The (-)-gallocatechin-3-gallate (GCG) concentration in some tea beverages can account for as much as 50% of the total catechins. It has been shown that catechins have analgesic properties. Voltage-gated sodium channels (Nav) mediate neuronal action potentials. Tetrodotoxin inhibits all Nav isoforms, but Nav1.8 and Nav1.9 are relatively tetrodotoxin-resistant compared to other isoforms and functionally linked to nociception. In this study, the effects of GCG on tetrodotoxin-resistant Na+ currents were investigated in rat primary cultures of dorsal root ganglion neurons via the whole-cell patch-clamp technique. We found that 1 μM GCG reduced the amplitudes of peak current density of tetrodotoxin-resistant Na+ currents significantly. Furthermore, the inhibition was accompanied by a depolarizing shift of the activation voltage and a hyperpolarizing shift of steady-state inactivation voltage. The percentage block of GCG (1 μM) on tetrodotoxin-resistant Na+ current was 45.1% ± 1.1% in 10 min. In addition, GCG did not produce frequency-dependent block of tetrodotoxin-resistant Na+ currents at stimulation frequencies of 1 Hz, 2 Hz and 5 Hz. On the basis of these findings, we propose that GCG may be a potential analgesic agent. © 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
CITATION STYLE
Zhang, Y., Jia, Y. Y., Guo, J. L., Liu, P. Q., & Jiang, J. M. (2013). Effects of (-)-gallocatechin-3-gallate on tetrodotoxin-resistant voltage-gated sodium channels in rat dorsal root ganglion neurons. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 14(5), 9779–9789. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms14059779
Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.