Expression of Transient Receptor Potential Channels in the Purified Human Pancreatic β-Cells

Members of the transient receptor potential (TRP) channels are involved in mediating the electrical excitability and stimulus-secretion coupling in the pancreatic β-cells. The expression and the relative abundance of different TRP channels in the human β-cells are unknown. The objective of this study was to examine the expression of the TRP channels and their relative abundance in the human β-cell.

RNA sequencing data obtained from human islets, fluorescence-activated cell sorting-purified human β-cell and human pancreatic acinar cells were analyzed. Gene counts and fragments per kilobase per million mapped reads were obtained.

Among the TRPC family only the TRPC1 was expressed in the human β-cell. TRPV1 channels were not expressed in the human β-cells. Among the TRPM family, TRPM4, TRPM7, TRPM2, and TRPM3 were expressed in the human β-cell. Of the remaining TRP channels, TRPP2, TRPML1, and TRPML3 were expressed in these cells.

By analyzing the RNA sequencing data, we have detected for the first time the TRP channels that are expressed in the purified human β-cells, in comparison to the other relevant pancreatic cell types. Our study provides an opportunity to focus on these TRP channels for a better understanding of the electrophysiology and stimulus-secretion coupling in these cells.