The influence of voltage conditioning on chloride currents in amphibian muscle membrane: the sigmoid conductance–voltage relation extended into the outward current region

1982 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 604-609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Vaughan ◽  
Martin Trotter
Keyword(s):  
Outward Current ◽  
Positive Test ◽  
Resting Potential ◽  
Muscle Membrane ◽  
Delayed Rectifier ◽  
Sartorius Muscle ◽  
Muscle Fibres ◽  
Initial Current ◽  
Chloride Currents ◽  
Delayed Rectifier Current

Sartorius muscle fibres of Xenopus laevis were depolarized in solutions of high K+ content and then voltage clamped in solutions in which K+ was replaced by Rb+ and(or) tetraethylammonium ion (TEA+) at pH 9. A three-microelectrode clamp system was used in which the bath was held at virtual ground using an operational amplifier in a current meter configuration. The holding potential was set at zero membrane current potential (resting potential), close to −25 mV. A two-pulse paradigm was used to test the effects of conditioning the membrane at voltages away from the resting potential on initial currents at positive test potentials. In the absence of TEA+ rapidly rising outward currents were generated at positive test potentials, following hyperpolarizing conditioning. These currents inactivated in time and obscured predicted chloride currents. When TEA+ was added to the solution (60 mequiv./L) the currents at positive potentials rose more slowly and declined either very slowly or not at all. Projection of these current waveforms, by curve fitting, to the instant of potential change gave a sigmoid dependence of test current on conditioning voltage that was predicted from earlier results. Predictably there is a test voltage at which the initial current is independent of conditioning potential: from the data it appears that this is not necessarily the resting potential, but the cause of the shift is not clear. The results also indicated that there is a component of outward current that is very small, apparently earned by cations ("delayed rectifier current"), that does not inactivate, even at potentials more positive than the resting potential.

Potassium and Calcium Currents in Dissociated Muscle Fibres of the Mollusc Philine Aperta

1991 ◽  
Vol 155 (1) ◽  
pp. 305-321
Author(s):  
D. A. DORSETT ◽  
C. G. EVANS
Keyword(s):  
Sea Water ◽  
Membrane Resistance ◽  
Calcium Currents ◽  
Transient Current ◽  
Resting Potential ◽  
Delayed Rectifier ◽  
Muscle Fibres ◽  
Calcium Dependent ◽  
Delayed Rectifier Current ◽  
A Current

Dissociated unstriated muscle fibres from the buccal mass retractor muscles of the mollusc Philine aperta were studied using a two-electrode voltage-clamp. The mean resting potential of the fibres was −76.3±0.44mV (N=30), and the membrane resistance was 42.2±3MΩ. The space constant of the fibres was 2.03+0.33mm (N=5). Three outward potassium currents were resolved in response to a depolarising step to zero from resting potential. (1) An early transient current, voltageactivated and blocked by 2 mmoll−1 4-aminopyridine (4-AP). This resembled the A-current described in molluscan neurones and some arthropod muscle fibres. (2) A calcium-dependent late transient current, with slower kinetics, which was suppressed by 50 mmoll−1 tetraethylammonium chloride (TEA-Cl), zero-calcium saline, 1 mmol−1 Cd2+ and 1 μmoll−1 verapamil. (3) A delayed voltage-activated current, blocked by 50 mmoll−1 TEA-Cl and with kinetics associated with the delayed rectifier current IK. An inwardly directed current, blocked by zero-calcium salines, Cd2+ and verapamil, was considered to be a calcium current whose activation closely matched that of the Ca2+-dependent potassium current. A blockade of either the A-current, or exposure to low-calcium artificial sea water, or a combination of both, promoted the development of oscillations and regenerative spikes in the muscle fibre following depolarization

Roles of outward potassium currents in the action potentials of guinea pig ureteral myocytes

1997 ◽  
Vol 273 (3) ◽  
pp. C962-C972 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. Sui ◽  
C. Y. Kao
Keyword(s):  
Action Potential ◽  
Action Potentials ◽  
Outward Current ◽  
Membrane Conductance ◽  
Resting Potential ◽  
Delayed Rectifier ◽  
Inactivation Kinetics ◽  
Transient Outward Current ◽  
Delayed Rectifier Current ◽  
Fast Activation

