Transient receptor potential cation channel, subfamily M, member 2, also known as TRPM2, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the TRPM2 gene. The TRPM2 gene is highly expressed in the brain and was implicated by both genetic linkage studies in families and then by case control or trio allelic association studies in the genetic aetiology of bipolar affective disorder (Manic Depression). The physiological role of TRPM2 is not well understood. It was shown to be involved in insulin secretion.[5][11] In the immune cells it mediates parts of the responses to TNF-alpha. A role has been suggested for TRPM2 in activation of NLRP3 inflammasome, the dysregulation of which is strongly associated with a number of auto inflammatory and metabolic diseases, such as gout, obesity and diabetes.[13] In the brain it is involved in the toxicity of amyloid beta, a protein associated with Alzheimer's disease.[14] In 2016, TRPM2 channel was strongly implicated in the detection of non-painful warm stimuli. Chun-Hsiang Tan and Peter McNaughton studied the responses of actual sensory neurons to thermal stimuli, then used an RNA-sequencing strategy to identify TRPM2 as genetically required for warmth detection in the non-noxious range of 33–38°C.