scholarly journals Electrical properties of toad sartorius muscle fibres in summer and winter

1973 ◽  
Vol 230 (3) ◽  
pp. 619-641 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela F. Dulhunty ◽  
Peter W. Gage

The linear electrical properties of muscle fibres have been examined using intracellular electrodes for a. c. measurements and analyzing observations on the basis of cable theory. The measurements have covered the frequency range 1 c/s to 10 kc/s. Comparison of the theory for the circular cylindrical fibre with that for the ideal, one-dimensional cable indicates that, under the conditions of the experiments, no serious error would be introduced in the analysis by the geometrical idealization. The impedance locus for frog sartorius and crayfish limb muscle fibres deviates over a wide range of frequencies from that expected for a simple model in which the current path between the inside and the outside of the fibre consists only of a resistance and a capacitance in parallel. A good fit of the experimental results on frog fibres is obtained if the inside-outside admittance is considered to contain, in addition to the parallel elements R m = 3100 Ωcm 2 and C m = 2.6 μF/cm 2 , another path composed of a resistance R e = 330 Ωcm 2 in series with a capacitance C e = 4.1 μF/cm 2 , all referred to unit area of fibre surface. The impedance behaviour of crayfish fibres can be described by a similar model, the corresponding values being R m = 680 Ωcm 2 , C m = 3.9 μF/cm 2 , R e = 35 Ωcm 2 , C e = 17 μF/cm 2 . The response of frog fibres to a step-function current (with the points of voltage recording and current application close together) has been analyzed in terms of the above two-time constant model, and it is shown that neglecting the series resistance would have an appreciable effect on the agreement between theory and experiment only at times less than the halftime of rise of the response. The elements R m and C m are presumed to represent properties of the surface membrane of the fibre. R e and C e are thought to arise not at the surface, but to be indicative of a separate current path from the myoplasm through an intracellular system of channels to the exterior. In the case of crayfish fibres, it is possible that R e (when referred to unit volume) would be a measure of the resistivity of the interior of the channels, and C e the capacitance across the walls of the channels. In the case of frog fibres, it is suggested that the elements R e , C e arise from the properties of adjacent membranes of the triads in the sarcoplasmic reticulum . The possibility is considered that the potential difference across the capacitance C e may control the initiation of contraction.


1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (12) ◽  
pp. 1560-1564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. E. Allard

Intracellular pH (pHi, measured with H+-selective microelectrodes, in quiescent frog sartorius muscle fibres was 7.29 ± 0.09 (n = 13). Frog muscle fibres were superfused with a modified Ringer solution containing 30 mM HEPES buffer, at extracellular pH (pHo) 7.35. Intracellular pH decreased to 6.45 ± 0.14 (n = 13) following replacement of 30 mM NaCl with sodium lactate (30 mM MES, pHo 6.20). Intracellular pH recovery, upon removal of external lactic acid, depended on the buffer concentration of the modified Ringer solution. The measured values of the pHi recovery rates was 0.06 ± 0.01 ΔpHi/min (n = 5) in 3 mM HEPES and was 0.18 ± 0.06 ΔpHi/min (n = 13) in 30 mM HEPES, pHo 7.35. The Na+–H+ exchange inhibitor amiloride (2 mM) slightly reduced pHi recovery rate. The results indicate that the net proton efflux from lactic acidotic frog skeletal muscle is mainly by lactic acid efflux and is limited by the transmembrane pH gradient which, in turn, depends on the extracellular buffer capacity in the diffusion limited space around the muscle fibres.


1969 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 265-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter W. Gage ◽  
Robert S. Eisenberg

The passive electrical properties of glycerol-treated muscle fibers, which have virtually no transverse tubules, were determined. Current was passed through one intracellular microelectrode and the time course and spatial distribution of the resulting potential displacement measured with another. The results were analyzed by using conventional cable equations. The membrane resistance of fibers without tubules was 3759 ± 331 ohm-cm2 and the internal resistivity 192 ohm-cm. Both these figures are essentially the same as those found in normal muscle fibers. The capacitance of the fibers without tubules is strikingly smaller than normal, being 2.24 ± 0.14 µF/cm2. Measurements were also made of the passive electrical properties of fibers in a Ringer solution containing 400 mM glycerol (which is used in the preparation of glycerol-treated fibers). The membrane resistance and capacitance are essentially normal, but the internal resistivity is somewhat reduced. These results show that glycerol in this concentration does not directly affect the membrane capacitance. Thus, the figure for the capacitance of glycerol-treated fibers, which agrees well with previous estimates made by different techniques, represents the capacitance of the outer membrane of the fiber. Estimates of the capacitance per unit area of the tubular membrane are made and the significance of the difference between the figures for the capacitance of the surface and tubular membrane is discussed.


1977 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-32
Author(s):  
M. Peters

1. Innervation and some electrical properties of the locust ventral diaphragm were investigated with electrophysiological and histological methods. 2. Muscle fibres are coupled electrically. Electrical stimulation evokes a graded active membrane response. 3. Each segment is innervated by four motor neurones as follows. Two motor neurones are situated in each abdominal ganglion. Branches of their axons supply the ventral diaphragm in the respective and the next posterior segment. 4. This pattern of innervation was confirmed by axonal Co and Ni staining of the motor nerve endings. 5. Neuromuscular junctions are excitatory. EPSPs show summation but no facilitation. 6. Spontaneous electrical activity of the diaphragm is to a certain degree coupled to activity of the main inspiratory muscles.


1955 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 383-396
Author(s):  
J. SHAW

1. Measurements have been made of the concentrations of potassium, chloride, calcium and magnesium, the conductivity and the membrane potential of single isolated fibres of the carpopodite extensor and flexor muscles of Carcinus maenas. 2. Analyses of whole muscles gave the total concentration of the cations as 224 mM./kg. H2O, of which potassium accounted for 120 mM./kg. and sodium 54 mM./kg. Of the anion fraction chloride only accounted for 54mM./kg. H2O. The analyses of the separated fibres were the same as for the whole muscle. 3. The average specific resistance of the fibres is 56Ω-cm. This represents a concentration of muscle ions of about 200 m.equiv./kg. and the electrolyte content of the muscle is not much more than a third of that of the blood. Between 72 and 91% of the total muscle fibre cations are present in an ionized form. 4. The average membrane potential is 58 mV. The ratios of the concentrations of potassium ions and chloride ions in the blood and muscle fibres suggest that these ions may be passively distributed across the membrane. The low concentration of sodium ions in the fibre probably indicates the operation of a ‘sodium pump’ as has been proposed for vertebrate muscles. The distribution of calcium and magnesium cannot be explained in simple terms. 5. The correspondence between the equilibrium potentials for potassium and chloride ions and the membrane potential suggests that theory of ion distribution put forward by Boyle & Conway for frog's sartorius muscle may also be applicable to Carcinus muscles.


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