Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 11, 2026

Two-photon Calcium Imaging in Neuronal Dendrites in Brain Slices
Published on: March 15, 2018
Interleukin-2 modulates calcium currents in dissociated hippocampal CA1 neurons
C R Plata-Salamán1, J M ffrench-Mullen
1School of Life and Health Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark 19716.
Abstract:
Interleukin-2 and its receptors are present in hippocampal structures, particularly the pyramidal cell layer. In the present study, we examined the interaction between recombinant human interleukin-2 (rhIL-2) and the voltage-dependent calcium (Ca2+) current using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique. RhIL-2 depressed a fraction of the inward Ca2+ current in acutely dissociated guinea-pig hippocampal CA1 neurons. This depression is rapid, dose-dependent with 0.001-1.0 ng rhIL-2/10 microliters (6.8 x 10(-12) to 6.8 x 10(-9) M) and reversible in > 80% of the neurons. Heat-inactivated rhIL-2 had no effect. The application of anti-rhIL-2 monoclonal antibody inhibited the rhIL-2-induced depression of the Ca2+ current. The depression of the Ca2+ current by IL-2 may play a role in the induction and/or progression of neuropathological processes of immunological origin, and in the induction of neurological manifestations during IL-2 immunotherapy.
Related Concept Videos
Feedback Regulation of Calcium Concentration
Various transmembrane receptors, such as G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), elicit a response to extracellular signals by increasing cytosolic calcium. Activated GPCRs...
Calmodulin-dependent Signaling
The Ca2+-CaM complex does not have enzymatic activity by itself. Instead, the complex binds downstream target proteins, including membrane proteins or enzymes,...
Ligand-Gated Ion Channel Receptor: Gating Mechanism

