Effects of suplatast tosilate on acutely dissociated sensory and paratracheal ganglia neurons

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the effects of suplatast on acutely dissociated single neurons of sensory and paratracheal ganglia using a patch-clamp technique. Suplatast had little effect on various responses caused by capsaicin, acid, bradykinin, serotonin, and adenosine 5′-triphosphate in rat sensory neurons. Suplatast, even at 10−3 M, also did not induce any current at various membrane potentials in rat and guinea pig paratracheal ganglia neurons. Furthermore, acetylcholine- and bradykinin-induced depolarizations were not affected by suplatast. On the other hand, in rat paratracheal ganglia neurons, 10−5 M nicotine-induced current were inhibited by suplatast in a concentration-dependent manner with a 50% inhibitory concentration of 9.86 × 10−5 M. The effect was noncompetitive and voltage dependent. Furthermore, the effect was use independent and not affected by the pretreatment time of suplatast. The results suggested that suplatast may inhibit neurotransmission at the paratracheal ganglia via the inhibition of nicotinic current. Thus suplatast may attenuate cough production through the improvement of pathological conditions of the lower airway via suppressed acetylcholine release from the postganglionic nerve terminal.