International Journal of Molecular Sciences Review Role and Modulation of TRPV1 in Mammalian Spermatozoa: An Updated Review Marina Ramal-Sanchez 1,*,† , Nicola Bernabò 1,2,† , Luca Valbonetti 1,2 , Costanza Cimini 1, Angela Taraschi 1,3, Giulia Capacchietti 1, Juliana Machado-Simoes 1 and Barbara Barboni 1 1 Faculty of Biosciences and Technology for Food, Agriculture and Environment, University of Teramo, 64100 Teramo, Italy;
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[email protected] (B.B.) 2 Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology (CNR-IBBC/EMMA/Infrafrontier/IMPC), National Research Council, Monterotondo Scalo, 00015 Rome, Italy 3 Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise “G. Caporale”, Via Campo Boario 1, 64100 Teramo, Italy * Correspondence:
[email protected] † These Authors contributed equally. Abstract: Based on the abundance of scientific publications, the polymodal sensor TRPV1 is known as one of the most studied proteins within the TRP channel family. This receptor has been found in numerous cell types from different species as well as in spermatozoa. The present review is focused on analyzing the role played by this important channel in the post-ejaculatory life of spermatozoa, where it has been described to be involved in events such as capacitation, acrosome reaction, calcium Citation: Ramal-Sanchez, M.; trafficking, sperm migration, and fertilization. By performing an exhaustive bibliographic search, this Bernabò, N.; Valbonetti, L.; Cimini, C.; review gathers, for the first time, all the modulators of the TRPV1 function that, to our knowledge, Taraschi, A.; Capacchietti, G.; were described to date in different species and cell types.