TRPV4 could be new target for brain edema

University of Tokyo researchers and colleagues found inhibiting transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4; VRL2) could help treat brain edema caused by traumatic brain injury or stroke, according to a paper published in The Journal of Neuroscience.
The study builds on past evidence that TRPV4, a thermosensitive cation channel expressed in the brain, leads to changes in osmotic pressure and swelling and could mediate brain edema through one of several routes. The University of Tokyo group discovered that TRPV4 activated via an increase in brain temperature contributes to brain edema; however, the specific mechanism remains unclear.

The researchers showed that a tool compound TRPV4 antagonist or systemic TRPV4 knockout decreased mouse brain swelling compared with no treatment or normal TRPV4 expression in mouse brain slices with ischemic stroke-induced brain edema...