Members of the superfamily of transient receptor potential (TRP) channels are proposed to
play important roles in sensory physiology. As an excitatory ion channel TRPA1 is robustly
activated by pungent irritants in mustard and garlic and is suggested to mediate the
inflammatory actions of environmental irritants and proalgesic agents. Here, we demonstrate
that, in addition to pungent natural compounds, Ca 2+ directly gates heterologously
expressed TRPA1 in whole-cell and excised-patch recordings with an apparent EC 50 of …