Author(s): Rachael Bodes

Presentation: poster

Nociceptive neurons are peripheral neurons responsible for detecting painful stimuli and subsequently relay the information to the spinal cord and the brain. TRPV-1 channels are present in nociceptive neurons and detect the presence of heat and other irritants such as capsaicin, the active ingredient in peppers. Capsaicin’s activation of the TRPV1 channel causes the systematic chemical cascade that leads to a neuron’s activation and propagation of an action potential. PC-12 cells, derived from a pheochromocytoma tissue line from a rat’s adrenal gland, can act as a neuronal model system because of the presence of the TRPV1 channel after exposure to NGF (nerve growth factor). We are exploring the practicality of using these cells as a reasonable model system for studying pain and temperature sensation by confirming optimal growth conditions as reported, as well as ensuring the cells extend neurites in response to NGF. Cell differentiation is quantified as a ratio of the measured lengths of all the dendrites in the field per cell or (Length of neurites)/Cell . In conjunction with cell differentiation, we are testing the sensitivity of PC-12’s TRPV1 channel to capsaicin through calcium imaging and confirming the toxicity of capsaicin through cell viability assays such as cell counts and MTT assays.

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