Suppression and recovery of voltage-gated currents after cocaine treatments of olfactory receptor cells

Somatic ion channels and action potentials in olfactory receptor cells and vomeronasal receptor cells

Olfactory receptor cells are primary sensory neurons that catch odor molecules in the olfactory system, and vomeronasal receptor cells catch pheromones in the vomeronasal system. When odor or pheromone molecules bind to receptor proteins expressed on the membrane of the olfactory cilia or vomeronasal microvilli, receptor potentials are generated in their receptor cells. This initial excitation is transmitted to the soma via dendrites, and action potentials are generated in the soma and/or axon and transmitted to the central nervous system. Thus, olfactory and vomeronasal receptor cells play an important role in converting chemical signals into electrical signals. In this review, the electrophysiological characteristics of ion channels in the somatic membrane of olfactory receptor cells and vomeronasal receptor cells in various species are described and the differences between the action potential dynamics of olfactory receptor cells and vomeronasal receptor cells are compared.

Electrical properties of cells from human olfactory epithelium

OBJECTIVE

The electrical properties of olfactory cells (OCs) are typically examined using animals such as newts, mice, and frogs, with few studies on human OCs. This study investigated the electrical properties of human cells from olfactory epithelium (hCOEs) obtained from subjects of olfactory epithelium showing no clinical symptoms during endoscopic sinus surgery.

METHODS

hCOEs were isolated by collagenase treatment for whole-cell patch clamp recording. The identity of the cells was confirmed by immunohistochemistry with an antibody against olfactory maker protein. Under the voltage clamp with the whole-cell recording configuration, the voltage-gated currents of isolated hCOEs were recorded when the membrane potential was depolarized from a holding potential of -100 mV in a stepwise manner between -90 mV and + 40 mV.

RESULTS

Only one of 14 hCOE samples expressed a transient inward current at the depolarizing voltage step that was activated by depolarization beyond -40 mV and reached a peak at -30 mV. Delayed and sustained outward currents (444 ± 106 pA at + 40 mV pulse; n = 20) were suppressed by tetraethyl ammonium (n = 3), which is consistent with the properties of newt OCs.

CONCLUSIONS

Most hCOEs did not exhibit the transient inward current observed in animal models. These findings provide insight into the physiological basis of the unique aspects of human olfactory signal transduction.