Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels are nonselective cation channels, several of which are expressed in striated muscle. Because the scaffolding protein Homer 1 has been implicated in TRP channel regulation, we hypothesized that Homer proteins play a significant role in skeletal muscle function. Mice lacking Homer 1 exhibited a myopathy characterized by decreased muscle fiber cross-sectional area and decreased skeletal muscle force generation. Homer 1 knockout myotubes displayed increased basal current density and spontaneous cation influx. This spontaneous cation influx in Homer 1 knockout myotubes was blocked by reexpression of Homer 1b, but not Homer 1a, and by gene silencing of TRPC1. Moreover, diminished Homer 1 expression in mouse models of Duchenne's muscular dystrophy suggests that loss of Homer 1 scaffolding of TRP channels may contribute to the increased stretch-activated channel activity observed in mdx myofibers. These findings provide direct evidence that Homer 1 functions as an important scaffold for TRP channels and regulates mechanotransduction in skeletal muscle.Mechanosensitive ion channels through their interactions with cytoskeletal proteins link mechanical stimuli such as stretch and changes in osmolarity with signaling pathways. In this way, stretch-activated channel activity is governed by the mechanical properties of the plasma membrane that are established by the underlying cytoskeleton (8). As mechanical forces reach the cytoskeleton, channel activity is increased, setting in motion a series of biochemical events that provide an adaptive response to mechanical stimulation. Increased transient receptor potential (TRP) channel activity has long been associated with pathological features of muscle dystrophy, where a mutation in a dystrophin results in altered membrane integrity and increased stretch-activated channel activity (16,37).Homer proteins are a family of multifaceted scaffolding proteins that enhance signaling efficiency by linking transmembrane proteins with signaling complexes. For example, Homer proteins bind to metabotropic glutamate receptors, clustering them to the postsynaptic density and modulating the excitatory actions of glutamate (1, 34). All Homer proteins share a highly conserved Ena/vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein homology 1 (EVH1) domain at their amino termini that allows binding to proline-rich motifs on Homer ligands, which include metabotropic glutamate receptors, inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate receptors (IP3Rs), and several members of the TRP channel family (23,35,43). Constitutively expressed Homer isoforms such as Homer 1b and 1c, in addition to containing an aminoterminal EVH1 domain, also contain a C-terminal coiled-coil domain, allowing Homer proteins to self-multimerize (15). Homer 1a, which was identified as an immediate-early gene, lacks a C-terminal coiled-coil domain and is postulated to function as a dominant negative isoform (10). The different isoforms of Homer genes including the immediate-early gene isoforms are the result of alternat...