Human transient receptor potential (TRP) channel expression profiling in carcinogenesis

Despite the intensive research of the last three decades into Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) cation channels, no precise and complete profiling of these channels is yet available regarding their involvement in physiopathology and carcinogenesis in particular. TRP channel activity is crucial for all the essential hallmarks of carcinogenesis such as proliferation, apoptosis, migration and angiogenesis, which is the reason why these channels have been proposed not only as clinical markers, but also as promising targets for anti-cancer therapy. However, in the majority of studies, each channel has been considered as a separate molecular entity and studied independently from the other TRPs, while a complete "transportome" of the specific stages of carcinogenesis is required for the effective use of these targets. This review focuses on the partial TRP expression profiles found in the literature and the means by which a full TRP signature could be achieved.