Expression of voltage-dependent sodium and transient potassium currents in an identified sub-population of dorsal root ganglion cells acutely isolated from 12-day-old mouse embryos.

The electrophysiological properties of a subset of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons microdissected from 12-day-old (E12) mouse embryos and acutely isolated were analyzed as soon as 3 h after their isolation. Two classes of neurons were defined according to their mean diameter. The larger diameter class was examined in this study. They display uniform cytoskeletal properties with co-expression of vimentin and neurofilament triplet proteins. Patch-clamp methods also revealed a homogeneous and limited repertoire of ionic channels that included (1) a TTX-sensitive Na+ current whose properties are similar to that reported in mature mammalian neurons, and (2) two types of K+ currents that can be compared with the delayed rectifier (Ik) and the transient (IA) potassium currents found in other mammalian preparations. It may be possible to use this in vitro model to examine the development of new types of currents, such as Ca2+ currents during neuronal growth and differentiation.