Transient receptor potential channels in sensory mechanisms of the lower urinary tract.

Abstract

Urine storage and excretion require a network of interactions in the urinary tract and the central nervous system (CNS), which is mediated by a reservoir of water in the bladder and the outlet to the bladder neck, urethra and external urethral sphincter. Through communicating and coordinating each other, micturition system eventually showed a switch-like activity pattern. At cervicothoracic and lumbosacral spine, the spinal reflex pathway of the lower urinary tract (LUT) received mechanosensory input from the urothelium to regulate the bladder contraction activity, thereby controlled urination voluntarily. Impairment of above-mentioned any level could result in lower urinary tract dysfunction (LUTD), placed a huge burden on patients and society. Specific expression of purinergic receptors and transient receptor potential (TRP) channels are thought to play an important role in urinary excretion in the lower urinary tract. This article reviewed the knowledge about the voiding reflex and described the role and function of TRP channels during voiding.