Large and small vertebrate sensory neurons express different Na and K channel subtypes.

Sensory neurons of frog dorsal root ganglia (DRG) express at least two subtypes of voltage-gated Na channel and at least two subtypes of voltage-gated K channel. The Na channel subtypes have different sensitivities to tetrodotoxin (TTX) and different kinetics. The TTX-sensitive (TTX-s) Na channel inactivates rapidly and is blocked by nanomolar TTX. The TTX-insensitive (TTX-i) Na channel resists blockage by up to 100 microM TTX (it is blocked by saxitoxin) and inactivates 2-6 times more slowly. The two subtypes of voltage-gated K channel differ in activation kinetics: the fast subtype activates 2-8 times faster than the slow subtype. These Na and K channel subtypes are distributed differentially by cell size, falling into three major groups: (i) small cells with slowly activating K channels and a mixture of TTX-s and TTX-i Na channels; (ii) small cells with slowly activating K channels and TTX-s Na channels; and (iii) large cells with rapidly activating K channels and TTX-s Na channels. The contributions of these channel subtypes to the electrical properties of sensory neurons were investigated under conditions that minimized the contribution of Ca current. Under these conditions, action potential duration is correlated with the channel subtypes expressed: cells with both TTX-i and TTX-s Na channels and slowly activating K channels exhibit long-duration action potentials, cells with TTX-s Na channels and slowly activating K channels exhibit intermediate-duration action potentials, and cells with TTX-s Na channels and rapidly activating K channels exhibit short-duration action potentials.