title: Effects of nordihydroguaiaretic acid on Na+ currents in rat dorsal root ganglion neurons.
abstract: Nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA) is a lipoxygenase (LO) inhibitor with a strong antioxidant activity. It attenuates nociceptive responses produced by various stimuli, which has been ascribed to its LO inhibition. Primary sensory neurons express multiple Na+ channels that are important in processing normal and abnormal nociception. We examined the effects of NDGA on tetrodotoxin-sensitive and tetrodotoxin-resistant Na+ currents in rat dorsal root ganglion neurons. NDGA inhibited both types of Na+ currents concentration dependently and reversibly. Both activation and inactivation time courses were slowed by NDGA, which were not reversible. NDGA produced a hyperpolarizing shift of the steady-state inactivation curves and reduced the maximal availability of both Na+ currents, indicating that it blocks both inactivated and resting Na+ channels. NDGA shifted the conductance-voltage curves of both Na+ currents toward a depolarizing direction and increased the slope factors of the curves. The recovery of Na+ channels from inactivation was retarded by NDGA. All these effects will reduce the excitability of sensory neurons and should be taken into account when it comes to the antinociceptive effects of NDGA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Chung-Ang University, College of Medicine, 221 Heuksuk-Dong, Dongjak-Ku, Seoul 156-756, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Tae Hoon
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hong Im
authors.initials: HI
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jin-Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Song
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005727:Ganglia, Spinal / Q000502:physiology*; D016859:Lipoxygenase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D009637:Masoprocol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D015222:Sodium Channels / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D013779:Tetrodotoxin / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D016859:Lipoxygenase Inhibitors; D015222:Sodium Channels; D013779:Tetrodotoxin; D009637:Masoprocol