scholarly journals The Inhibition of Sodium Currents in Myelinated Nerve by Quaternary Derivatives of Lidocaine

1973 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary R. Strichartz

The inhibition of sodium currents by quaternary derivatives of lidocaine was studied in single myelinated nerve fibers. Membrane currents were diminished little by external quaternary lidocaine (QX). QX present in the axoplasm (<0.5 mM) inhibited sodium currents by more than 90%. Inhibition occurred as the sum of a constant, tonic phase and a variable, voltage-sensitive phase. The voltage-sensitive inhibition was favored by the application of membrane potential patterns which produce large depolarizations when sodium channels are open. Voltage-sensitive inhibition could be reversed by small depolarizations which opened sodium channels. One explanation of this observation is that QX molecules enter open sodium channels from the axoplasmic side and bind within the channels. The voltage dependence of the inhibition by QX suggests that the drug binds at a site which is about halfway down the electrical gradient from inside to outside of the sodium channel.

1968 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bertil Hille

The voltage dependence of the voltage clamp responses of myelinated nerve fibers depends on the concentration of divalent cations and of hydrogen ions in the bathing medium. In general, increases of the [Ca], [Ni], or [H] increase the depolarization needed to elicit a given response of the nerve. An e-fold increase of the [Ca] produces the following shifts of the voltage dependence of the parameters in the Hodgkin-Huxley model: m∞, 8.7 mv; h∞, 6.5 mv; τn, 0.0 mv. The same increase of the [H], if done below pH 5.5, produces the following shifts: m∞, 13.5 mv; h∞, 13.5 mv; τn, 13.5 mv; and if done above pH 5.5: m∞, 1.3 mv; h∞, 1.3 mv; τn, 4.0 mv. The voltage shifts are proportional to the logarithm of the concentration of the divalent ions and of the hydrogen ion. The observed voltage shifts are interpreted as evidence for negative fixed charges near the sodium and potassium channels. The charged groups are assumed to comprise several types, of varying affinity for divalent and hydrogen ions. The charges near the sodium channels differ from those near the potassium channels. As the pH is lowered below pH 6, the maximum sodium conductance decreases quickly and reversibly in a manner that suggests that the protonation of an acidic group with a pKa of 5.2 blocks individual sodium channels.


1968 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bertil Hille

Voltage clamp measurements on myelinated nerve fibers show that tetrodotoxin, saxitoxin, and DDT specifically affect the sodium channels of the membrane. Tetrodotoxin and saxitoxin render the sodium channels impermeable to Na ions and to Li ions and probably prevent the opening of individual sodium channels when one toxin molecule binds to a channel. The apparent dissociation constant of the inhibitory complex is about 1 nM for the cationic forms of both toxins. The zwitter ionic forms are much less potent. On the other hand, DDT causes a fraction of the sodium channels that open during a depolarization to remain open for a longer time than is normal. The effect cannot be described as a specific change in sodium inactivation or as a specific change in sodium activation, for both processes continue to govern the opening of the sodium channels and neither process is able to close the channels. The effects of DDT are very similar to those of veratrine.


Author(s):  
J. Rosenbluth ◽  
A. Sumner ◽  
T. Saida

Freeze-fracture analysis of myelinated nerve fibers has shown that the axolemma has a highly differentiated structure. The node is characterized by a high concentration of intramembranous particles, primarily in the E fracture face, which may represent the sodium channels known to be concentrated there, and the paranodal axolemma is characterized by a distinctive paracrystalline pattern that corresponds to the intercellular junction formed with the terminal “loops” of myelin lamellae. Studies of myelin formation in normal animals and of myelin-deficient mutant animals indicate that the development of these axolemmal specializations is profoundly influenced by the associated myelinforming cells. The present study considers whether or not nodal or paranodal specializations that have already formed persist after demyelination.In order to investigate this question, specimens of peripheral nerves were examined following exposure to an antiserum to galactocerebroside (GC), which is known to cause a predictable series of changes leading to demyelination. Freeze-fracture replicas of rat spinal roots exposed to anti-GC serum in situ for six hours showed marked changes in the paranodal axolemma.


1972 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 637-658 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bertil Hille

The relative permeability of sodium channels to eight metal cations is studied in myelinated nerve fibers. Ionic currents under voltage-clamp conditions are measured in Na-free solutions containing the test ion. Measured reversal potentials and the Goldman equation are used to calculate the permeability sequence: Na+ ≈ Li+ > Tl+ > K+. The ratio PK/PNa is 1/12. The permeabilities to Rb+, Cs+, Ca++, and Mg++ are too small to measure. The permeability ratios agree with observations on the squid giant axon and show that the reversal potential ENa differs significantly from the Nernst potential for Na+ in normal axons. Opening and closing rates for sodium channels are relatively insensitive to the ionic composition of the bathing medium, implying that gating is a structural property of the channel rather than a result of the movement or accumulation of particular ions around the channel. A previously proposed pore model of the channel accommodates the permeant metal cations in a partly hydrated form. The observed sequence of permeabilities follows the order expected for binding to a high field strength anion in Eisenman's theory of ion exchange equilibria.


1976 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Sevcik

The effect of tetrodotoxin on the sodium currents of the squid (Doryteuthis plei and Sepioteuthis sepiodea) giant axons was studied under potential control conditions. The axons were immersed in artificial seawater at 21 degrees C and pH 7.5. When the effect of the toxin is studied in concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 50 nM the Eadie-Haldane plot is not a straight line and indicates that there are two populations of sodium channels open during activity. 19.0 +/- 4.7% of the channels are accociated to receptors with an apparent dissociation constant of 0.11 +/- 0.05 nM and 84.0 +/- 4.1% of the channels are related to receptors having an affinity constant of 4.90 +/- 0.49 nM (nine nerves).


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