Chloride - The Underrated Ion in Nociceptors.

In contrast to pain processing neurons in the spinal cord, where the importance of chloride conductances is already well established, chloride homeostasis in primary afferent neurons has received less attention. Sensory neurons maintain high intracellular chloride concentrations through balanced activity of Na-K-2Cl cotransporter 1 (NKCC1) and K-Cl cotransporter 2 (KCC2). Whereas in other cell types activation of chloride conductances causes hyperpolarization, activation of the same conductances in primary afferent neurons may lead to inhibitory or excitatory depolarization depending on the actual chloride reversal potential and the total amount of chloride efflux during channel or transporter activation.

The N-terminal homology (ENTH) domain of Epsin 1 is a sensitive reporter of physiological PI(4,5)P dynamics.

Phospholipase Cβ (PLCβ)-induced depletion of phosphatidylinositol-(4,5)-bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P) transduces a plethora of signals into cellular responses. Importance and diversity of PI(4,5)P-dependent processes led to strong need for biosensors of physiological PI(4,5)P dynamics applicable in live-cell experiments. Membrane PI(4,5)P can be monitored with fluorescently-labelled phosphoinositide (PI) binding domains that associate to the membrane depending on PI(4,5)P levels.

Inverse Modulation of Neuronal K12.1 and K11.1 Channels by 4-Aminopyridine and NS1643.

The three members of the -like (Elk; K12.1-K12.3) family of voltage-gated K channels are predominantly expressed in neurons, but only little information is available on their physiological relevance.

Direct modulation of TRPM4 and TRPM3 channels by the phospholipase C inhibitor U73122.

Background And Purpose: Signalling through phospholipase C (PLC) controls many cellular processes. Much information on the relevance of this important pathway has been derived from pharmacological inhibition of the enzymatic activity of PLC. We found that the most frequently employed PLC inhibitor, U73122, activates endogenous ionic currents in widely used cell lines.

Diacylglycerol mediates regulation of TASK potassium channels by Gq-coupled receptors.

The two-pore domain potassium (K2P) channels TASK-1 (KCNK3) and TASK-3 (KCNK9) are important determinants of background K(+) conductance and membrane potential. TASK-1/3 activity is regulated by hormones and transmitters that act through G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) signalling via G proteins of the Gαq/11 subclass. How the receptors inhibit channel activity has remained unclear.

Functional characterization of the infection-inducible peptide Edin in Drosophila melanogaster.

Drosophila is a well-established model organism for studying innate immunity because of its high resistance against microbial infections and lack of adaptive immunity. In addition, the immune signaling cascades found in Drosophila are evolutionarily conserved. Upon infection, activation of the immune signaling pathways, Toll and Imd, leads to the expression of multiple immune response genes, such as the antimicrobial peptides (AMPs).