Skip to main content

Part of the book series: Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology ((HEP,volume 179))

Abstract

The TRPA1 protein has up to 18 N-terminal and presumed cytoplasmic ankyrin repeats followed by the six membrane spanning and single pore-loop domains characteristic of all TRPs. In mice, TRPA1 is almost exclusively expressed in nociceptive neurons of peripheral ganglia and in all the mechanosensory epithelia of inner ear. In nociceptive neurons, TRPA1 mediates the response to the proalgesic bradykinin as well as the response to pungent irritants found in mustards and garlic, and probably also to those found in cinnamon and tear gas. The channel properties of TRPA1 are discussed and compared to those of sensory transducers. TRPA1 is well conserved across the animal kingdom, with likely orthologs from human to nematode, which suggest an ancestral role for this channel, probably in sensation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 429.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 549.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 549.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Bandell M, Story GM, Hwang SW, Viswanath V, Eid SR, Petrus MJ, Earley TJ, Patapoutian A (2004) Noxious cold ion channel TRPA1 is activated by pungent compounds and bradykinin. Neuron 41:849–857

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bautista DM, Movahed P, Hinman A, Axelsson HE, Sterner O, Hèogestèatt ED, Julius D, Jordt SE, Zygmunt PM (2005) Pungent products from garlic activate the sensory ion channel TRPA1. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 102:12248–12252

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bautista DM, Jordt SE, Nikai T, Tsuruda PR, Read AJ, Poblete J, Yamoah EN, Basbaum AI, Julius D (2006) TRPA1 mediates the inflammatory actions of environmental irritants and proalgesic agents. Cell 124:1269–1282

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Corey DP, García-Añoveros J, Holt JR, Kwan KY, Lin SY, Vollrath MA, Amalfitano A, Cheung EL, Derfler BH, Duggan A, Géléoc GS, Gray PA, Hoffman MP, Rehm HL, Tamasauskas D, Zhang DS (2004) TRPA1 is a candidate for the mechanosensitive transduction channel of vertebrate hair cells. Nature 432:723–730

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Duggan A, García-Añoveros J, Corey DP (2000) Insect mechanoreception: what a long, strange TRP it’s been. Curr Biol 10:R384–R387

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Farris HE, LeBlanc CL, Goswami J, Ricci AJ (2004) Probing the pore of the auditory hair cell mechanotransducer channel in turtle. J Physiol 558:769–792

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • García-Añoveros J, Duggan A (2006) TRPA1 in auditory and nociceptive organs. In: Liedtke W, Heller S (eds) TRP ion channels in transduction of sensory stimuli and cellular signaling cascades. CRC Publishing/Taylor and Francis, Boca Raton

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamill OP, McBride DW Jr (1996) The pharmacology of mechanogated membrane ion channels. Pharmacol Rev 48:231–252

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Howard J, Bechstedt S (2004) Hypothesis: a helix of ankyrin repeats of the NOMPC-TRP ion channel is the gating spring of mechanoreceptors. Curr Biol 14:R224–226

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jaquemar D, Schenker T, Trueb B (1999) An ankyrin-like protein with transmembrane domains is specifically lost after oncogenic transformation of human fibroblasts. J Biol Chem 274:7325–7333

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jordt SE, Bautista DM, Chuang HH, McKemy DD, Zygmunt PM, Hogestatt ED, Meng ID, Julius D (2004) Mustard oils and cannabinoids excite sensory nerve fibres through the TRP channel ANKTM1. Nature 427:260–265

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jorgensen F, Ohmori H (1988) Amiloride blocks the mechano-electrical transduction channel of hair cells of the chick. J Physiol 403:577–588

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kimitsuki T, Nakagawa T, Hisashi K, Komune S, Komiyama S (1996) Gadolinium blocks mechano-electric transducer current in chick cochlear hair cells. Hear Res 101:75–80

