Figure 2

There is no detectable influence of inflammation on voltage-gated K⁺ (Kv) currents in cutaneous DRG neurons. A. Typical Kv currents evoked in a cutaneous DRG neuron from a naïve rat with the inactivation protocol shown below the current traces. A significant fraction of total current (a) was subject to steady-state inactivation (b, inactivatable), leaving a sustained, non-inactivatable current (c). The potential at which steady-state inactivation was complete was used as the prepulse potential with which inactivatable current was separated from non-inactivatable current. B. The voltage-dependence of total Kv current activation, determined from conductance-voltage (GV) plots, was comparable in neurons from naïve and inflamed (CFA) rats. Similarly, the steady-state inactivation curves from these two groups of neurons were also comparable. Complete data sets were only collected on a subpopulation of the total number of neurons studied. C. The current density (peak current at +60 mV) of the inactivatable fraction of the total current was comparable in neurons from naïve and inflamed (CFA) rats, whether data were collected from neurons contralateral (CFA Contra) or ipsilateral (CFA Ipsi) to the site of inflammation. D. Similar results were obtained with the analysis of current density of the non-inactivatable fraction of the total Kv current in cutaneous DRG neurons