Sedative Properties of Dexmedetomidine Are Mediated Independently from Native Thalamic Hyperpolarization-Activated Cyclic Nucleotide-Gated Channel Function at Clinically Relevant Concentrations

Dexmedetomidine is a selective α₂-adrenoceptor agonist and appears to disinhibit endogenous sleep-promoting pathways, as well as to attenuate noradrenergic excitation. Recent evidence suggests that dexmedetomidine might also directly inhibit hyperpolarization-activated cyclic-nucleotide gated (HCN) channels. We analyzed the effects of dexmedetomidine on native HCN channel function in thalamocortical relay neurons of the ventrobasal complex of the thalamus from mice, performing whole-cell patch-clamp recordings. Over a clinically relevant range of concentrations (1-10 µM), the effects of dexmedetomidine were modest. At a concentration of 10 µM, dexmedetomidine significantly reduced maximal I_h amplitude (relative reduction: 0.86 [0.78-0.91], n = 10, and p = 0.021), yet changes to the half-maximal activation potential V_1/2 occurred exclusively in the presence of the very high concentration of 100 µM (-4,7 [-7.5--4.0] mV, n = 10, and p = 0.009). Coincidentally, only the very high concentration of 100 µM induced a significant deceleration of the fast component of the HCN activation time course (τ_fast: +135.1 [+64.7-+151.3] ms, n = 10, and p = 0.002). With the exception of significantly increasing the membrane input resistance (starting at 10 µM), dexmedetomidine did not affect biophysical membrane properties and HCN channel-mediated parameters of neuronal excitability. Hence, the sedative qualities of dexmedetomidine and its effect on the thalamocortical network are not decisively shaped by direct inhibition of HCN channel function.