Increasing Temperature Activates TREK Potassium Currents in Vagal Afferent Neurons from the Nodose Ganglion
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Internal temperature homeostasis is rigorously controlled by the vagus nerve. Thermal information is collected by thermoreceptors present in the viscera and driven across sensory neurons of the nodose ganglia (NG), which in turn send it to the hypothalamus. While Transient Receptor Potential channels (TRPs) are traditionally considered for thermal transduction, TREK channels are emerging as thermosensors, but their role in NG remains understudied. This work shows that TRESK and TREK1 are the most abundant K2P channels in NG neurons. Patch-clamp and single-channel recordings reveal that rising temperature to physiological levels causes a hyperpolarization followed by an increase in neuronal excitability that might be due to an increase in the opening probability of TREK1 channels, and the subsequent rise in their activity in NG neurons. This indicates that TREK channels, specifically TREK-1, are responsible, along with TRPs, for the maintenance of the membrane potential at physiological temperature in NG neurons.
DOI: 10.3390/ijms26189119
Institutions: Servicio Gallego de Salud, Universidade de Vigo
Language: English
Topic: Ion Channels and Receptors
Subfield: Sensory Systems
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,499
OpenAlex ID: W4414308597