calcium entry in transporting cells.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the mechanism by which extracellular pH affects TRPV5 cell surface expression.
- To elucidate the role of vesicular trafficking in TRPV5 regulation.
- To understand the dynamic interaction of TRPV5 with the plasma membrane in response to pH changes.
Main Methods:
- Total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIR-FM)
- Cell surface protein labeling
- Electrophysiology
- (45)Ca(2+) uptake assays
- Functional channel recovery after chemobleaching
Main Results:
- Extracellular alkalinization rapidly recruits TRPV5-containing vesicles to the cell surface.
- These vesicles contain functional TRPV5 channels, leading to increased TRPV5 activity.
- Extracellular acidification causes vesicle retrieval, decreasing TRPV5 activity.
- TRPV5 channels access the extracellular space through transient vesicular "kiss and linger" events.
Conclusions:
- Extracellular pH dynamically regulates TRPV5 cell surface expression and activity via vesicular trafficking.
- TRPV5 channels utilize a "kiss and linger" mechanism for transient plasma membrane interactions.
- This vesicular mechanism enables rapid cellular responses of constitutive active TRP channels to physiological stimuli like pH changes.
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