Saito Shigeru, Tominaga Makoto
Division of Cell Signaling, Okazaki Institute for Integrative Bioscience (National Institute for Physiological Sciences), National Institute of Natural Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8787, Japan; Department of Physiological Sciences, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Okazaki, Aichi 444-8787, Japan.
Cell Calcium. 2015 Mar;57(3):214-21. doi: 10.1016/j.ceca.2014.12.001. Epub 2014 Dec 8.
Animals have evolved sophisticated physiological systems for sensing ambient temperature since changes in environmental temperatures affect various biological processes. Thermosensitive transient receptor potential (thermoTRP) channels serve as thermal sensors in diverse animal species. They are multimodal receptors that are activated by temperature as well as other physical and chemical stimuli. Since thermoTRP channels are calcium permeable non-selective cation channels, their activation leads to an influx of calcium and sodium ions into the cell and triggers downstream signal transduction. ThermoTRP channels have been characterized in diverse animal species over the past several years, illuminating the diversification of thermoTRP channels in the course of evolution. The gene repertoires of thermoTRP channels differ among animal species. Additionally, in some cases, the temperature and chemical sensitivities among orthologous thermoTRP channels vary among species. The evolutionary flexibility of thermoTRP channels enabled them to contribute to unique physiological systems such as infrared sensation in snakes and bats and seasonal adaptation in silk moth. On the other hand, the functional differences of thermoTRP channels among species have been utilized for understanding the molecular basis for their activation (or inhibition) mechanisms, and amino acid residues (or domains) responsible for the respective channel properties have been identified in various thermoTRP channels. Here we summarize the current understanding of the functional diversity and evolutionary dynamics of thermoTRP channels.
由于环境温度的变化会影响各种生物过程，动物已经进化出复杂的生理系统来感知环境温度。热敏性瞬时受体电位（thermoTRP）通道在多种动物物种中充当热传感器。它们是多模态受体，可被温度以及其他物理和化学刺激激活。由于thermoTRP通道是钙通透性非选择性阳离子通道，它们的激活会导致钙离子和钠离子流入细胞，并触发下游信号转导。在过去几年中，已经在多种动物物种中对thermoTRP通道进行了表征，揭示了thermoTRP通道在进化过程中的多样化。thermoTRP通道的基因库在不同动物物种之间存在差异。此外，在某些情况下，直系同源thermoTRP通道之间的温度和化学敏感性在不同物种之间也有所不同。thermoTRP通道的进化灵活性使它们能够参与独特的生理系统，如蛇和蝙蝠的红外感应以及蚕蛾的季节性适应。另一方面，thermoTRP通道在物种间的功能差异已被用于理解其激活（或抑制）机制的分子基础，并且在各种thermoTRP通道中已经鉴定出负责各自通道特性的氨基酸残基（或结构域）。在这里，我们总结了目前对thermoTRP通道功能多样性和进化动态的理解。
