Register | Log in | FAQ      [?] 
CiteULike is a free online bibliography manager. Register and you can start organising your references online.
Recent | Unread | Search | Authors | Tags | Export

Sustained potentiation by substance P of NMDA-activated current in rat primary sensory neurons

by: Zi-Zhen Wu, Bing-Cai Guan, Zhi-Wang Li, Qing Yang, Chang-Jin Liu, Jian-Guo Chen
Brain Research, Vol. 1010, No. 1-2. (4 June 2004), pp. 117-126.


View FullText article


X Reviews [Write a review of this article]

There are no reviews of this article

X Find related articles from these CiteULike users

X Find related articles with these CiteULike tags

X Abstract

This study aimed to explore the modulatory effect of substance P (SP) on the current response mediated by N-methyl--aspartate (NMDA) receptor in rat primary sensory neurons and its time course using whole-cell patch clamp technique. The majority of neurons (179/213, 84.0%) examined were sensitive to NMDA (0.1-1000 [mu]M) with an inward current, and a proportion of the NMDA-sensitive neurons also responded to SP (78/98, 80.0%) with an inward current. Pretreatment with SP potentiated the NMDA-activated current (INMDA) in a non-competitive manner, which is shown in that SP shifted the concentration-response curve for NMDA upwards compared with the control; the maximal value of INMDA increased fourfold, while the EC50 values for both curves were very close (28 vs. 30 [mu]M). Furthermore, this potentiating effect was time-dependent: the amplitude of INMDA reached its maximum 20 min after SP preapplication, and thereafter maintained a steady level of about 2-3 times its control for 2 or even 3 h. This sustained potentiation by SP of INMDA could be blocked by extracellular application of WIN51708, a selective non-peptide antagonist of NK-1 receptor; and abolished by intracellular application of either BAPTA, or H-7, or KN-93. Though NMDA applied alone also induced a short-term (less than 20 min) self-potentiation of INMDA, it could be abolished by intracellular dialysis of BAPTA or KN-93 completely. As is known, the cell body of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons is generally used as an accessible model for studying the characteristics of the membrane of primary afferent terminals in the dorsal horn of spinal cord. Therefore, these results may offer a clue to the explanation of the symptoms of chronic pain.


X BibTeX record

X RIS record



RIS BibTeX
CiteULike organises scholarly (or academic) papers or literature and provides bibliographic (which means it makes bibliographies) for universities and higher education establishments. It helps undergraduates and postgraduates. People studying for PhDs or in postdoctoral (postdoc) positions. The service is similar in scope to EndNote or RefWorks or any other reference manager like BibTeX, but it is a social bookmarking service for scientists and humanities researchers.