Transient receptor potential vanilloid 2 (TRPV2)

Transient receptor potential vanilloid 2, or TRPV2, is an ion channel related to the heat sensor TRPV1 that responds to very high temperatures, mechanical stretch and certain lipids.

TRPV2 was identified as a relative of TRPV1 and opens at noxious heat above about 52 degrees Celsius, well beyond the range most people experience. Its broader role appears to be outside temperature sensing: it is found in immune cells, heart muscle, the gut and the brain, where it responds to membrane stretch and growth-factor signaling and influences cell migration, insulin release and cardiac function. Mice lacking TRPV2 sense heat normally but show immune and cardiac abnormalities.

The channel is discussed in cannabinoid research because CBD is among the most potent known natural activators of TRPV2 in cell systems, more so than at TRPV1, which has made it a laboratory tool for studying the channel. Whether that interaction contributes to any effect in people or animals is unknown, and the observation remains preclinical.