Biophysical Properties of ERG Channels in Octopus Neurons of Ventral Cochlear Nucleus

Abstract

Objective: ERG (Ether a go go related gene) channels (Kv 11) are the members of the voltage-dependent potassium channel family, which have three subtypes as ERG1 (Kv 11.1), ERG2 (Kv 11.2), ERG3 (Kv 11.3). Electrophysiological, biophysical properties of ERG channels and their functions are not known in the cochlear nucleus (CN) neurons, which is the first relay station of auditory pathway. For that reason, we aimed to study pharmacological and biophysical properties and their functions in the octopus neurons of the ventral cochlear nucleus (VCN).Methods: A total of 70 mice at 14-17 day-old were used for this study. Electrophysiological characterization of ERG channels was performed using patch clamp technique in CN slices.Results: In current clamp, application of ERG channel blockers, terfenadine (10 μM) and E-4031 (10 μM), significantly increased input resistance in all the cells (p