Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 4, 2026

Patch Clamp Recordings on Intact Dorsal Root Ganglia from Adult Rats
Published on: September 29, 2016
Local immune regulation in the central nervous system by substance P vs. glutamate
1Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, USA. lmccluskey@mail.mcg.edu
Abstract:
The response of parenchymal microglia to interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) varies across the brain. To ask if local neurochemicals contribute to site-specific control, the influence of substance P (SP) and glutamate was evaluated in brainstem vs. hippocampus. In brainstem, stereotaxic injection of SP increased class II MHC upregulation by IFN-gamma, while a SP receptor antagonist (Spantide I) prevented it. In hippocampus, where the baseline response to IFN-gamma was lower, SP was ineffective, but blocking glutamate enhanced the response in a proportion of rats. Attempts to understand and control immune activity in the CNS should take the local neurochemical environment into account.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Glial Cells
Nociception
Excitatory and Inhibitory Effects of Neurotransmitters
Ligand-Gated Ion Channel Receptor: Gating Mechanism
Local Anesthetics: Differential Sensitivity of Nerve Fibers
Postsynaptic Potential (PSP)
There are two types of receptors: ionotropic and metabotropic.
The ionotropic receptor is the membrane protein that has an...

