Modulation on tetrodotoxin-resistant sodium current of loureirin B in rat dorsal root ganglion neurons via cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase A.

To search the modulation mechanism of loureirin B, a flavonoid is extracted from Dracaena cochinchinensis, on tetrodotoxin-resistant (TTX-R) sodium channel in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons of rats. Experiments were carried out based on patch-clamp technique and molecular biological methods. We observed the time-dependent inhibition of loureirin B on TTX-R sodium currents in DRG neurons and found that neither occupancy theory nor rate theory could well explain the time-dependent inhibitory effect of loureirin B on TTX-R sodium currents. It suggested that a second messenger-mediated signaling pathway may be involved in the modulation mechanism. So the cyclin AMP (cAMP) level of the DRG neurons before and after incubation with loureirin B was tested by ELISA Kit. Results showed that loureirin B could increase the cAMP level and the increased cAMP was caused by the enhancement of adenylate cyclase (AC) induced by loureirin B. Immunolabelling experiments further confirmed that loureirin B can promote the production of PKA in DRG neurons. In the presence of the PKA inhibitor H-89, the inhibitory effect of loureirin B on TTX-R sodium currents was reversed. Forskolin, a tool in biochemistry to raise the levels of cAMP, also could reduce TTX-R sodium currents similar to that of loureirin B. These studies demonstrated that loureirin B can modulate the TTX-R sodium channel in DRG neurons via an AC/cAMP/PKA pathway involving the activation of AC and PKA, which also can be used to explain the other pharmacological effects of loureirin B.