Transient receptor potential melastatin 1 (TRPM1) is an ion-conducting plasma membrane channel inhibited by zinc ions.

ABSTRACT: TRPM1 is the founding member of the melastatin subgroup of transient receptor potential (TRP) proteins, but it has not yet been firmly established that TRPM1 proteins form ion channels. Consequently, the biophysical and pharmacological properties of these proteins are largely unknown. Here we show that heterologous expression of TRPM1 proteins induces ionic conductances that can be activated by extracellular steroid application. However the current amplitudes observed were too small to enable a reliable biophysical characterization. We overcame this limitation by modifying TRPM1 channels in several independent ways that increased the similarity to the closely related TRPM3 channels. The resulting constructs produced considerably larger currents after overexpression. We also demonstrate tha

SUBMITTER: Lambert S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3069426 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature