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Updated: Apr 17, 2026

Yeast Luminometric and Xenopus Oocyte Electrophysiological Examinations of the Molecular Mechanosensitivity of TRPV4
Published on: December 31, 2013
Spicing up the sensation of stretch: TRPV1 controls mechanosensitive Piezo channels
1Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases. Inflammation Research Network, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada. altier@ucalgary.ca.
Abstract:
Piezo proteins--a family of mammalian cation-selective ion channels that respond to mechanical stretch--are molecular mediators of biological processes, including vascular tone, hearing, touch, and pain. In this issue of Science Signaling, Rohacs and colleagues demonstrate that activation of the heat-sensitive transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1), another cation channel, inhibits Piezo channels through a calcium-induced depletion of phosphoinositides. This regulation could contribute to the cellular mechanisms by which the TRPV1 activator capsaicin mitigates mechanical hypersensitivity.
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