scholarly journals Effect of rate-dependent changes in the transient outward current on the action potential in sheep Purkinje fibres.

1981 ◽  
Vol 319 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
M R Boyett
1989 ◽  
Vol 256 (5) ◽  
pp. H1500-H1504 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Fedida ◽  
Y. Shimoni ◽  
W. R. Giles

In the heart, alpha-adrenergic agonists have long been known to produce a positive inotropic effect that is rate dependent and associated with action potential prolongation but is not accompanied by adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) elevation. The ionic mechanism of these effects is unknown. We report that a transient outward K+ current, a major determinant of plateau duration in rabbit and human atria, is strongly inhibited by norepinephrine and the alpha-adrenoceptor agonists methoxamine and phenylephrine. These effects of alpha-stimulation can be blocked by prazosin. The reduction in the transient outward current substantially slows action potential repolarization. These results can explain the regional and species-dependent positive inotropic effects of alpha-adrenergic stimulation in the heart and give important new insight into the autonomic regulation of cardiac function. In addition, reduction in this repolarizing current during the enhanced alpha-adrenergic responsiveness of myocardial ischemia may be a factor in the genesis of arrhythmias produced by catecholamines.


2007 ◽  
Vol 292 (1) ◽  
pp. H56-H65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefania Vecchietti ◽  
Eleonora Grandi ◽  
Stefano Severi ◽  
Ilaria Rivolta ◽  
Carlo Napolitano ◽  
...  

The effects of two SCN5A mutations (Y1795C, Y1795H), previously identified in one Long QT syndrome type 3 (LQT3) and one Brugada syndrome (BrS) families, were investigated by means of numerical modeling of ventricular action potential (AP). A Markov model capable of reproducing a wild-type as well as a mutant sodium current ( INa) was identified and was included into the Luo-Rudy ventricular cell model for action potential (AP) simulation. The characteristics of endocardial, midmyocardial, and epicardial cells were reproduced by differentiating the transient outward current ( ITO) and the ratio of slow delayed rectifier potassium ( IKs) to rapid delayed rectifier current ( IKr). Administration of flecainide and mexiletine was simulated by appropriately modifying INa, calcium current ( ICa), ITO, and IKr. Y1795C prolonged AP in a rate-dependent manner, and early afterdepolarizations (EADs) appeared during bradycardia in epicardial and midmyocardial cells; flecainide and mexiletine shortened AP and abolished EADs. Y1795H resulted in minimal changes in the APs; flecainide but not mexiletine induced APs heterogeneity across the ventricular wall that accounts for the ST segment elevation induced by flecainide in Y1795H carriers. The AP abnormalities induced by Y1795H and Y1795C can explain the clinically observed surface ECG phenotype. For the first time by modeling the effects of flecainide and mexiletine, we are able to gather mechanistic insights on the response to drugs administration observed in affected patients.


1998 ◽  
Vol 275 (1) ◽  
pp. H301-H321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Courtemanche ◽  
Rafael J. Ramirez ◽  
Stanley Nattel

The mechanisms underlying many important properties of the human atrial action potential (AP) are poorly understood. Using specific formulations of the K+, Na+, and Ca2+ currents based on data recorded from human atrial myocytes, along with representations of pump, exchange, and background currents, we developed a mathematical model of the AP. The model AP resembles APs recorded from human atrial samples and responds to rate changes, L-type Ca2+ current blockade, Na+/Ca2+ exchanger inhibition, and variations in transient outward current amplitude in a fashion similar to experimental recordings. Rate-dependent adaptation of AP duration, an important determinant of susceptibility to atrial fibrillation, was attributable to incomplete L-type Ca2+ current recovery from inactivation and incomplete delayed rectifier current deactivation at rapid rates. Experimental observations of variable AP morphology could be accounted for by changes in transient outward current density, as suggested experimentally. We conclude that this mathematical model of the human atrial AP reproduces a variety of observed AP behaviors and provides insights into the mechanisms of clinically important AP properties.


