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Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Yeast Luminometric and Xenopus Oocyte Electrophysiological Examinations of the Molecular Mechanosensitivity of TRPV4
Published on: December 31, 2013
The vanilloid transient receptor potential channel TRPV4: from structure to disease
Wouter Everaerts1, Bernd Nilius, Grzegorz Owsianik
1Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Laboratory Ion Channel Research, Campus Gasthuisberg, KULeuven, Herestraat 49, bus 802, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium.
Abstract:
The Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 4 channel, TRPV4, is a Ca(2+) and Mg(2+) permeable non-selective cation channel involved in many different cellular functions. It is activated by a variety of physical and chemical stimuli, including heat, mechano-stimuli, endogenous substances such as arachidonic acid and its cytochrome P450-derived metabolites (epoxyeicosatrienoic acids), endocannabinoids (anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol), as well as synthetic alpha-phorbol derivatives. Recently, TRPV4 has been characterized as an important player modulating osteoclast differentiation in bone remodelling and as a urothelial mechanosensor that controls normal voiding. Several TRPV4 gain-of-function mutations are shown to cause autosomal-dominant bone dysplasias such as brachyolmia and Koszlowski disease. In this review we comprehensively describe the structural, biophysical and (patho)physiological properties of the TRPV4 channel and we summarize the current knowledge about the role of TRPV4 in the pathogenesis of several diseases.
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