Figure 5

Pharmacological characterization of glutamate transporter currents in spinal astrocytes evoked through dorsal root entry zone stimulation. A-B, bath application of DHK (300 μM), a selective antagonist for glial GLT-1 glutamate transporter, partially blocked the evoked glutamate transporter current (n = 6), while TBOA, a non-selective antagonist for glial glutamate transporter, almost completely blocked the evoked glutamate transporter current (n = 15). Notice that a slow-decaying inward current (arrow) was not blocked by TBOA. *P < 0.01, DHK or TBOA vs. Control, Student's paired t-test. C, DHK slowed the decay of the glutamate transporter current, which was shown when the response in DHK was scaled to the peak of the control response (n = 6).