Neurite outgrowth is key to the formation of functional circuits during neuronal development. Neurotrophins, including nerve growth factor (NGF), increase neurite outgrowth in part by altering the function and expression of Ca 2؉ -permeable cation channels. Here we report that transient receptor potential vanilloid 2 (TRPV2) is an intracellular Ca 2؉ -permeable TRPV channel upregulated by NGF via the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway to augment neurite outgrowth. TRPV2 colocalized with Rab7, a late endosome protein, in addition to TrkA and activated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) in neurites, indicating that the channel is closely associated with signaling endosomes. In line with these results, we showed that TRPV2 acts as an ERK substrate and identified the motifs necessary for phosphorylation of TRPV2 by ERK. Furthermore, neurite length, TRPV2 expression, and TRPV2-mediated Ca 2؉ signals were reduced by mutagenesis of these key ERK phosphorylation sites. Based on these findings, we identified a previously uncharacterized mechanism by which ERK controls TRPV2-mediated Ca 2؉ signals in developing neurons and further establish TRPV2 as a critical intracellular ion channel in neuronal function.E stablishment of precise neural connections during nervous system development is essential in forming functional circuits. Neurite outgrowth allows for connection and communication between developing neurons and their targets. In the developing peripheral nervous system, nerve growth factor (NGF) is a targetderived extracellular cue necessary for outgrowth (1). Upon binding to its extracellular receptor, NGF activates the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) signaling pathway, which is essential for the survival of developing neurons, and the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, which promotes differentiation and neurite outgrowth (2, 3). These signaling pathways have numerous downstream effectors in developing neurons, including several Ca 2ϩ -permeable transient receptor potential (TRP) channels (4-8).Thermosensitive TRP channels from the vanilloid subfamily (thermoTRPV channels) consist of four nonselective Ca 2ϩ -permeable cation channels, TRP vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) to TRPV4, originally described as pain and temperature sensors in adult sensory neurons (9-12). Recent evidence suggests, however, that only TRPV1 functions as a molecular sensor of heat and painful stimuli in vivo, while the function of TRPV2 to -4 remains unclear (13-16). TRPV2 and TRPV4 have also been detected in developing peripheral neurons, suggesting that they may play a role in growth programs during development (17, 18). Consistent with this notion, TRPV2 has been implicated in axon outgrowth (18), and critical mutations in TRPV4 result in peripheral axonal neuropathies (19,20). Despite these initial findings, the details by which thermoTRPV channels influence neuronal development remain unknown.Here we explore the molecular mechanisms by which thermoTRPV channels contribute to neurotrophin-mediated peripher...