ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on transient receptor potential (TRP) proteins, which compose a superfamily of cation channels that play increasingly acknowledged roles in the pathophysiology of all of the vertebrate systems, including the nervous and immune systems. It argues that the chemosensory functions of neuronal TRP channels may serve in physiological conditions as triggers of regulatory loops that, through protective reflexes, result in behavioral and humoral responses that limit the secondary injury induced by overactivation of the immune system. The neuroimmune interactions arise not only from an intense biochemical cross-talk between neurons and immune cells, but also from the overlap in the sensory functions of these cells. As exciting and important as it is, the study of neuroimmune interactions seems to be in its infancy, mainly due to insufficient interaction between immunologists and neuroscientists. The gastrointestinal system provides for good examples of the implication of neuronal TRP channels in neuroimmune interactions.
