scholarly journals Nonlinear charge movement in mammalian cardiac ventricular cells. Components from Na and Ca channel gating.

1989 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
B P Bean ◽  
E Rios

Intramembrane charge movement was recorded in rat and rabbit ventricular cells using the whole-cell voltage clamp technique. Na and K currents were eliminated by using tetraethylammonium as the main cation internally and externally, and Ca channel current was blocked by Cd and La. With steps in the range of -110 to -150 used to define linear capacitance, extra charge moves during steps positive to approximately -70 mV. With holding potentials near -100 mV, the extra charge moving outward on depolarization (ON charge) is roughly equal to the extra charge moving inward on repolarization (OFF charge) after 50-100 ms. Both ON and OFF charge saturate above approximately +20 mV; saturating charge movement is approximately 1,100 fC (approximately 11 nC/muF of linear capacitance). When the holding potential is depolarized to -50 mV, ON charge is reduced by approximately 40%, with little change in OFF charge. The reduction of ON charge by holding potential in this range matches inactivation of Na current measured in the same cells, suggesting that this component might arise from Na channel gating. The ON charge remaining at a holding potential of -50 mV has properties expected of Ca channel gating current: it is greatly reduced by application of 10 muM D600 when accompanied by long depolarizations and it is reduced at more positive holding potentials with a voltage dependence similar to that of Ca channel inactivation. However, the D600-sensitive charge movement is much larger than the Ca channel gating current that would be expected if the movement of channel gating charge were always accompanied by complete opening of the channel.

1991 ◽  
Vol 98 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
R W Hadley ◽  
W J Lederer

Nonlinear capacitative current (charge movement) was compared to the Ca current (ICa) in single guinea pig ventricular myocytes. It was concluded that the charge movement seen with depolarizing test steps from -50 mV is dominated by L-type Ca channel gating current, because of the following observations. (a) Ca channel inactivation and the immobilization of the gating current had similar voltage and time dependencies. The degree of channel inactivation was directly proportional to the amount of charge immobilization, unlike what has been reported for Na channels. (b) The degree of Ca channel activation was closely correlated with the amount of charge moved at all test potentials between -40 and +60 mV. (c) D600 was found to reduce the gating current in a voltage- and use-dependent manner. D600 was also found to induce "extra" charge movement at negative potentials. (d) Nitrendipine reduced the gating current in a voltage-dependent manner (KD = 200 nM at -40 mV). However, nitrendipine did not increase charge movement at negative test potentials. Although contamination of the Ca channel gating current from other sources cannot be fully excluded, it was not evident in the data and would appear to be small. However, it was noted that the amount of Ca channel gating charge was quite large compared with the magnitude of the Ca current. Indeed, the gating current was found to be a significant contaminant (19 +/- 7%) of the Ca tail currents in these cells. In addition, it was found that Ca channel rundown did not diminish the gating current. These results suggest that Ca channels can be "inactivated" by means that do not affect the voltage sensor.


2003 ◽  
Vol 121 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael F. Sheets ◽  
Dorothy A. Hanck

Block of sodium ionic current by lidocaine is associated with alteration of the gating charge-voltage (Q-V) relationship characterized by a 38% reduction in maximal gating charge (Qmax) and by the appearance of additional gating charge at negative test potentials. We investigated the molecular basis of the lidocaine-induced reduction in cardiac Na channel–gating charge by sequentially neutralizing basic residues in each of the voltage sensors (S4 segments) in the four domains of the human heart Na channel (hH1a). By determining the relative reduction in the Qmax of each mutant channel modified by lidocaine we identified those S4 segments that contributed to a reduction in gating charge. No interaction of lidocaine was found with the voltage sensors in domains I or II. The largest inhibition of charge movement was found for the S4 of domain III consistent with lidocaine completely inhibiting its movement. Protection experiments with intracellular MTSET (a charged sulfhydryl reagent) in a Na channel with the fourth outermost arginine in the S4 of domain III mutated to a cysteine demonstrated that lidocaine stabilized the S4 in domain III in a depolarized configuration. Lidocaine also partially inhibited movement of the S4 in domain IV, but lidocaine's most dramatic effect was to alter the voltage-dependent charge movement of the S4 in domain IV such that it accounted for the appearance of additional gating charge at potentials near −100 mV. These findings suggest that lidocaine's actions on Na channel gating charge result from allosteric coupling of the binding site(s) of lidocaine to the voltage sensors formed by the S4 segments in domains III and IV.


1992 ◽  
Vol 262 (2) ◽  
pp. H472-H477 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. W. Hadley ◽  
W. J. Lederer

Effects of (-)-BAY K 8644 on Ca2+ channel function were studied in guinea pig ventricular myocytes. It was found that the compound has both voltage-dependent stimulatory and inhibitory effects on the Ca2+ current (ICa), in agreement with prior studies. The basis for these effects was studied by evaluating the effects of (-)-BAY K 8644 on the Ca2+ channel gating current. It was found that the voltage-dependent inhibitory effects of the drug on ICa could be well explained by similar reductions in the amount of gating charge moved. However, the stimulatory effect of (-)-BAY K 8644 on ICa could not be simply correlated with changes in the amount of gating charge moved. Although the drug produced a shift of the charge-voltage relationship to more negative potentials, the drug actually reduced the total amount of movable gating charge. Thus it could be demonstrated that there are membrane potentials where (-)-BAY K 8644 reduced the Ca2+ channel gating current while enhancing ICa. In addition, the drug was found to slow the decay of the gating current during repolarization. It seems likely that (-)-BAY K 8644 has a dual effect on Ca2+ channels: affecting both the voltage dependence of gating charge and the relationship between open probability and charge movement.


1989 ◽  
Vol 257 (5) ◽  
pp. H1693-H1704
Author(s):  
C. F. Starmer ◽  
A. I. Undrovinas ◽  
F. Scamps ◽  
G. Vassort ◽  
V. V. Nesterenko ◽  
...  

The effect on calcium channels of the sodium channel antagonist, ethacizin, was studied in isolated frog ventricular cells using the whole cell voltage-clamp methodology. Ethacizin was found to block inward calcium current in a frequency-, voltage-, and concentration-dependent manner. The frequency-dependent blocking properties were modeled by considering the drug interaction with a voltage-dependent mixture of calcium channels harboring either an accessible or an inaccessible binding site. With repetitive stimulation, the pulse-to-pulse reduction in peak current is shown to be exponential, with a rate linearly related to the interstimulus interval and the drug concentration. Observed frequency- and concentration-dependent blocks were consistent with the predictions of the model, and mixture-specific rate constants were estimated from these data. The negligible shift in channel inactivation and the reduction of apparent binding and unbinding rates with more polarized membrane potentials imply the active moiety of ethacizin blocks open channels and is trapped within the channel at resting membrane potentials. The binding rate at 0 mV is similar to that observed in studies of interactions of other open channel blocking agents with voltage- and ligand-gated channels.


1977 ◽  
Vol 70 (5) ◽  
pp. 567-590 ◽  
Author(s):  
C M Armstrong ◽  
F Bezanilla

Gating current (Ig) has been studied in relation to inactivation of Na channels. No component of Ig has the time course of inactivation; apparently little or no charge movement is associated with this step. Inactivation nonetheless affects Ig by immobilizing about two-thirds of gating charge. Immobilization can be followed by measuring ON charge movement during a pulse and comparing it to OFF charge after the pulse. The OFF:ON ratio is near 1 for a pulse so short that no inactivation occurs, and the ratio drops to about one-third with a time course that parallels inactivation. Other correlations between inactivation and immobilization are that: (a) they have the same voltage dependence; (b) charge movement recovers with the time coures of recovery from inactivation. We interpret this to mean that the immobilized charge returns slowly to "off" position with the time course of recovery from inactivation, and that the small current generated is lost in base-line noise. At -150 mV recover is very rapid, and the immobilized charge forms a distinct slow component of current as it returns to off position. After destruction of inactivation by pronase, there is no immobilization of charge. A model is presented in which inactivation gains its voltage dependence by coupling to the activation gate.


1990 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
C K Augustine ◽  
F Bezanilla

The presence of internal Mg-ATP produced a number of changes in the K conductance of perfused giant axons of squid. For holding potentials between -40 and -50 mV, steady-state K conductance increased for depolarizations to potentials more positive than approximately -15 mV and decreased for smaller depolarizations. The voltage dependencies of both steady-state activation and inactivation also appears shifted toward more positive potentials. Gating kinetics were affected by internal ATP, with the activation time constant slowed and the characteristic delay in K conductance markedly enhanced. The rate of deactivation also was hastened during perfusion with ATP. Internal ATP affected potassium channel gating currents in similar ways. The voltage dependence of gating charge movement was shifted toward more positive potentials and the time constants of ON and OFF gating current also were slowed and hastened, respectively, in the presence of ATP. These effects of ATP on the K conductance occurred when no exogenous protein kinases were added to the internal solution and persisted even after removing ATP from the internal perfusate. Perfusion with a solution containing exogenous alkaline phosphatase reversed the effects of ATP. These results provide further evidence that the effects of ATP on the K conductance are a consequence of a phosphorylation reaction mediated by a kinase present and active in perfused axons. Phosphorylation appears to alter the K conductance of squid giant axons via a minimum of two mechanisms. First, the voltage dependence of gating parameters are shifted toward positive potentials. Second, there is an increase in the number of functional closed states and/or a decrease in the rates of transition between these states of the K channels.


1985 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
pp. 539-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
M M White ◽  
F Bezanilla

We have used data obtained from measurements of ionic and gating currents to study the process of K+ channel activation in squid giant axons. A marked improvement in the recording of K+ channel gating currents (IKg) was obtained by total replacement of Cl- in the external solution by NO-3, which eliminates approximately 50% of the Na+ channel gating current with no effect on IKg. The midpoint of the steady state charge-voltage (Qrel - V) relationship is approximately 40 mV hyperpolarized to that of the steady state activation (fo - V) curve, which is an indication that the channel has many nonconducting states. Ionic and gating currents have similar time constants for both ON and OFF pulses. This eliminates any Hodgkin-Huxley nx scheme for K+ channel activation. An interrupted pulse paradigm shows that the last step in the activation process is not rate limiting. IKg shows a nonartifactual rising phase, which indicates that the first step is either the slowest step in the activation sequence or is voltage independent. These data are consistent with the following general scheme for K+ channel activation: (formula; see text)


1989 ◽  
Vol 93 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Spires ◽  
T Begenisich

We have measured gating currents from the squid giant axon using solutions that preserve functional K channels and with experimental conditions that minimize Na channel contributions to these currents. Two pharmacological agents were used to identify a component of gating current that is associated with K channels. Low concentrations of internal Zn2+ that considerably slow K channel ionic currents with no effect on Na channel currents altered the component of gating current associated with K channels. At low concentrations (10-50 microM) the small, organic, dipolar molecule phloretin has several reported specific effects on K channels: it reduces K channel conductance, shifts the relationship between channel conductance and membrane voltage (Vm) to more positive potentials, and reduces the voltage dependence of the conductance-Vm relation. The K channel gating charge movements were altered in an analogous manner by 10 microM phloretin. We also measured the dominant time constants of the K channel ionic and gating currents. These time constants were similar over part of the accessible voltage range, but at potentials between -40 and 0 mV the gating current time constants were two to three times faster than the corresponding ionic current values. These features of K channel function can be reproduced by a simple kinetic model in which the channel is considered to consist of two, two-state, nonidentical subunits.


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