Transient Receptor Potential Cation Channel Subfamily C, Member 3 (TRPC3)

The Drosophila trp (transient receptor potential) and trpl (trp-like) genes encode plasma membrane cation channels that, as Zhu et al. (1996) state, may allow calcium influx in non-excitable cells in response to depletion of intracellular calcium pools, a process referred to as capacitative calcium entry (CCE), as part of the phototransduction process.

The predicted 848-amino acid human TRP3 protein is transcribed as an approximately 4-kb message predominantly in brain, and at much lower levels in several other tissues. Berg et al. (1997) stated that TRPC3 is expressed in megakaryocytic cell lines and therefore may play a role in calcium homeostasis in megakaryocytes and platelets.