Itri Jason N, Michel Stephan, Vansteensel Mariska J, Meijer Johanna H, Colwell Christopher S
Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, 760 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, California 90024-1759, USA.
Nat Neurosci. 2005 May;8(5):650-6. doi: 10.1038/nn1448. Epub 2005 Apr 24.
In mammals, the precise circadian timing of many biological processes depends on the generation of oscillations in neural activity of pacemaker cells in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). The ionic mechanisms that underlie these rhythms are largely unknown. Using the mouse brain slice preparation, we show that the magnitude of fast delayed rectifier (FDR) potassium currents has a diurnal rhythm that peaks during the day. Notably, this rhythm continues in constant darkness, providing the first demonstration of the circadian regulation of an intrinsic voltage-gated current in mammalian cells. Blocking this current prevented the daily rhythm in firing rate in SCN neurons. Kv3.1b and Kv3.2 potassium channels were widely distributed within the SCN, with higher expression during the day. We conclude that the FDR is necessary for the circadian modulation of electrical activity in SCN neurons and represents an important part of the ionic basis for the generation of rhythmic output.
在哺乳动物中,许多生物过程精确的昼夜节律依赖于视交叉上核(SCN)中起搏器细胞神经活动振荡的产生。这些节律背后的离子机制在很大程度上尚不清楚。利用小鼠脑片制备技术,我们发现快速延迟整流(FDR)钾电流的幅度具有昼夜节律,在白天达到峰值。值得注意的是,这种节律在持续黑暗中仍会持续,这首次证明了哺乳动物细胞中固有电压门控电流的昼夜调节。阻断这种电流可防止SCN神经元放电率的每日节律。Kv3.1b和Kv3.2钾通道在SCN中广泛分布,白天表达较高。我们得出结论,FDR对于SCN神经元电活动的昼夜调节是必要的,并且是产生节律性输出的离子基础的重要组成部分。