Neuronal Osmotransduction: Push-Activating TRPV1 with Microtubules

Regulating the osmotic pressure of our body fluids relies on osmosensory neurons that depolarize when their volume decreases. Recently in Neuron, Prager-Khoutorsky et al. (2014) report that this depolarization arises from direct interactions between the transient receptor potential channel TRPV1 and microtubules, which seem to directly push open the channel.