TRPV1

The Transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 or TRPV1 can refer to the TRP cation channel receptor or the gene which encodes it in Homo sapiens.

TRPV1 is a nonselective ligand-gated cation channel that may be activated by a wide variety of exogenous and endogenous stimuli, including heat greater than 43°C, low pH, anandamide, N-arachidonoyl-dopamine, and capsaicin. TRPV1 receptors are found in the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system and are involved in the transmission and modulation of pain, as well as the integration of diverse painful stimuli.

Peripheral nervous system
TRPV1 antagonists have shown efficacy in reducing nociception from inflammatory and neuropathic pain models in rats. This provides evidence that TRPV1 is the capsaicin's sole receptor.

In humans, drugs acting at TRPV1 receptors could potentially be used to treat neuropathic pain associated with multiple sclerosis, chemotherapy, or amputation, as well as pain associated with the inflammatory response of damaged tissue, such as in osteoarthritis.

Central nervous system
TRPV1 is also expressed at high levels in the central nervous system and has been proposed as a target for treatment of not only pain but also for other conditions such as anxiety. Furthermore TRPV1 appears to mediate long term depression (LTD) in the hippocampus. LTD has been linked to a decrease in the ability to make new memories, unlike its opposite long term potentiation (LTP), which aids in memory formation. In rat brain slices, activation of TRV1 with heat or capsaicin induced LTD while capsazepine blocked capsaicin's ability to induce LTD. Hence there may be therapeutic potential in antagonizing TRPV1 in the central nervous system, perhaps as a treatment for epilepsy (TRPV1 is already a target in the peripheral nervous system for pain relief).