Vol.97 No.12
contentsPRACTICA OTO-RHINO-LARYNGOLOGICA
Vol. 97 No.12 December 2004
Possible Nociceptive Roles of TRPV Family in the Inner Ear
Tadashi Kitahara and Takeshi Kubo
(Osaka University)
Transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V (TRPV) is a non-specific cation ion channel receptor family with six transmembrane domains. At first, TRPV1 was cloned in 1997 as a nociceptive receptor sensitive to capsaicin, an essence of hot chili pepper. So far, it has been revealed to be responsive to various kinds of nociceptive stimuli such as, heat, proton ion, low extracellular osmolarity and so on. That's why we, neuro-otologists, are quite interested in roles of this family in the inner ear. It might be possible that TRPV family in the inner ear is involved in the mechanism of caloric-induced nystagmus, the way of bicarbonate action against vertigo and the pathogenesis of endolymphatic hydrops syndrome including Meniere's disease. Here, we would like to review recent findings about TRPV family together with our data and suggest new insights for breaking through unsolved questions in neuro-otology.
Key words : inner ear, transient receptor potential cation channel (TRP), vanilloid receptor, tinnitus,dizziness