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Sensory transmitters regulate intracellular calcium in dorsal horn neurons

Nature volume 334, pages 351–353 (1988)Cite this article

An Erratum to this article was published on 20 October 1988

Abstract

Primary afferent terminals in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord release excitatory amino acid and peptide transmitters that initiate the central processing of nociceptive information1. The postsynaptic actions of amino acid transmitters on spinal neurons have been well characterized2, but the cellular basis of peptide actions remains unclear3. Substance P is the best characterized of the peptides present in sensory neurons and has been shown to depolarize dorsal horn neurons and to facilitate nociceptive reflexes4–7. To determine the mechanisms by which substance P contributes to afferent synaptic transmission, we have monitored the levels of intracellular calcium in single isolated rat dorsal horn neurons and report that substance P can produce a prolonged elevation in calcium concentration by mobilizing its release from intracellular stores. This elevation may contribute to the long-term changes in the excitable properties of dorsal horn neurons that occur following afferent fibre stimulation6. We have also found that L-glutamate elevates intracellular calcium in substance P-sensitive dorsal horn neurons by increasing calcium influx8,9. These results provide a direct demonstration of intracellular calcium changes in response to neuropeptides in mammalian central neurons. They also indicate that there is convergent regulation of intracellular calcium in dorsal horn neurons by two different classes of sensory transmitters that are co-released from the same afferent terminals.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, USA

    M. D. Womack

  2. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Center for Neurobiology and Behavior,

    M. D. Womack, A. B. MacDermott & T. M. Jessell

  3. Department of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics,

    A. B. MacDermott

  4. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York, 10032, USA

    T. M. Jessell

Authors
  1. M. D. Womack
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  2. A. B. MacDermott
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  3. T. M. Jessell
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Womack, M., MacDermott, A. & Jessell, T. Sensory transmitters regulate intracellular calcium in dorsal horn neurons. Nature 334, 351–353 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/334351a0

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