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Updated: Mar 24, 2026

Assessment of Cellular Oxidation using a Subcellular Compartment-Specific Redox-Sensitive Green Fluorescent Protein
Published on: June 18, 2020
Sensing of redox status by TRP channels
Nozomi Ogawa1, Tatsuki Kurokawa1, Yasuo Mori2
1Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Department of Synthetic Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto 615-8510, Japan.
Abstract:
Cellular redox status is maintained by the balance between series of antioxidant systems and production of reactive oxygen/nitrogenous species. Cells utilize this redox balance to mediate diverse physiological functions. Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels are non-selective cation channels that act as biosensors for environmental and noxious stimuli, such as capsaicin and allicin, as well as changes in temperature and conditions inside the cell. TRP channels also have an emerging role as essential players in detecting cellular redox status to regulate cellular signals mediating physiological phenomena. Reactive species activate TRP channels either directly through oxidative amino acid modifications or indirectly through second messengers. For instance, TRPA1, TRPV1 and TRPC5 channels are directly activated by oxidizing agents through cysteine modification; whereas, TRPM2 channel is indirectly activated by production of ADP-ribose. One intriguing property of several TRP channels is susceptibility to both oxidizing and reducing stimuli, suggesting TRP channels could potentially act as a bidirectional sensor for detecting deviations in redox status. In this review, we discuss the unique chemical physiologies of redox sensitive TRP channels and their physiological significance in Ca(2+) signaling.
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