Since their discovery in late 1970, transient receptor potential (TRP) channels have been implicated in a variety of cellular and physiological functions (Minke, 2010). The superfamily of TRP channels consists of nearly 30 members that are organized into seven major subgroups based on their specific function and sequence similarities (Owsianik et al., 2006; Ramsey et al., 2006). With the exception of TRPN channels that are only found in invertebrates and fish, mammalian genomes contain representatives of all six subfamilies: (1) TRPV (vanilloid); (2) TRPC (canonical); (3) TRPM (melastatin); (4) TRPA (ankyrin); (5) TRPML (mucolipin); and (6) TRPP (polycystin). TRP channels play crucial regulatory roles in many physiological processes, including those associated with reproductive tissues. As calcium-permeable cation channels that respond to a variety of signals (Clapham et al., 2003; Wu et al., 2010), TRP channels exert their role as sensory detectors in both male and female gametes, and play regulatory functions in germ cell development and maturation. Recent evidence obtained from studies point to the importance of these proteins during fertilization where certain sperm TRP channels could migrate from a spermatozoon into an egg to ensure successful fertilization and embryo development. In this chapter we discuss how TRP channels can regulate both female and male fertility in different species and their specific roles.
自1970年末被发现以来，瞬时受体电位（TRP）通道参与了多种细胞和生理功能（明克，2010年）。TRP通道超家族由近30个成员组成，根据其特定功能和序列相似性分为七个主要亚组（奥西亚尼克等人，2006年；拉姆齐等人，2006年）。除了仅在无脊椎动物和鱼类中发现的TRPN通道外，哺乳动物基因组包含所有六个亚家族的代表：（1）TRPV（香草素）；（2）TRPC（典型）；（3）TRPM（褪黑素）；（4）TRPA（锚蛋白）；（5）TRPML（粘脂质）；以及（6）TRPP（多囊蛋白）。TRP通道在许多生理过程中发挥关键调节作用，包括与生殖组织相关的过程。作为对多种信号作出反应的钙通透性阳离子通道（克拉彭等人，2003年；吴等人，2010年），TRP通道在雄性和雌性配子中作为感觉探测器发挥作用，并在生殖细胞发育和成熟中发挥调节功能。最近从研究中获得的证据表明，这些蛋白质在受精过程中很重要，某些精子TRP通道可以从精子迁移到卵子中，以确保成功受精和胚胎发育。在本章中，我们将讨论TRP通道如何调节不同物种的雌性和雄性生育能力及其特定作用。
