Abstract
Mechanosensitive channels may act as osmosensory transducers because osmotically evoked changes in cell volume alter forces applied to the channel and affect opening probability1,2,3,4. However, osmotically stimulated cells regulate volume5 normally, whereas systemic osmoregulatory responses are sustained6,7. Here we report that osmosensory neurons of rat supraoptic nucleus expressed significant membrane reserves, and could not regulate volume or total membrane surface area during osmotic perturbations, which may allow mechanosensitive channels to encode the amplitude and time course of an osmotic stimulus.
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Acknowledgements
We thank E. Trudel for technical assistance during experiments with brain slices, and R. Sharif and M. Ghamari-Langroudi for helpful comments on the manuscript. This work was funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research Operating and Senior Investigator Awards to C.W.B. and a McGill University Health Center Research Institute Studentship Award to Z.Z.
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Zhang, Z., Bourque, C. Osmometry in osmosensory neurons. Nat Neurosci 6, 1021–1022 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1124
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1124
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