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kobayashi K, Fukuoka T, Obata K, Yamanaka H, Dai Y, Tokunaga A, Noguchi K (2005) Distinct expression of TRPM8, TRPA1, and TRPV1 mRNAs in rat primary afferent neurons with adelta/c-fibers and colocalization with trk receptors. J Comp Neurol 493:596–606

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kroese AB, Das A, Hudspeth AJ (1989) Blockage of the transduction channels of hair cells in the bullfrog’s sacculus by aminoglycoside antibiotics. Hear Res 37:203–217

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lee G, Abdi K, Jiang Y, Michaely P, Bennett V, Marszalek PE (2006) Nanospring behaviour of ankyrin repeats. Nature 440:246–249

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Li W, Feng Z, Sternberg PW, Shawn Xu XZ (2006) A C. elegans stretch receptor neuron revealed by a mechanosensitive TRP channel homologue. Nature 440:684–687

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McKemy DD, Neuhausser WM, Julius D (2002) Identification of a cold receptor reveals a general role for TRP channels in thermosensation. Nature 416:52–58

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nagata K, Duggan A, Kumar G, García-Añoveros J (2005) Nociceptor and hair cell transducer properties of TRPA1, a channel for pain and hearing. J Neurosci 25:4052–4061

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Obata K, Katsura H, Mizushima T, Yamanaka H, Kobayashi K, Dai Y, Fukuoka T, Tokunaga A, Tominaga M, Noguchi K (2005) TRPA1 induced in sensory neurons contributes to cold hyperalgesia after inflammation and nerve injury. J Clin Invest 115:2393–2401

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reid G (2005) ThermoTRP channels and cold sensing: what are they really up to? Pflugers Arch 451:250–263

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ricci A (2002) Differences in mechano-transducer channel kinetics underlie tonotopic distribution of fast adaptation in auditory hair cells. J Neurophysiol 87:1738–1748

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenzweig M, Brennan KM, Tayler TD, Phelps PO, Patapoutian A, Garrity PA (2005) The Drosophila ortholog of vertebrate TRPA1 regulates thermotaxis. Genes Dev 19:419–424

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rüsch A, Kros CJ, Richardson GP (1994) Block by amiloride and its derivatives of mechanoelectrical transduction in outer hair cells of mouse cochlear cultures. J Physiol 474:75–86

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sidi S, Friedrich RW, Nicolson T (2003) NompC TRP channel required for vertebrate sensory hair cell mechanotransduction. Science 301:96–99

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sotomayor M, Corey DP, Schulten K (2005) In search of the hair-cell gating spring elastic properties of ankyrin and cadherin repeats. Structure 13:669–682

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stepanyan R, Boger ET, Friedman TB, Frolenkov GL (2006) TRPA1, a hair cell channel with unknown function? (abstract No. 1213). Abstr Midwinter Res Meet Assoc Res Otolaryngol, pp 211–212

    Google Scholar 

  • Story GM, Peier AM, Reeve AJ, Eid SR, Mosbacher J, Hricik TR, Earley TJ, Hergarden AC, Andersson DA, Hwang SW, McIntyre P, Jegla T, Bevan S, Patapoutian A (2003) ANKTM1, a TRP-like channel expressed in nociceptive neurons, is activated by cold temperatures. Cell 112:819–829

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tracey WD Jr, Wilson RI, Laurent G, Benzer S (2003) painless, a Drosophila gene essential for nociception. Cell 113:261–273

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Viswanath V, Story GM, Peier AM, Petrus MJ, Lee VM, Hwang SW, Patapoutian A, Jegla T (2003) Opposite thermosensor in fruitfly and mouse. Nature 423:822–823

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Walker RG, Willingham AT, Zuker CS (2000) A Drosophila mechanosensory transduction channel. Science 287:2229–2234

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2007 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

García-Añoveros, J., Nagata, K. (2007). TRPA1. In: Flockerzi, V., Nilius, B. (eds) Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) Channels. Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, vol 179. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-34891-7_21

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics