Direct Activation of Rat Spinal Dorsal Horn Neurons by Prostaglandin E2

Whole-cell patch-clamp and intracellular recording techniques have been used to study the action of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) on neurons in adult rat transverse spinal cord slices. Bath-applied PGE2 (1-20 microm) induced an inward current or membrane depolarization in the majority of deep dorsal horn neurons (laminas III-VI; 83 of 139 cells), but only in a minority of lamina II neurons (6 of 53 cells). PGE2 alone never elicited spontaneous action potentials; however, it did convert subthreshold EPSPs to suprathreshold, leading to action potential generation. PGE2-induced inward currents were unaffected by perfusion with either a Ca(2+)-free/high Mg(2+) (5 mm) solution or tetrodotoxin (1 microm), indicating a direct postsynaptic action. Both 17-phenyl trinor prostaglandin E2 (an EP1 agonist) and sulprostone (an EP3 agonist) had little effect on membrane current, whereas butaprost methyl ester (an EP2 agonist) mimicked the effect of PGE2. Depolarizing responses to PGE2 were associated with a decrease in input resistance, and the amplitude of inward current was decreased as the holding potential was depolarized. PGE2-induced inward currents were reduced by substitution of extracellular Na(+) with N-methyl-d-glucamine and inhibited by flufenamic acid (50-200 microm), which is compatible with activation of a nonselective cation channel. These results suggest that PGE2, acting via an EP2-like receptor, directly depolarizes spinal neurons. Moreover, these findings imply an involvement of spinal cord-generated prostanoids in modulating sensory processing through an alteration in dorsal horn neuronal excitability.