Dorsal Root Ganglia (DRG) Sensory Neurons Recording Assay

Dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) can be collected from the neonate or adult mice. They express receptors and ion channels, such as glutamate receptors, TNF alpha receptors, transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V member 1 (TRPV1), sodium channels, etc. The primary culture of sensory neurons is located in the trigeminal ganglia and DRGs and works as a widely used model for studying ion channels. Studying dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) neurons allows understanding of functional changes of these receptors and channels throughout the neuron in the peripheral nervous system.

Creative Biolabs' dorsal root ganglion (DRG) cultures exhibit chemical and thermal sensitivities representative of those observed in vivo and can be cultured in vitro in multiwell microelectrode array (MEA) plates, enabling simultaneous recordings under multiple test conditions of electrical activity. Combined, DRG neurons and the Maestro porous MEA system constitute a high-throughput in vitro platform for chronic neuropathic pain research.

Description

Specifically, we can perform recordings on the:

• Conventional dissociated DRG sensory neurons
• Intact DRG sensory neurons

We can perform assays on the following receptors and channels, including but not limited to:

• TRP channel
• Calcium channels
• Sodium channels
• Glutamate receptor (GluR) channels
• TNF alpha receptors

Patch Clamp Technology

The patch clamp technique is a versatile electrophysiological tool for understanding the activities of channels or receptors and a great number of studies have been conducted by applying this technique to DRG neurons. We are able to physiologically characterize your cells / evaluate your compound’s efficacy on a single neuron down to single channel thanks to the different recording configurations (whole-cell, perforated-patch, cell-attached, outside-out).

Instead of recordings on dissociated DRG neurons, we used whole-cell patch-clamp recordings on intact DRG sensory neurons to evaluate compounds targeting membrane proteins in the context of preclinical drug discovery. Conducting patch clamp recordings on individual primary sensory neurons ex vivo permits mimicking in vivo conditions and can additionally be used to study the interaction between primary sensory neurons and satellite glial cells.

The following flowchart indicates a general procedure for patch clamp recordings on individual primary sensory neurons ex vivo.

Microelectrode Array (MEA) Technology

Multi-electrode arrays are arrays made of microscopic metal electrodes (10-30 μm in diameter) distributed over a small surface area (~0.8-6 mm²). These small electrodes (coated with an inert and biocompatible metal) are used to record electrical signals related to neuronal activity within the slice. MEA recordings constitute a well-suited technique for parallel and multi-electrode extracellular recordings within a single brain or spinal cord slice. Our single-well HD-MEA recordings provide an exceptional macroscopic view of spike activity and field potential propagation (fEPSP, population spikes) in distinct regions in brain tissue preparations.

The following flowchart indicates a general procedure for MEA recordings on individual primary sensory neurons ex vivo.

Sample Data

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Creative Biolabs offers a wide range of in vitro electrophysiological services, that we propose in a custom approach tailor-made to your neurodegenerative diseases drug discovery needs. Please contact us for more details.