Excitatory effects of algesic compounds on neuronal processes in murine dorsal root ganglion cell culture.

The effects of algesic compounds on the distal portion of the processes of cultured dorsal root ganglion cells (C-fiber) of mouse were studied by patch-clamp whole-cell recording at the cell soma (cell body). The processes of the cell were isolated from the cell body with a separator. Bradykinin (BK, 10 microM), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2, 20 microM), and capsaicin (CAP, 2 microM) were applied to the processes of a cell on the third day after seeding, each of which evoked action potentials in the cell body. No desensitization was seen by the repeated application of BK to the processes. No action potentials in the cell body were observed when BK (10 microM) was applied concomitantly with tetrodotoxin (6 microM). These results suggest that the stimuli of algesic compounds to the neuronal processes of the cultured dorsal root ganglion cells are useful for studying the neuronal mechanism involved in pain.