ATP P2X receptors mediate fast synaptic transmission in the dorsal horn of the rat spinal cord.

TitleATP P2X receptors mediate fast synaptic transmission in the dorsal horn of the rat spinal cord.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication1997
AuthorsBardoni R, Goldstein PA, Lee CJ, Gu JG, MacDermott AB
JournalJ Neurosci
Volume17
Issue14
Pagination5297-304
Date Published1997 Jul 15
ISSN0270-6474
KeywordsAdenosine Triphosphate, Animals, Ganglia, Spinal, Patch-Clamp Techniques, Rats, Receptors, Purinergic, Spinal Cord, Synaptic Transmission, Time Factors
Abstract

ATP has been proposed to mediate synaptic transmission in the spinal cord dorsal horn, particularly in the pathway carrying nociceptive information. Using transverse spinal cord slices from postnatal rats, we show that EPSCs mediated by P2X receptors, and presumably activated by synaptically released ATP, are evoked in a subpopulation of spinal cord lamina II neurons, a region known to receive strong input from nociceptive primary afferents. The P2X receptors on acutely dissociated dorsal horn neurons are nondesensitizing, insensitive to alphabeta methylene ATP, and show strong but variable sensitivity to the antagonists suramin and pyridoxal-phosphate-6-azophenyl-2',4'-disulfonic acid (PPADS). These characteristics are consistent with a heterogeneous population of P2X receptors, the composition of which includes P2X2, P2X4, and P2X6 receptor subtypes. Our results suggest that ATP-activated P2X receptors in lamina II of the rat spinal cord may play a role in transmitting or modulating nociceptive information.

Alternate JournalJ. Neurosci.
PubMed ID9204914