1985 ◽  
Vol 225 (1241) ◽  
pp. 481-502 ◽  

The shortening of the action potential of sheep Purkinje fibres at high and low rates of stimulation has been investigated. The shortening of the action potential at high rates can be entirely accounted for by incomplete recovery of the plateau conductances between beats. When sufficient time is allowed for membrane recovery, a prolongation of the action potential, rather than a shortening, occurs at high frequencies. The effect on electrical activity of increasing the stimulus frequency is similar to decreasing the bathing K concentration. The possibility of a reduction in the cleft K concentration at high frequencies is discussed. The shortening of the action potential at low rates is unaffected by 4-amino pyridine (a blocker of the transient outward current, i to ) is abolished by D600 (a blocker of the second inward current, i st ) and by a rise in the bathing Ca concentration. It is concluded that i si rather than i to is involved in action potential shortening at low rates. Action potential shortening at low rates is closely associated with declines in the maximum diastolic potential and the pacemaker potential; all of these changes are abolished by ouabain (a blocker of the Na-K pump). It is concluded that the shortening of the action potential at low rates may be the result of a decline in i si , which in turn is dependent on a decline in [Na] i . It is suggested that the rate-dependent changes in the maximum diastolic potential, pacemaker potential and tension are also related to [Na] i .


1989 ◽  
Vol 67 (7) ◽  
pp. 780-787 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Ruiz-Petrich ◽  
Normand Leblanc

Blockers of the transient outward current (4-aminopyridine) and the Ca current (Co2+) as well as injection of polarizing current during the plateau were used to assess the role of these current systems as determinants of action potential duration at different pacing rates. Papillary muscles and ventricular trabecula were superfused with oxygenated Krebs solution at 33 °C and driven at a basic rate of 1 Hz. The effects of varying the frequency of stimulation between 0.1 and 4 Hz on action potential parameters were determined under control conditions and during exposure to 2 mM 4-aminopyridine, 1–3 mM CoCl2, or a mixture of 4-aminopyridine and CoCl2. The control relationship between action potential duration and pacing rate showed a maximum between 1 and 2 Hz. Under 4-aminopyridine, the plateau height and the action potential duration increased. The rate-dependent shortening of the action potential at frequencies below 1 Hz was reduced or abolished, and enhanced shortening was observed at rates above 1 Hz. Exposure to Co2+ reduced the action potential shortening at rates higher than 1 Hz. Both blockers, 4-aminopyridine and Co2+ were necessary to eliminate the rate-dependent changes of the action potential duration. Our results indicated that both the transient outward current and the inward calcium current determine the plateau height and duration for frequencies ≤2 Hz, whereas at higher rates, the Ca current plays a dominant role.Key words: action potential duration, stimulation rate, Ca current, transient outward current.


1996 ◽  
Vol 271 (2) ◽  
pp. H548-H561 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Di Diego ◽  
Z. Q. Sun ◽  
C. Antzelevitch

Transmural heterogeneities of repolarizing currents underlie prominent differences in the electrophysiology and pharmacology of ventricular epicardial, endocardial, and M cells in a number of species. The degree to which heterogeneities exist between the right and left ventricles is not well appreciated. The present study uses standard microelectrode and whole cell patch-clamp techniques to contrast the electrophysiological characteristics and pharmacological responsiveness of tissues and myocytes isolated from right (RVE) and left canine ventricular epicardium (LVE). RVE and LVE studied under nearly identical conditions displayed major differences in the early repolarizing phases of the action potential. The magnitude of phase 1 in RVE was nearly threefold that in LVE: 28.7 +/- 6.2 vs. 10.6 +/- 4.1 mV (basic cycle length = 2,000 ms). Phase 1 in RVE was also more sensitive to alterations of the stimulation rate and to 4-aminopyridine (4-AP), suggesting a much greater contribution of the transient outward current (I(to) 1) in RVE than in LVE. The combination of 4-AP plus ryanodine, low chloride, or 4,4'-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid (chloride channel blocker) completely eliminated the notch and all rate dependence of the early phases of the action potential, making RVE and LVE indistinguishable. At +70 mV, RVE myocytes displayed peak I(to) 1 densities between 28 and 37 pA/pF. LVE myocytes included cells with similar I(to) 1 densities (thought to represent subsurface cells) but also cells with much smaller current levels (thought to represent surface cells). Average peak I(to) 1 density was significantly smaller in LVE than in RVE at voltages more than or equal to +10 mV. Our data point to prominent differences in the magnitude of the I(to) 1-mediated action potential notch in cells at the surface of RVE compared with the LVE and suggest that important distinctions may exist in the response of these two tissues to pharmacological agents and pathophysiological states, as previously demonstrated for epicardium and endocardium. Our findings also suggest that a calcium-activated outward current contributes to the early repolarization phase in RVE and LVE and that the influence of this current, although small, is more important in the left ventricle.


