How Can BK Channels Increase Excitability of Central Neurons and Decrease Excitability of Nodose Neurons?

Snitsarev, Vladislav; Petroff, Elena

doi:10.1016/j.bpj.2008.12.2475

Cited by 1 publication

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“…In mammals, SLO1 is widely expressed in excitable tissues in the brain (Sausbier et al 2006) and smooth muscles (Knaus et al 1994). In neurons, BK activation can lead to neurotransmitter release (Raffaeli et al 2004), which increases or decreases neuronal excitability depending on the brain region (Snitsarev and Petroff 2009). In mammalian smooth muscles, BK ion channels trigger muscular contraction (Wang 2008, Yuan et al 2010.…”

Section: How Slo1 May Regulate Scrunching In Response To Ethanolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Slo1 regulates ethanol-induced scrunching in freshwater planarians

Cochet‐Escartin¹,

Carter²,

Chakraverti-Wuerthwein³

et al. 2016

Phys. Biol.

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When freshwater planarians are exposed to a low-percentage (0.5%-1%) alcohol solution, they display a characteristic 'drunken' phenotype. Here we show that this drunken phenotype is a mixture of cilia-mediated gliding and scrunching, a muscular-based planarian gait which we recently demonstrated to be triggered by adverse environmental stimuli. At exogenous ethanol concentrations ≥2% (v/v), planarians become gradually immobilized and ultimately die. Using RNA interference (RNAi) for targeted gene knockdown, we elucidate the molecular basis for ethanol sensing and show that the big potassium ion channel SLO1 is necessary for ethanol sensitivity in planarians. Because slo1(RNAi) animals maintain their ability to scrunch in response to other adverse triggers, these results suggest that slo1 specifically regulates ethanol sensitivity and not the scrunching gait per se. Furthermore, this study demonstrates the ease of performing pharmacological studies in planarians. Combined with the worms' amenability to quantitative behavioral assays and targeted gene knockdown, planarians are a valuable model organism for studying the effect of neuroactive compounds on brain function and behavior.

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