Functional Interplay Between Subthreshold Ion Channels in Preautonomic Neurons of the Hypothalamic Paraventricular Nucleus in Health and Disease Conditions
Year: 2007
Type: article
Abstract: Interplay between Subthreshold Ion Channels in Preautonomic Neurons of the Hypothalamic Paraventricular Nucleus in Health and Disease Conditions.Under normal conditions, blood pressure is tightly regulated through autonomic tonic and reflex mechanisms.However, when the set-point for blood pressure is chronically elevated, hypertension occurs.Hypertension if untreated can lead to further complications including heart failure, stroke and kidney failure.Elevated sympathetic outflow is known to contribute to the development and/or maintenance of hypertension, and while the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN), a preautonomic center, has been implicated in the elevation of sympathetic activity during hypertension, the precise pathophysiological mechanisms underlying sympathoexcitation remain unclear.Subthreshold ion channels, including the A-type K + (I A ) and the T-type Ca 2+ (I T ), are important mechanisms regulating the ability of neurons to generate firing activity, and changes in I A activity have been reported during hypertension.Thus, the first aim of the study focused on characterizing the basic biophysical and functional properties of I A in presympathetic PVN neurons projecting to the rostral ventrolateral medulla (PVN-RVLM).Our studies demonstrated the presence of a functionally relevant I A in PVN-RVLM neurons, which actively modulated the action potential waveform and firing activity.The second aim of the study was to determine whether alterations in the iii trouble-shooting, analyzing, and all things related to the calcium-imaging experiments.I would also like to thank Dr. Vinicia Biancardi and Mrs. Keisha Kinney for teaching me how to perform the renovascular hypertension and retrograde-injection surgeries.As well, I thank Sora Lee for her assistance with the single-cell RT-PCR experiments.
Author: Patrick M. Sonner
Institution: Wright State University
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2514447267