The TRPV1 receptor: target of toxicants and therapeutics.

Understanding the structural and functional complexities of the transient receptor potential vanilloid receptor (TRPV1) is essential to the therapeutic modulation of inflammation and pain. Because of its central role in initiating inflammatory processes and integrating painful stimuli, there is an understandable interest in its pharmacological manipulation (sensitization/desensitization). The present Highlight entitled "TRPV1 antagonists elevate cell surface populations of receptor protein and exacerbate TRPV1 mediated toxicities in human lung epithelial cells" describes how exposure to various antagonists produces TRPV1 sensitization and proposes a possible mechanistic explanation to that sensitization.