Scanning electron microscopy and gramicidin patch clamp recordings of microvillous receptor neurons dissociated from the rat vomeronasal organ |
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Authors: | Trotier D; Doving KB; Ore K; Shalchian-Tabrizi C |
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Institution: | Laboratoire de Neurobiologie Sensorielle, Ecole Pratiques des Hautes Etudes, Massy, France. trotier@bisance.citi2.fr |
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Abstract: | Vomeronasal organs from female rats were dissociated and isolated
microvillous receptor neurons were studied. The isolated receptor neurons
kept the typical bipolar shape which they have in situ as observed by
scanning electron microscopy. We applied the perforated patch-clamp
technique using the cation-selective ionophore gramicidin on freshly
isolated and well differentiated receptor neurons. The mean resting
potential was -58+/-14 mV (n=39). The contribution of the sodium pump
current to the resting potential was demonstrated by lowering the K+
concentration in the bath or by application of 100 microM dihydro-ouabain.
The input resistance was in the range of 1-6 GOmega and depolarizing
current pulses of a few pA were sufficient to trigger overshooting action
potentials. In voltage clamp conditions a fast transient sodium inward
current and a sustained outward potassium current were activated by
membrane depolarization. These observations indicate that freshly isolated
vomeronasal receptor neurons of rats can be recorded, using gramicidin,
with little modification of the intracellular content. Their
electrophysiological properties are very similar to those observed in situ.
Four out of eight female vomeronasal receptor cells were depolarized by
diluted rat male urine.
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