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Systematic Studies of Kir and TRP Channel mRNAs in the Norepinephrenergic Neurons of the Locus Coeruleus

Neurons in the Locus coeruleus (LC) play an important role in the central CO2 chemosensitivity. However, the molecular mechanisms for neuronal CO2 chemosensitivity remain unclear. To demonstrate the expression of pH/CO2 sensitive ion channels, we screened the inward rectifier K+ channels (Kir) and transient receptor protein (TRP) channels, as parallel studies in this lab suggested that certain Kir and TRP channels are involved in neuronal responses to high levels of CO2. Our results showed that several members of the Kir and TRP channel families were robustly expressed in the LC neurons at the mRNA level. Of particular interest are TRPC5, Kir4.1 and Kir5.1 channels that are all pH-sensitive. The rich expression of various pH-sensitive Kir and TRP channels suggests that these ion channels are likely to play a role in the chemosensitivity of LC neurons.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:GEORGIA/oai:digitalarchive.gsu.edu:biology_theses-1032
Date07 May 2011
CreatorsTadepalli, Sakuntala Jyothirmayee
PublisherDigital Archive @ GSU
Source SetsGeorgia State University
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
Formatapplication/pdf
SourceBiology Theses

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