Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Pagliardini, Silvia
• Adachi, Tadafumi
• Ren, Jun
• Funk, Gregory D
• Greer, John J

Titel

Fluorescent Tagging of Rhythmically Active Respiratory Neurons within the Pre-Boetzinger Complex of Rat Medullary Slice Preparations

Ist Teil von

• The Journal of neuroscience, 2005-03, Vol.25 (10), p.2591-2596

Erscheinungsjahr

2005

Quelle

EZB Electronic Journals Library

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Elucidation of the neuronal mechanisms underlying respiratory rhythmogenesis is a major focal point in respiratory physiology. An area of the ventrolateral medulla, the pre-Boetzinger complex (preBoetC), is a critical site. Attention is now focused on understanding the cellular and network properties within the preBoetC that underlie this critical function. The inability to clearly identify key "rhythm-generating" neurons within the heterogeneous population of preBoetC neurons has been a significant limitation. Here we report an advancement allowing precise targeting of neurons expressing neurokinin-1 receptors (NK1Rs), which are hypothesized to be essential for respiratory rhythmogenesis. The internalization of tetramethylrhodamine conjugated substance P in rhythmically active medullary slice preparations provided clear visualization of NK1R-expressing neurons for subsequent whole-cell patch-clamp recordings. Among labeled neurons, 82% were inspiratory modulated, and 25% had pacemaker properties. We propose that this approach can be used to greatly expedite progress toward understanding the neuronal processes underlying the control of breathing.