Hypothalamic warm-sensitive neurons possess a tetrodotoxin-sensitive sodium channel with a high Q 10

Abstract

We have investigated the ionic current responses to temperature of dissociated cells from the preoptic and anterior hypothalamus (PO/AH) of rat, using the ‘whole-cell’ configuration. The majority of the recorded neurons showed a linear increase in a non-inactivating inward current during warming (30–40°C), and the Q 10 was about 2. However, about 24% of PO/AH neurons were markedly sensitive to warming and the increase in non-inactivating inward current to a rise in temperature in the hyperthermic range (35–40°C) had a high Q 10 (4.3–7.0). This increase in current in the hyperthermic range was reversibly blocked by tetrodotoxin (TTX). The inward current in neurons with a Q 10 of 2 was not affected by TTX. The results show that some neurons in the PO/AH possess a non-inactivating sodium channel that is highly temperature-sensitive in the hyperthermic range. These neurons are presumably the ‘primary’ warm-sensitive neurons.