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Updated: May 29, 2026

Dorsal Root Ganglia Isolation and Primary Culture to Study Neurotransmitter Release
Published on: October 6, 2018
Noradrenaline regulates substance P release from rat dorsal root ganglion neurons in vitro
Yan-Jie Wang1, Xing-Fu Li, Feng Ding
1Department of Rheumatology, Shandong University Qilu Hospital, Jinan 250012, China.
Objective:
To determine whether activation and/or inhibition of α-adrenoreceptors influences substance P (SP) release from dorsal root ganglion (DRG) primary sensory neurons in vitro.
Methods:
DRGs were dissected from 15-day embryonic Wistar rats. DRG neurons were dissociated and cultured for 2 d and then exposed to noradrenaline (NA) alone (1×10(-4) mol/L), or along with the α1-adrenoreceptor antagonist prazosin (1×10(-6) mol/L) or the α2-adrenoreceptor antagonist yohimbine (1×10(-5) mol/L) for 4 d. Then, RT-PCR was used to determine the levels of preprotachykinin (PPT) mRNA encoding for SP and Western blot to assess the protein levels of SP. Basal and capsaicin (CAP)-evoked SP release were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
Results:
CAP-evoked SP release was sensitized by NA and this effect was inhibited by pre-incubation with prazosin but not with yohimbine. The levels of PPT mRNA, SP peptide, and basal SP release did not change significantly in any of the experimental conditions.
Conclusion:
NA may significantly increase CAP-evoked SP release through activation of α-adrenoreceptors, which may contribute to noradrenergic pain modulation.
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