Abstract

Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) is an endogenously produced gasotransmitter which has been shown to play a role within the central nervous system. Prior studies have shown that H2S has presynaptic effects on neurons of the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) through modulation of glutamate transmission. We have also recently demonstrated postsynaptic effects of H2S on the membrane potential of NTS neurons. The current study was undertaken to investigate the ion channels in NTS neurons modulated by H2S. Using whole cell voltage‐clamp recordings we found that H2S causes a decrease in current evoked in the depolarizing range of a slow voltage ramp indicative of modulation of the voltage activated potassium conductance IK. This conductance was found to decrease by a mean of 20.2 ± 2.5% (n=11) at the end of the ramp (10 mV) following application of 10 mM NaHS, a H2S donor, with all 11 neurons influenced in a similar manner. All cells demonstrated a partial to full recovery of this conductance after wash off of NaHS. The present work suggests that H2S controls the excitability of NTS neurons, at least in part through the modulation of the delayed rectifier potassium conductance, IK.Grant Funding Source: This work was supported by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research.

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