TRPV2 enhances axon outgrowth through its activation by membrane stretch in developing sensory and motor neurons

Thermosensitive TRP (thermo TRP) channels are well recognized for their contributions to sensory transduction, responding to a wide variety of stimuli including temperature, nociceptive stimuli, touch, and osmolarity. However, the precise roles for the thermo TRP channels during development have not been determined. To explore the functional importance of thermo TRP channels during neural development, the temporal expression was determined in embryonic mice. Interestingly, TRPV2 expression was detected in spinal motor neurons in addition to the dorsal root ganglia from embryonic day 10.5 and was localized in axon shafts and growth cones, suggesting that the channel is important for axon outgrowth regulation. We revealed that endogenous TRPV2 was activated in a membrane stretch-dependent manner in developing neurons by knocking down the TRPV2 function with dominant-negative TRPV2 and TRPV2-specific shRNA and significantly promoted axon outgrowth. Thus, for the first time we revealed that TRPV2 is an important regulator for axon outgrowth through its activation by membrane stretch during development.