TRP channels in the urinary bladder and prostate: implications for therapy.

Abstract

In the last two decades, major advances have been made on TRPV1 expression and function in the urinary bladder. Much of this was accomplished after the cloning of the TRPV1 receptor. The development of antibodies against TRPV1 allowed the study of the receptor distribution. Moreover, the raise of transgenic mice lacking TRPV1 gene and the discovery and development of molecules that modulate the receptor brought new insights on TRPV1's important role in the occurrence of urinary bladder pathologies. More recently, effective TRPV1 antagonists were developed and tested with success in intact bladders and in several models of bladder disease, further disclosing the role of TRPV1 in micturition dysfunction. The easy access to TRPV1 receptors in the human urinary bladder to desensitizing vanilloids agents, like capsaicin and resiniferatoxin, represents one of the first successful therapeutic approaches based in TRPV1 receptor modulation.