scholarly journals Effects of strychnine on the sodium conductance of the frog node of Ranvier.

1977 ◽  
Vol 69 (6) ◽  
pp. 915-926 ◽  
Author(s):  
B I Shapiro

Strychnine blocks sodium conductance in the frog node of Ranvier. This block was studied by reducing and slowing sodium inactivation with scorpion venom. The block is voltage and time dependent. The more positive the axoplasm the greater the block and the faster the approach to equilibrium. Some evidence is presented suggesting that only open channels can be blocked. The block is reduced by raising external sodium or lithium but not impermeant cations. A quaternary derivative of strychnine was synthesized and found to have the same action only when applied intracellularly. We conclude that strychnine blocks sodium channels by a mechanism analogous to that by which it blocks potassium channels. The potassium channel block had previously been found to be identical to that by tetraethylammonium ion derivatives. In addition, strychnine resembles procaine and its derivatives in both its structure and the mechanism of sodium channel block.

1977 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 497-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Hille

The properties of Na channels of the node of Ranvier are altered by neutral, amine, and quaternary local anesthetic compounds. The kinetics of the Na currents are governed by a composite of voltage- and time-dependent gating processes with voltage- and time-dependent block of channels by drug. Conventional measurements of steady-state sodium inactivation by use of 50-ms prepulses show a large negative voltage shift of the inactivation curve with neutral benzocaine and with some ionizable amines like lidocaine and tetracaine, but no shift is seen with quaternary OX-572. However, when the experiment is done with repetitive application of a prepulse-testpulse waveform, a shift with the quaternary cations (applied internally) is seen as well. 1-min hyperpolarizations of lidocaine- or tetracaine-treated fibers restore two to four times as many channels to the conducting pool as 50-ms hyperpolarizations. Raising the external Ca++ concentration also has a strong unblocking effect. These manipulations do not relieve block in fibers treated with internal quaternary drugs. The results are interpreted in terms of a single receptor in Na channels for the different drug types. Lipid-soluble drug forms are thought to come and go from the receptor via a hydrophobic region of the membrane, while charged and less lipid-soluble forms pass via a hydrophilic region (the inner channel mouth). The hydrophilic pathway is open only when the gates of the channel are open. Any drug form in the channel increases the probability of closing the inactivation gate which, in effect, is equivalent to a negative shift of the voltage dependence of inactivation.


When tetrodotoxin is applied to or washed away from the squid giant axon, the rates at which the sodium conductance is blocked and unblocked are an order of magnitude smaller than those reported for the isolated node of Ranvier. This slowing is to be expected if in squid the tetrodotoxin binding sites act as a saturable sink in series with the barrier to free diffusion imposed by the presence of the Schwann cell. A comparison has been made between the rates observed experimentally and those calculated for a computer model of the system, in order to estimate the apparent density in the membrane of both specific and non-specific tetrodotoxin binding sites. The figure thus obtained for the number of sodium channels in the squid giant axon, several hundred per square micrometre, agrees well with those derived from other lines of argument.


1980 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 315-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
G E Kirsch ◽  
J Z Yeh ◽  
J M Farley ◽  
T Narahashi

The effects of n-alkylguanidine derivatives on sodium channel conductance were measured in voltage clamped, internally perfused squid giant axons. After destruction of the sodium inactivation mechanism by internal pronase treatment, internal application of n-amylguanidine (0.5 mM) or n-octylguanidine (0.03 mM) caused a time-dependent block of sodium channels. No time-dependent block was observed with shorter chain derivatives. No change in the rising phase of sodium current was seen and the block of steady-state sodium current was independent of the membrane potential. In axons with intact sodium inactivation, an apparent facilitation of inactivation was observed after application of either n-amylguanidine or n-octylguanidine. These results can be explained by a model in which alkylguanidines enter and occlude open sodium channels from inside the membrane with voltage-independent rate constants. Alkylguanidine block bears a close resemblance to natural sodium inactivation. This might be explained by the fact that alkylguanidines are related to arginine, which has a guanidino group and is thought to be an essential amino acid in the molecular mechanism of sodium inactivation. A strong correlation between alkyl chain length and blocking potency was found, suggesting that a hydrophobic binding site exists near the inner mouth of the sodium channel.


Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (Suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dmytro O Kryshtal ◽  
Daniel J Blackwell ◽  
Christian L Egly ◽  
Abigail N Smith ◽  
Suzanne M Batiste ◽  
...  

