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Updated: Jun 6, 2026
In Vivo Thoracic Dorsal Root Ganglia (DRG) Calcium Imaging and ECG Recording for Studying Peripheral Nerve Stimulation
Published on: August 16, 2024
[Effect of nitric oxide on the somatic membrane of rat DRG neurons]
Hong-Ju Cheng1, Ke-Tao Ma, Lei Zhao
1Division of Electrophysiology, Key Laboratory of Xinjiang Endemic and Ethnic Diseases, Ministry of Education, School of Medical, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832002, China.
Aim:
To observe the role of nitric oxide in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons and its related ionic mechanisms, and explore the function of NO in pain transmission process.
Methods:
In freshly isolated rat DRG samples, using intracellular recording technique, we perfused sodium nitroprusside (NO donor) to observe the role of NO in DRG neurons.
Results:
In 77.45% of the bath cells, application of sodium nitroprusside (10 -100 mmol/L) induced concentration-dependent membrane hyperpolarization (79/102), and remaining neurons had no response. The membrane conductance increased from control value of (21.06 +/- 1.94) nS to (23.08 +/- 0.92) nS during sodium nitroprusside induced hyperpolarization. L-NAME (1 mmol/L), CdCl2 (0.1 mmol/L) and non-sodium BSS failed to change the amplitude of sodium nitroprusside induced hyperpolarization. When BSS containing 10 mmol/L TEA was used, sodium nitroprusside induced hyperpolarization was obviously inhibited.
Conclusion:
Sodium nitroprusside could cause concentration-dependent hyperpolarization in DRG neurons by activating K+ channels.
