ASIC2a and ASIC3 heteromultimerize to form pH-sensitive channels in mouse cardiac dorsal root ganglia neurons.

ABSTRACT:

Rationale

Acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) are Na+ channels that are activated by acidic pH. Their expression in cardiac afferents and remarkable sensitivity to small pH changes has made them leading candidates to sense cardiac ischemia.

Objective

Four genes encode six different ASIC subunits, however it is not yet clear which of the ASIC subunits contribute to the composition of ASICs in cardiac afferents.

Methods and results

Here, we labeled cardiac afferents using a retrograde tracer dye in mice, which allowed for patch-clamp studies of murine cardiac afferents. We found that a higher percentage of cardiac sensory neurons from the dorsal root ganglia respond to acidic pH and generated larger currents compared to those from the nodose ganglia. The ASIC-like current

SUBMITTER: Hattori T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4472433 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature