scholarly journals Calcium channel selectivity for divalent and monovalent cations. Voltage and concentration dependence of single channel current in ventricular heart cells.

1986 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 293-319 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Hess ◽  
J B Lansman ◽  
R W Tsien

Single channel and whole cell recordings were used to study ion permeation through Ca channels in isolated ventricular heart cells of guinea pigs. We evaluated the permeability to various divalent and monovalent cations in two ways, by measuring either unitary current amplitude or reversal potential (Erev). According to whole cell measurements of Erev, the relative permeability sequence is Ca2+ greater than Sr2+ greater than Ba2+ for divalent ions; Mg2+ is not measurably permeant. Monovalent ions follow the sequence Li+ greater than Na+ greater than K+ greater than Cs+, and are much less permeant than the divalents. These whole cell measurements were supported by single channel recordings, which showed clear outward currents through single Ca channels at strong depolarizations, similar values of Erev, and similar inflections in the current-voltage relation near Erev. Information from Erev measurements stands in contrast to estimates of open channel flux or single channel conductance, which give the sequence Na+ (85 pS) greater than Li+ (45 pS) greater than Ba2+ (20 pS) greater than Ca2+ (9 pS) near 0 mV with 110-150 mM charge carrier. Thus, ions with a higher permeability, judged by Erev, have lower ion transfer rates. In another comparison, whole cell Na currents through Ca channels are halved by less than 2 microM [Ca]o, but greater than 10 mM [Ca]o is required to produce half-maximal unitary Ca current. All of these observations seem consistent with a recent hypothesis for the mechanism of Ca channel permeation, which proposes that: ions pass through the pore in single file, interacting with multiple binding sites along the way; selectivity is largely determined by ion affinity to the binding sites rather than by exclusion by a selectivity filter; occupancy by only one Ca ion is sufficient to block the pore's high conductance for monovalent ions like Na+; rapid permeation by Ca ions depends upon double occupancy, which only becomes significant at millimolar [Ca]o, because of electrostatic repulsion or some other interaction between ions; and once double occupancy occurs, the ion-ion interaction helps promote a quick exit of Ca ions from the pore into the cell.

1993 ◽  
Vol 264 (5) ◽  
pp. H1337-H1345 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. K. England ◽  
T. A. Wooldridge ◽  
W. J. Stekiel ◽  
N. J. Rusch

Arterial smooth muscle from hypertensive rats shows an increased membrane permeability to K+ that depends on Ca2+ influx. To define the mechanism of this membrane alteration, we tested the hypothesis that Ca(2+)-dependent K+ current (IK(Ca)) is increased in arterial muscle membranes from genetically hypertensive rats. Single-channel K+ currents measured in cell-attached and inside-out aortic membrane patches from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were compared with those from normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY). Inside-out patches from both rat strains showed a predominant 225 pS, Ca(2+)- and voltage-dependent K+ channel in symmetrical 145 mM KCl solutions, which was blocked by tetraethylammonium [concentration for half-maximal block (IC50) < or = 0.3 mM]. In cell-attached patches of aortic muscle cells bathed in physiological salt solution, this channel [IK(Ca) channel] showed a fivefold higher open-state probability (NPo) in SHR as compared with WKY. This increased NPo of SHR IK(Ca) channels in membranes of intact aortic muscle cells was not correlated with an altered membrane potential in current-clamped SHR myocytes or with changes in cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration in fura-2-loaded aortic muscle cells. However, inside-out aortic membrane patches from SHR showed more detected IK(Ca) channels per patch, a higher IK(Ca) channel NPo, and a greater total patch current than their WKY counterparts. Further analysis revealed a greater Ca2+ sensitivity of SHR than WKY IK(Ca) channels. These results suggest that IK(Ca) channel function is altered in isolated membrane patches of arterial muscle from genetically hypertensive rats.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


1992 ◽  
Vol 262 (2) ◽  
pp. C453-C460 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Naruse ◽  
D. S. McGehee ◽  
G. S. Oxford

The nonapeptide bradykinin (BK) excites a subset of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons with putative nociceptive functions by stimulating an inward cation current. In addition, BK stimulates various intracellular signaling pathways including an elevation of intracellular Ca2+. In a DRG neuron x neuroblastoma hybrid cell (F-11), BK stimulates similar increases in intracellular [Ca2+] and inward current but also elicits a large transient outward current through Ca(2+)-activated K channels. We have investigated the mechanisms underlying differential expression of outward current responses in the two cell types at the single channel level. Although K(Ca) channel activity appears in inside-out patches from both cells exposed to Ca2+, BK applied to the extrapatch membrane of cell-attached patches activates K(Ca) channels in F-11 but not DRG neurons. Whereas single K(Ca) channels are quantitatively similar in terms of conductance, voltage-dependence, and sensitivity to tetraethylammonium, they differ in sensitivity to intracellular Ca2+. Channel activation in both cells requires at least four Ca2+ ions, but half-maximal activation occurs at slightly higher [Ca2+] for DRG neurons. The shift in the Ca2+ dose-response curve combined with the steep [Ca2+] dependence of channel open probability makes it less likely that a BK-induced rise in internal [Ca2+] induced will trigger a transient outward current and resultant hyperpolarization in a DRG neuron.


1988 ◽  
Vol 92 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
R L Rosenberg ◽  
P Hess ◽  
R W Tsien

Planar lipid bilayer recordings were used to study Ca channels from bovine cardiac sarcolemmal membranes. Ca channel activity was recorded in the absence of nucleotides or soluble enzymes, over a range of membrane potentials and ionic conditions that cannot be achieved in intact cells. The dihydropyridine-sensitive L-type Ca channel, studied in the presence of Bay K 8644, was identified by a detailed comparison of its properties in artificial membranes and in intact cells. L-type Ca channels in bilayers showed voltage dependence of channel activation and inactivation, open and closed times, and single-channel conductances in Ba2+ and Ca2+ very similar to those found in cell-attached patch recordings. Open channels were blocked by micromolar concentrations of external Cd2+. In this cell-free system, channel activity tended to decrease during the course of an experiment, reminiscent of Ca2+ channel "rundown" in whole-cell and excised-patch recordings. A purely voltage-dependent component of inactivation was observed in the absence of Ca2+ stores or changes in intracellular Ca2+. Millimolar internal Ca2+ reduced unitary Ba2+ influx but did not greatly increase the rate or extent of inactivation or the rate of channel rundown. In symmetrical Ba2+ solutions, unitary conductance saturated as the Ba2+ concentration was increased up to 500 mM. The bilayer recordings also revealed activity of a novel Ca2+-permeable channel, termed "B-type" because it may contribute a steady background current at negative membrane potentials, which is distinct from L-type or T-type Ca channels previously reported. Unlike L-type channels, B-type channels have a small unitary Ba2+ conductance (7 pS), but do not discriminate between Ba2+ and Ca2+, show no obvious sensitivity to Bay K 8644, and do not run down. Unlike either L- or T-type channels, B-type channels did not require a depolarization for activation and displayed mean open times of greater than 100 ms.


1986 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 369-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
M C Sanguinetti ◽  
D S Krafte ◽  
R S Kass

We have investigated the voltage-dependent effects of the dihydropyridine Bay K8644 on Ca channel currents in calf Purkinje fibers and enzymatically dispersed rat ventricular myocytes. Bay K8644 increases the apparent rate of inactivation of these currents, measured during depolarizing voltage pulses, and shifts both channel activation and inactivation in the hyperpolarizing direction. Consequently, currents measured after hyperpolarizing conditioning pulses are larger in the presence of drug compared with control conditions, but are smaller than control if they are measured after positive conditioning pulses. Most of our experimental observations on macroscopic currents can be explained by a single drug-induced change in one rate constant of a simple kinetic model. The rate constant change is consistent with results obtained by others with single channel recordings.


1989 ◽  
Vol 256 (1) ◽  
pp. H179-H185 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Marsh ◽  
P. D. Allen

To test the hypothesis that alterations in Ca-channel properties are a major factor in developmental changes in Ca sensitivity of the heart, we quantitated Ca-channel pharmacological properties during development of the chick heart and related pharmacological properties of Ca channels to the ability of channels to modulate contractility. Force-pCa curves were determined for chick hearts during development. From 3 to 5 days in ovo to 3-4 days posthatched, there was more than 1 log decrease in sensitivity to extracellular calcium concentration [( Ca]o) PN200-100 ligand-binding studies in cardiac membranes revealed no change in dissociation constant (KD; 660-1,040 pM; P = NS) during development, but between 18 days in ovo and 3-4 days posthatched, there was an increase in the number of binding sites from 2,180 +/- 260 to 3,530 +/- 410 fmol/mg (P less than 0.01). This change could not be attributed to nonspecific change in membrane composition. For intact ventricular strips, there was a developmental decrease in contractile sensitivity to the Ca-channel agonist BAY K 8644 despite the increase in Ca channels as identified by ligand binding. Thus abundance of dihydropyridine binding sites increases during chick ventricular development, but this is dissociated from the physiological response to a Ca-channel agonist.


1990 ◽  
Vol 95 (5) ◽  
pp. 911-939 ◽  
Author(s):  
D T Yue ◽  
E Marban

We investigated the mechanism whereby ions cross dihydropyridine-sensitive (L-type) Ca channels in guinea pig ventricular myocytes. At the single-channel level, we found no evidence of an anomalous mole-fraction effect like that reported previously for whole-cell currents in mixtures of Ba and Ca. With the total concentration of Ba + Ca kept constant at 10 (or 110) mM, neither conductance nor absolute unitary current exhibits a paradoxical decrease when Ba and Ca are mixed, thereby weakening the evidence for a multi-ion permeation scheme. We therefore sought independent evidence to support or reject the multi-ion nature of the L-type Ca channel by measuring conductance at various permeant ion concentrations. Contrary to the predictions of models with only one binding site in the permeation pathway, single-channel conductance does not follow Michaelis-Menten kinetics as Ba activity is increased over three orders of magnitude. Two-fold variation in the Debye length of permeant ion solutions has little effect on conductance, making it unlikely that local surface charge effects could account for these results. Instead, the marked deviation from Michaelis-Menten behavior was best explained by supposing that the permeation pathway contains three or more binding sites that can be occupied simultaneously. The presence of three sites helps explain both a continued rise in conductance as [Ba2+] is increased above 110 mM, and the high single-channel conductance (approximately 7 pS) with 1 mM [Ba2+] as the charge carrier; the latter feature enables the L-type channel to carry surprisingly large currents at physiological divalent cation concentrations. Thus, despite the absence of an anomalous mole-fraction effect between Ba and Ca, we suggest that the L-type Ca channel in heart cells supports ion flux by a single-file, multi-ion permeation mechanism.


Circulation ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 116 (suppl_16) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Chahine ◽  
Yongxia Qu ◽  
Mohamed Boutjdir

The recently reported α 1D calcium channel in the heart is known to be regulated by protein kinase C (PKC) at the whole cell level and has been implicated in atrial fibrillation. The biophysical basis of this regulation at the single channel level is not known. Therefore, the effect of PKC activation was studied on α 1D calcium channel expressed in tsA201 cells using cell-attached method. Unitary currents were recorded in the presence of 70 mM Ba 2+ as the charge carrier. Unitary currents were evoked by 500 ms depolarizing pulses from a holding potential of −80 mV every 0.5 Hz. Under basal condition, channel activity was rare and infrequent, however Bay K 8644 (1 μM) induced channel openings with a conductance of 22.3 pS. Single channel analysis of open and closed time distributions were best fitted with a single exponential. PKC activation by PMA (10 nM), a phorbol ester derivative, resulted in a decrease in open probability and increase in closed-time without any significant effect on the conductance of the α 1D calcium channel. This is consistent with a decreased entry of α 1D Ca channel into open states in the presence of PMA. These data show, for the fist time, 1) the α 1D calcium channel activity at the single channel level and 2) the biophysical basis of by which PKC activation inhibits the α 1D calcium channel. The shortening of the open-time and the lengthening of the closed-time constants and the increase in blank sweeps may explain the inhibition of the α 1D Ca-channel activity and the reduction in whole-cell α 1D Ca current previously reported. Altogether, these data are relevant to the understanding of the patho-physiology of α 1D calcium channel and its regulation by the autonomics.


1963 ◽  
Vol 205 (4) ◽  
pp. 686-692 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emil Bozler

Ca exchange of the frog's stomach muscle was rapid and much larger than in skeletal muscles. More than half of the fiber Ca exchanged and was lost in Ca-free solutions in 10 min. To evaluate extracellular Ca in these experiments exchange and binding of Ca in tendon and fascia were studied. The amount of extracellular Ca was estimated from the loss of Ca in isosmotic sucrose solution. In high Ca solutions the Ca concentration in muscle increased several times, but remained much lower than the Ca concentration in the medium. A large increase in Ca i appears to be associated with a loss of Na and K. The question of how the unequal distribution of Ca is maintained is discussed. Because of the rapid exchange and because of the large difference in concentration of Ca ions the energy requirement of a Ca pump would be prohibitively high. The distribution of Ca can be understood as an equilibrium if Ca enters the fibers bound to a diffusible carrier and if bound Ca competes with monovalent ions for binding sites.


1993 ◽  
Vol 102 (4) ◽  
pp. 601-630 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Grissmer ◽  
A N Nguyen ◽  
M D Cahalan

Ca(2+)-activated K+[K(Ca)] channels in resting and activated human peripheral blood T lymphocytes were characterized using simultaneous patch-clamp recording and fura-2 monitoring of cytosolic Ca2+ concentration, [Ca2+]i. Whole-cell experiments, using EGTA-buffered pipette solutions to raise [Ca2+]i to 1 microM, revealed a 25-fold increase in the number of conducting K(Ca) channels per cell, from an average of 20 in resting T cells to &gt; 500 channels per cell in T cell blasts after mitogenic activation. The opening of K(Ca) channels in both whole-cell and inside-out patch experiments was highly sensitive to [Ca2+]i (Hill coefficient of 4, with a midpoint of approximately 300 nM). At optimal [Ca2+]i, the open probability of a K(Ca) channel was 0.3-0.5. K(Ca) channels showed little or no voltage dependence from -100 to 0 mV. Single-channel I-V curves were linear with a unitary conductance of 11 pS in normal Ringer and exhibited modest inward rectification with a unitary conductance of approximately 35 pS in symmetrical 160 mM K+. Permeability ratios, relative to K+, determined from reversal potential measurements were: K+ (1.0) &gt; Rb+ (0.96) &gt; NH4+ (0.17) &gt; Cs+ (0.07). Slope conductance ratios were: NH4+ (1.2) &gt; K+ (1.0) &gt; Rb+ (0.6) &gt; Cs+ (0.10). Extracellular Cs+ or Ba2+ each induced voltage-dependent block of K(Ca) channels, with block increasing at hyperpolarizing potentials in a manner suggesting a site of block 75% across the membrane field from the outside. K(Ca) channels were blocked by tetraethylammonium (TEA) applied externally (Kd = 40 mM), but were unaffected by 10 mM TEA applied inside by pipette perfusion. K(Ca) channels were blocked by charybdotoxin (CTX) with a half-blocking dose of 3-4 nM, but were resistant to block by noxiustoxin (NTX) at 1-100 nM. Unlike K(Ca) channels in Jurkat T cells, the K(Ca) channels of normal resting or activated T cells were not blocked by apamin. We conclude that while K(Ca) and voltage-gated K+ channels in the same cells share similarities in ion permeation, Cs+ and Ba2+ block, and sensitivity to CTX, the underlying proteins differ in structural characteristics that determine channel gating and block by NTX and TEA.


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