Outward currents of freshly dissociated ureteral myocytes consist mainly of Ca(2+)-activated K+ current (IKCa) and a transient outward current (ITO). No delayed rectifier current was apparent. IKCa is small and nondecaying and fluctuates actively and irregularly. Blocking IKCa decreased resting membrane conductance and prolonged action potential plateaus, showing its roles in maintaining the resting potential and in repolarizing action potentials. It is also responsible for the membrane potential fluctuations on action potential plateaus. Neither 8-(diethylamino)octyl-3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoate hydrochloride nor caffeine reduced the fluctuations in the outward current or in the action potentials, indicating that internal Ca2+ storage contributes little to the fluctuations. ITO has fast activation and inactivation kinetics with inactivation time constants of approximately 15 and 150 ms, respectively. Its highly negative voltage-availability relationship (V0.5 = -70.5 mV) suggests a low availability (< 5%) at normal resting potentials. It has only trivial effects on action potentials.

Voltage dependence of chloride current through Xenopus muscle membrane in alkaline solutions

1980 ◽  
Vol 58 (9) ◽  
pp. 999-1010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter C. Vaughan ◽  
James G. McLarnon ◽  
Donald D. F. Loo
Keyword(s):  
Steady State ◽  
Membrane Potential ◽  
Chloride Conductance ◽  
Resting Potential ◽  
Muscle Membrane ◽  
Alkaline Solutions ◽  
Constant Field ◽  
Confined Space ◽  
Initial Current ◽  
Test Current

Three-microelectrode voltage-clamp experiments have been conducted on surface fibres of Xenopus laevis sartorius muscles. When potassium and chloride were substituted by rubidium and sulphate, negligibly small currents were observed. In solutions containing rubidium and chloride at pH 8.4–8.8 normally polarized fibres exhibited instantaneous current–voltage relations that were linear over a wide voltage range. Chloride conductance varied widely from fibre to fibre; the mean resting conductance at −80 mV was 7.4 × 10−4 ± 2.6 × 10−4 S/cm2 (mean ± SE). When hyperpolarizing voltage steps were made, conductance declined from the initial to the steady state; inward currents saturated near 14 μA/cm2. In experiments performed on fibres depolarized by immersion in K+-and Rb+-rich solutions it was found that resting conductance did not increase by as much as would be expected from constant field – constant permeability precepts, by comparison with normally polarized fibres. Despite the low chloride transmembrane concentration ratio, rectification in the steady state was similar in depolarized and normally polarized fibres.When a two-pulse protocol was employed to test the availability of chloride conductance after conditioning of the system at some voltage, it was found that the test current, the initial current at the onset of the test voltage step, depended sigmoidally on the conditioning voltage. The sigmoid relationships had asymptotic limits: after hyperpolarizing conditioning the test current was minimal, after depolarizing conditioning, maximal. Normalized sigmoid relations were superimposable, whether from normally polarized or chronically depolarized cells.When the protocol was repeated using different test potentials and initial currents following a particular conditioning voltage were plotted against the test potential, families of straight lines were obtained. The slopes of the members of these families were dependent on the conditioning voltage: the more negative the conditioning step the lower the slope. The lines projected through a mutual intersection at a voltage slightly more positive than the resting potential. This is interpreted as indicating that there is some voltage, slightly positive with respect to the membrane potential, at which the initial current is independent of the conditioning voltage.It is concluded that the state of the chloride conductance mechanism is a function of the deviation of the membrane from the resting potential rather than of the absolute membrane potential and that relaxations from initial to steady states reflect properties of the permeation mechanism rather than accumulation or depletion of chloride in a confined space, although some contribution by a mechanism such as the latter cannot be completely ruled out.

Characterization and functional consequences of delayed rectifier current transient in ventricular repolarization

2000 ◽  
Vol 278 (3) ◽  
pp. H806-H817 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary A. Gintant
Keyword(s):  
Action Potential ◽  
Ventricular Myocytes ◽  
Outward Current ◽  
Inward Rectifier ◽  
Ventricular Repolarization ◽  
Delayed Rectifier ◽  
Voltage Range ◽  
Delayed Rectifier Current ◽  
Recovery From Inactivation ◽  
Voltage Dependent

