Natural product‐derived TRPM7 channel inhibitors in neurological injury: Mechanisms, pharmacological potential and translational challenges

Abstract

Disruption of intracellular ionic homeostasis is a convergent pathological feature across diverse neurological injuries and disorders, including ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke, hypoxic–ischaemic brain injury, traumatic brain injury, epilepsy and brain tumour. Among stress‐activated ion channels implicated in these conditions, the transient receptor potential melastatin 7 (TRPM7) channel has emerged as a key mediator linking metabolic stress to sustained dysregulation of Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ and Zn 2+ signalling and downstream injury cascades. TRPM7 is a unique bifunctional protein composed of a divalent cation‐permeable ion channel fused with a C‐terminal α ‐kinase domain, enabling integration of ionic flux with intracellular signalling. Accumulating evidence from cellular, electrophysiological and in vivo studies demonstrates that TRPM7 contributes causally to neuronal injury, vascular dysfunction, network hyperexcitability and tumour cell malignancy across disease models. Natural products have historically played a central role in ion channel pharmacology, and growing evidence has identified structurally diverse natural product‐derived compounds as modulators of TRPM7 channel. In this review, we synthesize mechanistic and pharmacological evidence supporting TRPM7 as a tractable therapeutic target, with particular focus on representative natural product‐derived TRPM7 channel inhibitors including carvacrol, waixenicin A and xyloketal B, which span a spectrum of potency, selectivity and mechanistic complexity. We further discuss key translational challenges associated with targeting TRPM7 in neurological injury, including target selectivity, essential physiological roles, CNS exposure and context‐dependent disease effects. Collectively, available evidence positions TRPM7 as a pharmacologically actionable target and highlights the potential of natural product scaffolds to guide the development of next‐generation TRPM7‐directed therapies for neurological injury.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. British Journal of Pharmacology, 2026 · DOI ↗