Modulation of ion channels and synaptic transmission by a human sensory neuron-specific G-protein-coupled receptor, SNSR4/mrgX1, heterologously expressed in cultured rat neurons.

Human sensory neuron-specific G-protein-coupled receptors (SNSRs) are expressed solely in small diameter primary sensory neurons. This restricted expression pattern is of considerable therapeutic interest because small nociceptors transmit chronic pain messages. The neuronal function of human SNSRs is difficult to assess because rodent orthologs have yet to be clearly defined, and individual isoforms are found only in a small subset of primary sensory neurons. To circumvent this problem, we expressed human SNSR4 (hSNSR4; also known as Hs.mrgX1) in rat superior cervical ganglion (SCG), dorsal root ganglion (DRG), and hippocampal neurons using nuclear injection or recombinant adenoviruses and examined modulation of ion channels and neurotransmission using whole-cell patch-clamp techniques. BAM8-22 (a 15 amino acid C-terminal fragment of bovine adrenal medulla peptide 22), a peptide agonist derived from proenkephalin, inhibited high (but not low) voltage-activated Ca2+ current in both DRG and SCG neurons expressing hSNSR4, whereas no response was detected in control neurons. The Ca2+ current inhibition was concentration dependent and partially sensitive to Pertussis toxin (PTX) treatment. Additionally, the peptide was highly effective in modulating current arising from M-type K+ channels in SCG neurons expressing hSNSR4. In hippocampal neurons expressing hSNSR4, BAM8-22 induced presynaptic inhibition of transmission that was abolished after PTX treatment. Our data indicate that hSNSR4, when heterologously expressed in rat neurons, can be activated by an opioid-related peptide, couples to G(q/11)-proteins as well as PTX-sensitive G(i/o)-proteins, and modulates neuronal Ca2+ channels, K+ channels, and synaptic transmission.