1991 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 744-761 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Johnson ◽  
P. A. Getting

1. The purpose of this study was to determine the electrophysiological properties of neurons within the region of the nucleus ambiguus (NA), an area that contains the ventral respiratory group. By the use of an in vitro brain stem slice preparation, intracellular recordings from neurons in this region (to be referred to as NA neurons, n = 235) revealed the following properties: postinhibitory rebound (PIR), delayed excitation (DE), adaptation, and posttetanic hyperpolarization (PTH). NA neurons were separated into three groups on the basis of their expression of PIR and DE: PIR cells (58%), DE cells (31%), and Non cells (10%). Non cells expressed neither PIR nor DE and no cells expressed both PIR and DE. 2. PIR was a transient depolarization that produced a single action potential or a burst of action potentials when the cell was released from hyperpolarization. In the presence of tetrodotoxin (TTX), the maximum magnitude of PIR was 7-12 mV. Under voltage-clamp conditions, hyperpolarizing voltage steps elicited a small inward current during the hyperpolarization and a small inward tail current on release from hyperpolarization. These currents, which mediate PIR, were most likely due to Q-current because they were blocked with extracellular cesium and were insensitive to barium. 3. DE was a delay in the onset of action potential firing when cells were hyperpolarized before application of depolarizing current. When cells were hyperpolarized to -90 mV for greater than or equal to 300 ms, maximum delays ranged from 150 to 450 ms. The transient outward current underlying DE was presumed to be A-current because of the current's activation and inactivation characteristics and its elimination by 4-aminopyridine (4-AP). 4. Adaptation was examined by applying depolarizing current for 2.0 s and measuring the frequency of evoked action potentials. Although there was a large degree of variability in the degree of adaptation, PIR cells tended to express less adaptation than DE and Non cells. Nearly three-fourths of all NA neurons adapted rapidly (i.e., 50% adaptation in less than 200 ms), but PIR cells tended to adapt faster than DE and Non cells. PTH after a train of action potentials was relatively rare and occurred more often in DE cells (43%) and Non cells (33%) than in PIR cells (13%). PTH had a magnitude of up to 18 mV and time constants that reflected the presence of one (1.7 +/- 1.4 s, mean +/- SD) or two components (0.28 +/- 0.13 and 4.1 +/- 2.2 s).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


1994 ◽  
Vol 267 (3) ◽  
pp. H1157-H1166 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. M. Wahler ◽  
S. J. Dollinger ◽  
J. M. Smith ◽  
K. L. Flemal

The rat ventricular action potential shortens after birth. The contribution of increases in the transient outward current (Ito) to postnatal action potential shortening was assessed by measuring Ito in isolated cells and by determining the effect of 2 mM 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) on the action potentials of papillary muscles. 4-AP had no effect on 1-day action potential duration at 25% repolarization (APD25), and 1-day cells had little Ito. In 8- to 10-day muscles, 4-AP caused a small, but significant, increase in APD25. Ito increased slightly between day 1 and days 8-10, but this increase was not significant. Most of the increase in Ito (79%) and in the response to 4-AP (64%) occurred between days 8-10 and adult; however, approximately 75% of the APD25 shortening took place by days 8-10. Thus, while Ito may contribute to repolarization in late neonatal and adult cells, the different time courses of action potential shortening and increases in Ito suggest that changes in Ito are unlikely to be responsible for most of the postnatal action potential shortening.


1994 ◽  
Vol 266 (3) ◽  
pp. H1184-H1194 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Sanchez-Chapula ◽  
A. Elizalde ◽  
R. Navarro-Polanco ◽  
H. Barajas

In adult rabbit ventricular preparations, action potential duration is significantly increased when stimulation frequency is increased from 0.1 to 1.0 Hz. In neonatal preparations, a similar change in stimulation frequency produced no significant increase in action potential duration. To identify the ionic basis for this difference, we studied different outward currents in single myocytes from papillary muscle and from epicardial tissue of adult and neonatal rabbits. The densities of the outward currents in neonatal cells were about one-half of the current density in adult cells. The density of the voltage-activated transient outward current (I(to1)) was smaller in cells from papillary muscle than in cells from epicardium in adult and newborn rabbits. We found major differences in the kinetic behavior of I(to1) between adult and neonatal cells: 1) the rate of apparent inactivation was faster in neonatal cells, and 2) the recovery from inactivation was significantly faster in neonatal cells, with a time constant of 113 vs. 1,356 ms. We propose that this marked difference in the recovery from inactivation of I(to1) is the basis for the difference in frequency dependence of action potential duration.


Nature ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 269 (5629) ◽  
pp. 611-613 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. A. SIEGELBAUM ◽  
R. W. TSIEN ◽  
R. S. KASS

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