Elsevier

Brain Research

Volume 1065, Issues 1–2, 14 December 2005, Pages 138-141
Brain Research

Short Communication
Immunohistochemical localization of γ and β subunits of epithelial Na+ channel in the rat molar tooth pulp

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2005.10.015Get rights and content

Abstract

The distribution of γ and β subunits of epithelial Na+ channel (ENaC), markers for low-threshold mechanoreceptors in peripheral tissues, was examined in the tooth pulp. In the root pulp, γENaC- and βENaC-immunoreactive (IR) nerve fibers showed a thick smooth appearance. These nerve fibers ascended toward the pulp horn and formed subodontoblastic nerve plexuses. Immunoelectron microscopic method revealed that 63% of axons were immunoreactive for γENaC in the root pulp. Virtually all myelinated axons showed γENaC-IR (97%), whereas unmyelinated axons were mostly devoid of it (12%). These findings suggest that myelinated tooth pulp nociceptors respond to mechanical stimuli.

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Acknowledgments

We greatly appreciate Dr. David Julius at the Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, University of California, and Dr. Michael J. Welsh and Dr. Heather A. Drummond at Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Iowa College of Medicine for their kind gifts of the antisera to VRL-1, γENaC and βENaC.

References (16)

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