title: High-voltage-activated calcium currents in neurons acutely isolated from the ventrobasal nucleus of the rat thalamus.
abstract: We studied the high-voltage-activated (HVA) calcium currents in cells isolated from the ventrobasal nucleus of the rat thalamus with the use of the whole cell patch-clamp technique. Low-voltage-activated current was inactivated by the use of long voltage steps or 100-ms prepulses to -20 mV. We used channel blocking agents to characterize the currents that make up the HVA current. The dihydropyridine (DHP) antagonist nimodipine (5 microM) reversibly blocked 33 +/- 1% (mean +/- SE), and omega-conotoxin GVIA (1 microM) irreversibly blocked 25 +/- 5%. The current resistant to DHPs and omega-conotoxin GVIA was inhibited almost completely by omega-conotoxin MVIIC (90 +/- 5% at 3-5 microM) and was partially inhibited by omega-agatoxin IVA (54 +/- 4% block at 1 microM). We conclude that there are at least four main HVA currents in thalamic neurons: N current, L current, and two omega-conotoxin MVIIC-sensitive currents that differ in their sensitivity to omega-agatoxin IVA. We also examined modulation of HVA currents by strong depolarization and by G protein activation. Long (approximately 1 s), strong depolarizations elicited large, slowly deactivating tail currents, which were sensitive to DHP antagonists. With guanosine 5'-0-(3-thiotriphosphate) (GTP-gamma-S) in the intracellular solution, brief (approximately 20 ms), strong depolarization produced a voltage-dependent facilitation of the current (44 +/- 5%), compared with cells with GTP (22 +/- 7%) or guanosine 5'-O-(2-thiodiphosphate) (7 +/- 4%). However, the HVA current was inhibited only weakly by 100 microM acetylcholine (8 +/- 4%). Effects of the gamma-aminobutyric acid-B agonist baclofen were variable (3-39% inhibition, n = 12, at 10-50 microM).
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA.
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Kammermeier
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001418:Baclofen / Q000494:pharmacology; D002120:Calcium Channel Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000494:pharmacology; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004594:Electrophysiology; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D018755:GABA Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D016244:Guanosine 5'-O-(3-Thiotriphosphate) / Q000494:pharmacology; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D015640:Ion Channel Gating / Q000502:physiology*; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents / Q000378:metabolism; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013787:Thalamic Nuclei / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D002120:Calcium Channel Agonists; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D015220:Calcium Channels; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D018755:GABA Agonists; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents; D016244:Guanosine 5'-O-(3-Thiotriphosphate); D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins; D001418:Baclofen