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Updated: Aug 15, 2026

Vibrodissociation of Neurons from Rodent Brain Slices to Study Synaptic Transmission and Image Presynaptic Terminals
Published on: May 25, 2011
Transmitter-mediated inhibition of N-type calcium channels in sensory neurons involves multiple GTP-binding proteins
M Diversé-Pierluissi1, P K Goldsmith, K Dunlap
1Department of Physiology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111.
Abstract:
The modulation of voltage-activated Ca2+ channels by neurotransmitters and peptides is very likely a primary means of regulating Ca(2+)-dependent physiological functions such as neurosecretion, muscle contraction, and membrane excitability. In neurons, N-type Ca2+ channels (defined as omega-conotoxin GVIA-sensitive) are one prominent target for transmitter-mediated inhibition. This inhibition is widely thought to result from a shift in the voltage independence of channel gating. Recently, however, voltage-independent inhibition has also been described for N channels. As embryonic chick dorsal root ganglion neurons express both of these biophysically distinct modulatory pathways, we have utilized these cells to test the hypothesis that the voltage-dependent and -independent actions of transmitters are mediated by separate biochemical pathways. We have confirmed this hypothesis by demonstrating that the two modulatory mechanisms activated by a single transmitter involve not only different classes of G protein but also different G protein subunits.
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