TRPC channels in exercise-mimetic therapy

Physical exercise yields beneficial effects on all types of muscle cells, which are essential for the maintenance of cardiovascular homeostasis and good blood circulation. Daily moderate exercise increases systemic antioxidative capacity, which can lead to the prevention of the onset and progression of oxidative stress-related diseases. Therefore, exercise is now widely accepted as one of the best therapeutic strategies for the treatment of ischemic (hypoxic) diseases. Canonical transient receptor potential (TRPC) proteins are non-selective cation channels activated by mechanical stress and/or stimulation of phospholipase C-coupled surface receptors. TRPC channels, especially diacylglycerol-activated TRPC channels (TRPC3 and TRPC6; TRPC3/6), play a key role in the development of cardiovascular remodeling. We have recently found that physical interaction between TRPC3 and NADPH oxidase (Nox) 2 under hypoxic stress promotes Nox2-dependent reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and mediates rodent cardiac plasticity, and inhibition of the TRPC3-Nox2 protein complex results in enhancement of myocardial compliance and flexibility similar to that observed in exercise-treated hearts. In this review, we describe current understanding of the roles of TRPC channels in striated muscle (patho)physiology and propose that targeting TRPC-based protein complexes could be a new strategy to imitate exercise therapy.