(346) Electrophysiological characterization of adult human sensory neurons

Abstract

Cultures of rodent dorsal root ganglion neurons have proven useful in identifying new analgesic targets and elucidating important intracellular signaling pathways involved in sensory transmission. However, biological inconsistencies between rodent and human sensory neurons, as a consequence of differential expression of receptors, ion channels or intracellular signaling pathways, may be a significant obstacle to translational success. To investigate the fundamental parameters of human sensory neuron physiology, we recorded from more than 120 sensory neurons in primary cultures of dissociated adult human dorsal root ganglia from five donors using whole-cell patch clamp techniques.