Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

Nanomaterials

Publication Date

12-1-2021

Abstract

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are characterized by a combination of rather unique physical and chemical properties, which makes them interesting biocompatible nanostruc-tured materials for various applications, including in the biomedical field. SWCNTs are not inert carriers of drug molecules, as they may interact with various biological macromolecules, including ion channels. To investigate the mechanisms of the inhibitory effects of SWCNTs on the muscarinic receptor cation current (mICAT), induced by intracellular GTPγs (200 µM), in isolated mouse ileal myocytes, we have used the patch-clamp method in the whole-cell configuration. Here, we use molecular docking/molecular dynamics simulations and direct patch-clamp recordings of whole-cell currents to show that SWCNTs, purified and functionalized by carboxylation in water suspension containing single SWCNTs with a diameter of 0.5–1.5 nm, can inhibit mICAT, which is mainly carried by TRPC4 cation channels in ileal smooth muscle cells, and is the main regulator of cholinergic excitation–contraction coupling in the small intestinal tract. This inhibition was voltage-independent and associated with a shortening of the mean open time of the channel. These results suggest that SWCNTs cause a direct blockage of the TRPC4 channel and may represent a novel class of TRPC4 modulators.

Publisher

MDPI AG

Volume

11

Issue

12

Disciplines

Materials Science and Engineering

Keywords

Computer simulation, Gastrointestinal tract, Patch clamp technique, Single-walled carbon nanotubes, Smooth muscle cell, TRPC4 channels

Scopus ID

85121100621

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

yes

Open Access Type

Gold: This publication is openly available in an open access journal/series

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