Although inactivation of the rapidly activating delayed rectifier current ( I Kr) limits outward current on depolarization, the role of I Kr (and recovery from inactivation) during repolarization is uncertain. To characterize I Krduring ventricular repolarization (and compare with the inward rectifier current, I K1), voltage-clamp waveforms simulating the action potential were applied to canine ventricular, atrial, and Purkinje myocytes. In ventricular myocytes, I Kr was minimal at plateau potentials but transiently increased during repolarizing ramps. The I Kr transient was unaffected by repolarization rate and maximal after 150-ms depolarizations (+25 mV). Action potential clamps revealed the I Kr transient terminating the plateau. Although peak I Kr transient density was relatively uniform among myocytes, potentials characterizing the peak transients were widely dispersed. In contrast, peak inward rectifier current ( I K1) density during repolarization was dispersed, whereas potentials characterizing I K1 defined a narrower (more negative) voltage range. In summary, rapidly activating I Kr provides a delayed voltage-dependent (and functionally time-independent) outward transient during ventricular repolarization, consistent with rapid recovery from inactivation. The heterogeneous voltage dependence of I Kr provides a novel means for modulating the contribution of this current during repolarization.

MCP-1 Enhances Excitability of Nociceptive Neurons in Chronically Compressed Dorsal Root Ganglia

2006 ◽  
Vol 96 (5) ◽  
pp. 2189-2199 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. H. Sun ◽  
B. Yang ◽  
D. F. Donnelly ◽  
C. Ma ◽  
R. H. LaMotte
Keyword(s):  
Dorsal Root ◽  
Reversal Potential ◽  
Outward Current ◽  
Peak Height ◽  
Resting Potential ◽  
Delayed Rectifier ◽  
Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein 1 ◽  
Nociceptive Neurons ◽  
Voltage Dependent ◽  
Ionic Mechanisms

Previous experimental results from our laboratory demonstrated that monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) depolarizes or increases the excitability of nociceptive neurons in the intact dorsal root ganglion (DRG) after a chronic compression of the DRG (CCD), an injury that upregulates neuronal expression of both MCP-1 and mRNA for its receptor CCR2. We presently explore the ionic mechanisms underlying the excitatory effects of MCP-1. MCP-1 (100 nM) was applied, after CCD, to acutely dissociated small DRG neurons with nociceptive properties. Under current clamp, the proportion of neurons depolarized was similar to that previously observed for CCD-treated neurons in the intact ganglion, although the magnitude of depolarization was greater. MCP-1 induced a decrease in rheobase by 44 ± 10% and some cells became spontaneously active at resting potential. Action potential width at a voltage equal to 10% of the peak height was increased from 4.94 ± 0.23 to 5.90 ± 0.47 ms. In voltage clamp, MCP-1 induced an inward current in 27 of 50 neurons held at −60 mV, which increased with concentration over the range of 3 to 300 nM (EC50= 45 nM). The MCP-1–induced current was not voltage dependent and had an estimated reversal potential of −27 mV. In addition, MCP-1 inhibited a voltage-dependent, noninactivating outward current, presumably a delayed rectifier type K+conductance. We conclude that MCP-1 enhances excitability in CCD neurons by, at least, two mechanisms: 1) activation of a nonvoltage-dependent depolarizing current with characteristics similar to a nonselective cation conductance and 2) inhibition of a voltage-dependent outward current.

Characterization of macroscopic outward currents of canine colonic myocytes

1989 ◽  
Vol 257 (3) ◽  
pp. C461-C469 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. C. Cole ◽  
K. M. Sanders
Keyword(s):  
Outward Current ◽  
Cell Voltage ◽  
Muscle Cells ◽  
Time Dependent ◽  
Delayed Rectifier ◽  
Delayed Rectifier Current ◽  
Outward Currents ◽  
Voltage Dependent ◽  
K Current ◽  
Time Courses

Outward currents of colonic smooth muscle cells were characterized by the whole cell voltage-clamp method. Four components of outward current were identified: a time-independent and three time-dependent components. The time-dependent current showed strong outward rectification positive to -25 mV and was blocked by tetraethylammonium. The time-dependent components were separated on the basis of their time courses, voltage dependence, and pharmacological sensitivities. They are as follows. 1) A Ca2+-activated K current sensitive to external Ca2+ and Ca2+ influx was blocked by ethylene glycol-bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (0.1 X 10(-3) M) and nifedipine (1 X 10(-6) and was increased by elevated Ca2+ (8 X 10(-6) M) and BAY K 8644 (1 X 10(-6) M). 2) A "delayed rectifier" current was observed that decayed slowly with time and showed no voltage-dependent inactivation. 3) Spontaneous transient outward currents that were blocked by ryanodine (2 X 10(-6) M) were also recorded. The possible contributions of these currents to the electrical activity of colonic muscle cells in situ are discussed. Ca2+-activated K current may contribute a significant conductance to the repolarizing phase of electrical slow waves.

