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Calcium channel gating and modulation by transmitters depend on cellular compartmentalization

Nature Neuroscience, ISSN: 1097-6256, Vol: 3, Issue: 7, Page: 670-678
2000
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Voltage-gated Ca channels participate in dendritic integration, yet functional properties of Ca channels and mechanisms of their modulation by neurotransmitters in dendrites are unknown. Here we report how pharmacologically identified Ca channels behave in different neural compartments. Whole-cell and cell-attached patch-clamp recordings were made on both cell bodies and electrically isolated dendrites of sympathetic neurons. We found not only that Ca channel populations differentially contribute to somatic and dendritic currents but also that families of Ca channels display gating properties and neurotransmitter modulation that depend on channel compartmentalization. By comparison with their somatic counterparts, dendritic N-type Ca currents were hypersensitive to neurotransmitters and G proteins. Single-channel analysis showed that dendrites express a unique N-type channel that has enhanced interaction with Gβγ. Thus Ca channels in dendrites seem to be specialized elements with unique regulatory mechanisms.

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