A T-type calcium channel required for normal function of a mammalian mechanoreceptor

Item Type:	Article
Title:	A T-type calcium channel required for normal function of a mammalian mechanoreceptor
Creators Name:	Shin, J.B. and Martinez-Salgado, C. and Heppenstall, P.A. and Lewin, G.R.
Abstract:	The dorsal root ganglia (DRG) contain a variety of mechanoreceptors, but no molecular markers uniquely identify specific mechanoreceptor subtypes. We have used DNA microarrays and subtracted cDNA libraries to isolate genes that are specifically expressed by one type of mouse mechanoreceptor. The T-type calcium channel Cav3.2 was exclusively expressed in the DRG by D-hair receptors, a very sensitive mechanoreceptor. Pharmacological blockade of T-type calcium channels indicated that this channel may be essential for normal D-hair receptor excitability including mechanosensitivity. This is the first evidence that a calcium channel is required for normal function of a vertebrate mechanoreceptor.
Keywords:	Action Potentials, Afferent Neurons, Analysis of Variance, Calcium Channel Blockers, Down-Regulation, Drug Dose-Response Relationship, Gene Expression, In Situ Hybridization, Mechanoreceptors, Mibefradil, Mutation, Mutant Strains Mice, Nerve Growth Factors, Newborn Animals, Nonparametric Statistics, Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis, Patch-Clamp Techniques, Physical Stimulation, Protein Subunits, Reaction Time, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction, RNA, Skin, Spinal Ganglia, Transcription Factors, Transgenic Mice, TrkB Receptor, T-Type Calcium Channels, Animals, Mice
Source:	Nature Neuroscience
ISSN:	1097-6256
Publisher:	Nature Publishing Group
Volume:	6
Number:	7
Page Range:	724-730
Date:	July 2003
Official Publication:	https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1076
PubMed:	View item in PubMed

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