Nitro-oleic acid (OA-NO(2)), an electrophilic
fatty acid by-product of
nitric oxide and
nitrite reactions, is present in normal and inflamed mammalian tissues at up to micromolar concentrations and exhibits anti-inflammatory signaling actions. The effects of OA-NO(2) on cultured dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons were examined using
fura-2 Ca(2+) imaging and patch clamping. OA-NO(2) (3.5-35 microM) elicited Ca(2+) transients in 20 to 40% of DRG neurons, the majority (60-80%) of which also responded to
allyl isothiocyanate (
AITC; 1-50 microM), a TRPA1 agonist, and to
capsaicin (CAPS; 0.5 microM), a TRPV1 agonist. The OA-NO(2)-evoked Ca(2+) transients were reduced by the TRPA1 antagonist 2-(1,3-dimethyl-2,6-dioxo-1,2,3,6-tetrahydro-7H-purin-7-yl)-N-(4-isopropylphenyl)
acetamide (
HC-030031; 5-50 microM) and the TRPV1 antagonist
capsazepine (10 microM). Patch-clamp recording revealed that OA-NO(2) depolarized and induced inward currents in 62% of neurons. The effects of OA-NO(2) were elicited by concentrations >or=5 nM and were blocked by 10 mM
dithiothreitol. Concentrations of OA-NO(2) >or=5 nM reduced action potential (AP) overshoot, increased AP duration, inhibited firing induced by depolarizing current pulses, and inhibited Na(+) currents. The effects of OA-NO(2) were not prevented or reversed by the NO-scavenger carboxy-2-phenyl-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazolineoxyl-1-oxyl-3-oxide. A large percentage (46-57%) of OA-NO(2)-responsive neurons also responded to CAPS (0.5 microM) or
AITC (0.5 microM). OA-NO(2) currents were reduced by TRPV1 (diarylpiperazine; 5 microM) or TRPA1 (
HC-030031; 5 microM) antagonists. These data reveal that endogenous OA-NO(2) generated at sites of
inflammation may initially activate
transient receptor potential channels on nociceptive afferent nerves, contributing to the initiation of afferent nerve activity, and later suppresses afferent firing.