FAILURE TO ELICIT NEURONAL MACROSCOPIC MECHANOSENSITIVE CURRENTS ANTICIPATED BY SINGLE-CHANNEL STUDIES

Mechanosensitive channels can be observed in most cell types during single-channel recording and have been implicated in many cellular processes. Potassium-selective single-channel currents, both stretch-activated and stretch-inactivated, can be observed in growth cones and cell bodies of Lymnaea stagnalis neurons. Equivalent macroscopic mechanosensitive currents could not, however, be elicited while applying various mechanical stimuli. This discrepancy suggests that single-channel mechanosensitivity is an artifact of patch recording.