title: Cold transduction by inhibition of a background potassium conductance in rat primary sensory neurones.
abstract: Transduction in cutaneous cold receptors is poorly understood at present. We have studied this question using dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurones in primary culture as a model of the otherwise inaccessible receptor terminal. Whole-cell recordings during cooling from 32 to 20 degrees C revealed a large depolarization (>8mV) in 22 of 88 DRG neurones (25%), sometimes accompanied by action potentials. In cold-sensitive neurones cooling inhibited a time-independent background K+ current (Icold) which was resistant to tetraethylammonium and 4-aminopyridine. Ouabain elicited a substantially smaller depolarization than cooling, and no action potentials. We conclude that excitation by cooling in this model is primarily due to inhibition of Icold and that the previously suggested role of the Na+/K+ adenosine triphosphatase is secondary. We suggest that Icold may underlie cold transduction in cutaneous thermoreceptors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Physiology and Biophysics, Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest, Splaiul Independentei 91-95, 76201, Bucharest, Romania. gordon@biologie.kapa.ro
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Reid
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Flonta
mesh_terms: D015761:4-Aminopyridine / Q000494:pharmacology; D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003080:Cold Temperature; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D005727:Ganglia, Spinal / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D009475:Neurons, Afferent / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D010042:Ouabain / Q000494:pharmacology; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D011188:Potassium / Q000378:metabolism; D026902:Potassium Channel Blockers; D015221:Potassium Channels / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D000254:Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D019789:Tetraethylammonium / Q000494:pharmacology; D013697:Thermosensing / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D026902:Potassium Channel Blockers; D015221:Potassium Channels; D010042:Ouabain; D019789:Tetraethylammonium; D015761:4-Aminopyridine; D000254:Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase; D011188:Potassium