A heart-like Na+ current in the medial entorhinal cortex
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Updated: Nov 8, 2026

Preparation of Parasagittal Slices for the Investigation of Dorsal-ventral Organization of the Rodent Medial Entorhinal Cortex
Published on: March 28, 2012
1Department of Biological Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City 52242-1324.
Abstract:
Acutely dissociated neurons from the superficial layers of the medial entorhinal cortex of the rat were studied under voltage clamp using the whole-cell patch-clamp configuration. Neurons from the medial entorhinal cortex exhibit a tetrodotoxin (TTX)-resistant Na+ current (ITTX-R; IC50 approximately 146 nM), in addition to the normal TTX-sensitive Na+ current (ITTX-S; IC50 approximately 6 nM). ITTX-R was found in both putative stellate and putative pyramidal neurons from the medial entorhinal cortex. ITTX-R is kinetically indistinguishable from ITTX-S, but can be distinguished from ITTX-S based on its enhanced sensitivity to block by Cd2+, La3+, and Zn2+. ITTX-R is kinetically and pharmacologically similar to the TTX-resistant Na+ current found in cardiac muscle.
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