Abstract
To study the role of the Ca(v)2.1/alpha(1A) (P/Q-type) Ca(2+) channel in somatosensory pain processing, behavioral and electrophysiological studies were conducted using the leaner (tg(la)/tg(la)) mouse. Behavioral analyses in tg(la)/tg(la) revealed reduced responses to mechanical stimuli, and enhanced responses to heat stimuli. Electrophysiological analyses showed that tg(la)/tg(la) had a significantly reduced ability to evoke dorsal root potentials, suggesting a functional deficit in the spinal dorsal horn local circuitry responsible for presynaptic inhibition of primary sensory fibers. These results suggest the critical importance of the P/Q-type channel in modulation of acute somatosensory pain transmission in spinal cord.
MeSH terms
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Action Potentials / drug effects
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Animals
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Animals, Newborn
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Calcium Channel Blockers / pharmacology
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Calcium Channels, N-Type / genetics*
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Calcium Channels, N-Type / metabolism*
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Capsaicin / pharmacology
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Electrophysiology
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Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory / drug effects
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Hot Temperature
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Mice
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Mice, Inbred C57BL
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Mice, Mutant Strains
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Mutation / genetics*
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Opioid Peptides / pharmacology
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Pain / chemically induced
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Pain / genetics
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Pain / metabolism*
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Pain Insensitivity, Congenital / genetics
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Pain Measurement
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Receptors, GABA-A / metabolism
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Receptors, Tachykinin / antagonists & inhibitors
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Spinal Nerve Roots / drug effects
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Spinal Nerve Roots / physiology
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Time Factors
Substances
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Calcium Channel Blockers
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Calcium Channels, N-Type
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Opioid Peptides
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Receptors, GABA-A
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Receptors, Tachykinin
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voltage-dependent calcium channel (P-Q type)
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Capsaicin