Activation of transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 by lipoxygenase metabolites depends on PKC phosphorylation

Peripheral neuronal activation by inflammatory mediators is a multifaceted physiological response that involves a multitude of regulated cellular functions. One key pathway that has been shown to be involved in inflammatory pain is Gq/GPCR, whose activation by inflammatory mediators is followed by the regulated response of the cation channel transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1). However, the mechanism that underlies TRPV1 activation downstream of the Gq/GPCR pathway has yet to be fully defined. In this study, we employ pharmacological and molecular biology tools to dissect this activation mechanism via perforated-patch recordings and calcium imaging of both neurons and a heterologous system. We showed that TRPV1 activity downstream of Gq/GPCR activation only produced a subdued current, which was noticeably different from the robust current that is typical of TRPV1 activation by exogenous stimuli. Moreover, we specifically demonstrated that 2 pathways downstream of Gq/GPCR signaling, namely endovanilloid production by lipoxygenases and channel phosphorylation by PKC, converge on TRPV1 to evoke a tightly regulated response. Of importance, we show that only when both pathways are acting on TRPV1 is the inflammatory-mediated response achieved. We propose that the requirement of multiple signaling events allows subdued TRPV1 activation to evoke regulated neuronal response during inflammation.-Kumar R., Hazan, A., Geron, M., Steinberg, R., Livni, L., Matzner, H., Priel, A. Activation of transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 by lipoxygenase metabolites depends on PKC phosphorylation.