Analysis of the function of the special equilibrium organ of the bird

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25450463
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Integrative animal science
• Research Institution: Tottori University
• Principal Investigator: Kitamura Naoki 鳥取大学, 農学部, 准教授 (80301951)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): SHIBUYA Izumi 鳥取大学, 農学部, 教授 (50162649)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 神経生理学 / 鳥類 / 平衡感覚 / イオンチャネル / 受容体 / パッチクランプ / 細胞内カルシウム

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Electrical activity and changes in the intracellular Ca2+ concentration were measured from spinal accessory lobe (AL) neurons of the chick.
AL neurons showed no significant response to the stimulation with the hypertonic solution that caused increase in the cell volume and stretch of the cell membrane. The stimulation with acetylcholine activated muscarinic receptors and evoked rises in the intracellular Ca2+ concentration. Amplitudes of currents through voltage-gated Ca2+ channels in AL neurons were much larger than those of other neurons. Ca2+ channel blocker against N-type channels, omega-conotoxin GVIA reduced the current by about 90%, suggesting that N-type Ca2+ channels are expressed at high density in AL neurons.
These results indicate that chick AL neurons expressed functional muscarinic acetylcholine receptors and N-type Ca2+ channels.

Free Research Field

神経細胞生理学