Catecholamine Release Evoked by High Intensity Nanosecond Electric Pulses

Abstract

Adrenal chromaffin cells serve as an excellent model of neural-type cells to understand how a novel electric stimulus, high intensity, nanosecond electric pulses can be applied to evoke exocytosis without causing adverse effects. These electric pulses of 5 nanosecond duration and high field intensity (7 MV/m) evoke the release of catecholamines epinephrine (EPI) and norepinephrine (NE). Studies evaluating the effects of delivering multiple nanosecond electric pulses on catecholamine release lay the foundation for the potential clinical application of nanoelectropulses as a new type of neuromodulation approach to treat Parkinson’s disease. The present study assessed the effects of multiple 5 nanosecond pulses with specific pulse parameters (number and frequency) on stimulating NE and EPI release, which was determined by using high performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrochemical detection. The results from this study as a whole suggested that as pulse number increased, there was an increase in catecholamine release, regardless of frequency.