Rationale: The class Ic antiarrhythmic drug flecainide prevents ventricular tachyarrhythmia in patients with catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT), a disease caused by hyperactive cardiac ryanodine receptor (RyR2) calcium (Ca) release. Although flecainide inhibits single RyR2 channels in vitro , reports have claimed that RyR2 inhibition by flecainide is not relevant for its mechanism of antiarrhythmic action and concluded that sodium channel block alone is responsible for flecainide’s efficacy in CPVT. Objective: To determine whether RyR2 block independently contributes to flecainide’s efficacy for suppressing spontaneous sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca release and for preventing ventricular tachycardia in vivo . Methods and Results: We synthesized N -methyl flecainide analogues (QX-FL and NM-FL) and showed that N -methylation reduces flecainide’s inhibitory potency on RyR2 channels but not on cardiac sodium channels. Antiarrhythmic efficacy was tested utilizing a calsequestrin knockout (Casq2-/-) CPVT mouse model. In membrane-permeabilized Casq2-/- cardiomyocytes — lacking intact sarcolemma and devoid of sodium channel contribution — flecainide, but not its analogues, suppressed RyR2-mediated Ca release at clinically relevant concentrations. In voltage-clamped, intact Casq2-/- cardiomyocytes pretreated with tetrodotoxin (TTX) to inhibit sodium channels and isolate the effect of flecainide on RyR2, flecainide significantly reduced the frequency of spontaneous SR Ca release, while QX-FL and NM-FL did not. In vivo , flecainide effectively suppressed catecholamine-induced ventricular tachyarrhythmias in Casq2-/- mice, whereas NM-FL did not, despite comparable sodium channel block. Conclusions: Flecainide remains an effective inhibitor of RyR2-mediated arrhythmogenic Ca release even when cardiac sodium channels are blocked. In mice with CPVT, sodium channel block alone was not enough to prevent arrhythmias. Hence, RyR2 inhibition by flecainide is critical for its mechanism of antiarrhythmic action.


Like the axolemma of the giant nerve fibre of the squid, the nodal membrane of frog myelinated nerve fibres after blocking transmembrane ionic currents exhibits asymmetrical displacement currents during and after hyperpolarizing and depolarizing voltage clamp pulses of equal size. The steady-state distribution of charges as a function of membrane potential is consistent with Boltzmann’s law (midpoint potential —33.7 mV; saturation value 17200 charges/(μm 2 ). The time course of the asymmetry current and the voltage dependence of its time constant are consistent with the notion that due to a sudden change in membrane potential the charges undergo a first order transition between two configurations. Size and voltage dependence of the time constant are similar to those of the activation of the sodium conductance assuming m 2 h kinetics, The results suggest the presence of ten times more sodium channels (5000/μm2) in the node of Ranvier than in the squid giant axon with similar sodium conductance per channel (2-3 pS),


Author(s):  
Dmytro O Kryshtal ◽  
Daniel Blackwell ◽  
Christian Egly ◽  
Abigail N Smith ◽  
Suzanne M Batiste ◽  
...  

Rationale: The class Ic antiarrhythmic drug flecainide prevents ventricular tachyarrhythmia in patients with catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT), a disease caused by hyperactive cardiac ryanodine receptor (RyR2) calcium (Ca) release. Although flecainide inhibits single RyR2 channels in vitro, reports have claimed that RyR2 inhibition by flecainide is not relevant for its mechanism of antiarrhythmic action and concluded that sodium channel block alone is responsible for flecainide's efficacy in CPVT. Objective: To determine whether RyR2 block independently contributes to flecainide's efficacy for suppressing spontaneous sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca release and for preventing ventricular tachycardia in vivo. Methods and Results: We synthesized N-methylated flecainide analogues (QX-FL and NM-FL) and showed that N-methylation reduces flecainide's inhibitory potency on RyR2 channels incorporated into artificial lipid bilayers. N-Methylation did not alter flecainide's inhibitory activity on human cardiac sodium channels expressed in HEK293T cells. Antiarrhythmic efficacy was tested utilizing a calsequestrin knockout (Casq2-/-) CPVT mouse model. In membrane-permeabilized Casq2-/- cardiomyocytes — lacking intact sarcolemma and devoid of sodium channel contribution — flecainide, but not its analogues, suppressed RyR2-mediated Ca release at clinically relevant concentrations. In voltage-clamped, intact Casq2-/- cardiomyocytes pretreated with tetrodotoxin (TTX) to inhibit sodium channels and isolate the effect of flecainide on RyR2, flecainide significantly reduced the frequency of spontaneous SR Ca release, while QX-FL and NM-FL did not. In vivo, flecainide effectively suppressed catecholamine-induced ventricular tachyarrhythmias in Casq2-/- mice, whereas NM-FL had no significant effect on arrhythmia burden, despite comparable sodium channel block. Conclusions: Flecainide remains an effective inhibitor of RyR2-mediated arrhythmogenic Ca release even when cardiac sodium channels are blocked. In mice with CPVT, sodium channel block alone did not prevent ventricular tachycardia. Hence, RyR2 channel inhibition likely constitutes the principal mechanism of antiarrhythmic action of flecainide in CPVT.


2016 ◽  
Vol 258 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas Silva dos Santos ◽  
Evelise Leis Carvalho ◽  
Jeferson Camargo de Lima ◽  
Ricardo Vaz Breda ◽  
Raquel Soares Oliveira ◽  
...  

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