An outwardly rectifying K+ current active near resting potential in human retinal pigment epithelial cells

1995 ◽  
Vol 269 (1) ◽  
pp. C179-C187 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. A. Hughes ◽  
M. Takahira ◽  
Y. Segawa
Keyword(s):  
Retinal Pigment Epithelial ◽  
Retinal Pigment ◽  
Outward Current ◽  
Resting Potential ◽  
Equilibrium Potential ◽  
Delayed Rectifier ◽  
Patch Clamp Technique ◽  
Rpe Cells ◽  
Pigment Epithelial ◽  
K Current

Currents in freshly dissociated adult human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells were studied using the perforated patch-clamp technique. The zero-current potential (V0) averaged -48.9 +/- 7.7 mV (n = 50). Depolarizing voltage pulses from -70 mV evoked an outward current that activated with first-order kinetics and that did not inactivate during prolonged depolarizations. Repolarizing the membrane potential produced tail currents that reversed near the K+ equilibrium potential, indicating that the sustained outward current was carried mainly by K+. The outwardly rectifying K+ conductance (gK) had an activation threshold voltage near -60 mV and was half-maximal at -37 mV. Approximately 25% of gK was active at the average V0. The K+ current was nearly completely blocked by 2 mM Ba2+ but was relatively insensitive to 20 mM tetraethylammonium. The kinetics, voltage dependence, and blocker sensitivity of this current clearly distinguish it from delayed rectifier K+ currents previously identified in RPE cells. We conclude that the sustained outward K+ current may help establish the resting potential of the apical and/or basolateral membranes and may also participate in K+ transport across the RPE.

Electrophysiological properties of rainbow trout cardiac myocytes in serum-free primary culture

2002 ◽  
Vol 282 (4) ◽  
pp. R1200-R1209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antti Nurmi ◽  
Matti Vornanen
Keyword(s):  
Primary Culture ◽  
Cardiac Myocytes ◽  
Ventricular Myocytes ◽  
Sodium Current ◽  
Outward Current ◽  
Culture Conditions ◽  
Resting Potential ◽  
Delayed Rectifier ◽  
Altered Expression ◽  
Serum Free

A low-density primary culture of trout ventricular myocytes in serum-free growth medium was established and maintained for up to 10 days at 17°C. The myocytes retained their normal rod shaped morphology, capacitive surface area of the sarcolemma (SL), and contractile quiescence. However, sarcolemmal cation currents changed significantly, some permanently, some transiently, after 8–10 days of culture. TTX-sensitive sodium current ( I Na) and Ba2+-sensitive background inward rectifier potassium current ( I K1) were permanently depressed to 24–28% of their control density measured in freshly isolated myocytes. In contrast, L-type calcium current ( I Ca) was only transiently downregulated; after 2–3 days in culture, the density of the current was 32% of the control and recovered to the control value after 8–10 days in culture. The changes in membrane currents were reflected in the shape of the action potential (AP). After 2–3 days in culture, maximal overshoot potential and resting potential were significantly reduced, and the durations of the AP at 50 and 90% repolarization were significantly increased. These changes became significantly more pronounced after 8–10 days of culture, with the exception of AP duration at 50% repolarization level. The shortening of the early plateau phase may reflect an additional change to an outward current, presumably the rapid component of the delayed rectifier ( I Kr). Although the present findings indicate that fish cardiac myocytes can be maintained in serum-free primary culture for at least 10 days at 17°C, some but not all of the electrophysiological characteristics of the myocytes change markedly during culture. The changes in ion currents were not due to loss of sarcolemmal membrane and therefore are likely to represent altered expression of cation currents as an adaptive response to culture conditions.

Ionic mechanisms underlying human atrial action potential properties: insights from a mathematical model

1998 ◽  
Vol 275 (1) ◽  
pp. H301-H321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Courtemanche ◽  
Rafael J. Ramirez ◽  
Stanley Nattel
Keyword(s):  
Mathematical Model ◽  
Action Potential ◽  
Important Determinant ◽  
Outward Current ◽  
Delayed Rectifier ◽  
Transient Outward Current ◽  
Rate Dependent ◽  
Delayed Rectifier Current ◽  
Recovery From Inactivation ◽  
Ionic Mechanisms

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.

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