Sodium/calcium exchanger in olfactory receptor neurones of Xenopus laevis.

Ca2+ ions enter neurones through various types of calcium and cation channels. The mechanisms by which Ca2+ ions are spatially buffered and expelled from neurones have been studied considerable less. Using calcium imaging in conjunction with the patch clamp technique, we investigated the Na/Ca exchanger in olfactory neurones and found evidence for its localization on the dendrite. It is suggested that this tends to decouple increases in [Ca2+]i occurring in the transduction compartments of the cell from processes in the soma.