Effects of medazepam on voltage-gated ion currents of cultured chick sensory neurons

J. Yang, J. Johansen, A. L. Kleinhaus, R. J. DeLorenzo, C. F. Zorumski

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12 Scopus citations

Abstract

The effects of the benzodiazepine, medazepam, were investigated in current and voltage-clamped cultured chick dorsal root ganglion neurons. Under current clamp, micromolar concentrations initially elevated the action potential threshold and blocked both the sodium and calcium components of the spike. In voltage clamp, low (I(Ca, T)) and high (I(CA, N/L)) threshold calcium, sodium (I(Na)) and the delayed rectifier potassium (I(K)) currents were isolated by the use of appropriate solutions and voltage command protocols. Medazepam depressed both subtypes of I(Ca) equally well with calculated half-maximal depression at 77 μM. At a fixed concentration of 200 μM, medazepam depressed I(Na) (70 ± 9%) and I(K) (73 ± 6%) to a degree comparable to I(Ca) (75 ± 3%). The results show that benzodiazepines can modulate the activity of several voltage-gated ion currents in chick dorsal root ganglion neurons.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)373-381
Number of pages9
JournalEuropean Journal of Pharmacology
Volume143
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 17 1987

Keywords

  • Benzodiazepine
  • Dorsal root ganglion cells
  • Voltage clamp
  • Voltage-gated channels

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