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Effects of polyunsaturated fatty acids on voltage‐gated K + and Na + channels in rat olfactory receptor neurons
Author(s) -
Seebungkert Benchamaporn,
Lynch Joseph W.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
european journal of neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.346
H-Index - 206
eISSN - 1460-9568
pISSN - 0953-816X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1460-9568.2002.02288.x
Subject(s) - polyunsaturated fatty acid , docosahexaenoic acid , olfactory receptor , arachidonic acid , chemistry , inhibitory postsynaptic potential , biochemistry , olfactory system , receptor , biophysics , stereochemistry , fatty acid , biology , endocrinology , enzyme , neuroscience
Although the polyunsaturated fatty acids arachidonic acid (AA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are enriched in the olfactory mucosa, their possible contribution to olfactory transduction has not been investigated. This study characterized their effects on voltage‐gated K + and Na + channels of rat olfactory receptor neurons. Physiological (3–10 µ m ) concentrations of AA and DHA potently and irreversibly inhibited the voltage‐gated K + current in a voltage‐independent manner. In addition, both compounds significantly reduced the inhibitory potency of the odorants acetophenone and amyl acetate at these channels. By comparison, the steady‐state effects of both AA and DHA on the voltage‐gated Na + channel were relatively weak, with half‐maximal inhibition requiring ≈ 35 µ m of either compound. However, a surprising finding was that the initial application of 3 µ m AA to a naïve neuron caused a strong but transient inhibition of the Na + current. The channels became almost completely resistant to this inhibition within 1 min, and a 2‐min wash in control solution was insufficient to restore the strong inhibitory effect. These observations suggest that polyunsaturated fatty acids have the potential to strongly influence the coding of odorant information by olfactory receptor neurons.