Na-Ca exchange current in mammalian heart cells

Electrogenic Na-Ca exchange has been known to act in the cardiac sarcolemma as a major mechanism for extruding Ca ions. Ionic flux measurements in cardiac vesicles have recently suggested that the exchange ratio is probably 3 Na:1 Ca, although a membrane current generated by such a process has not been isolated. Using the intracellular perfusion technique combined with the whole-cell voltage clamp, we were able to load Na+ inside and Ca2+ outside the single ventricular cells of the guinea pig and have succeeded in recording an outward Na-Ca exchange current while blocking most other membrane currents. The current is voltage-dependent, blocked by La3+ and does not develop in the absence of intracellular free Ca2+. This report presents the first direct measurement of the cardiac Na-Ca exchange current, and should facilitate the study of Ca2+ fluxes during cardiac activity, together with various electrical changes attributable to the Na-Ca exchange and the testing of proposed models.     

Effect of La^3＋ on myocardiac potassium channels revealed by patch-clamp technique

The effect of La^3 on potassium channels in rat ventricular myocytes was investigated using the whole-cell patch-clamp recording mode. The Ca^2 -independent voltage-activated outward K~ current was activated by the depolar-izing pulse in enzymatically isolated rat ventricular myocytes. After addition of different concentrations La^3 to the bath solution, the outward K^ current was depressed gradually. The inhibition effect was in a concentration-dependent manner. The phenomena of the outward K^ current, being themain repolarizing current suppressed by La^3 , suggest that the effect of lanthanides on myocardial function should be exploited further.     

Molecular operations of the sodium-calcium exchanger revealed by conformation currents

The sodium-calcium exchanger is critical in the normal functioning of many cells. In heart muscle, it is the principal way by which the cells keep the concentration of intracellular calcium low, pumping out the Ca2+ that enters the cytosol through L-type Ca2+ channels. The exchanger may also contribute to the triggering of Ca2+ release during voltage-activated excitation-contraction coupling in heart. Time resolved examination of the conformational changes of macromolecules in living cells has so far been largely restricted to ion-channel proteins whose gating is voltage-dependent. We have now directly measured electrical currents arising from the molecular rearrangements of the sarcolemmal Na-Ca exchanger. Changes in the conformation of the exchanger protein were activated by a rapid increase in the intracellular calcium concentration produced by flash photolysis of caged calcium in voltage-clamped heart cells. Two components of membrane current were produced, reflecting a calcium-dependent conformational change of the transporter proteins and net transport of ions by the exchanger. The properties of these components provide evidence that the Na-Ca exchanger protein undergoes two consecutive membrane-crossing molecular transitions that each move charge, and that there are at least 250 exchangers per micron 2 turning over up to 2,500 times per second.     

Voltage-dependent InsP3-insensitive calcium channels in membranes of pancreatic endoplasmic reticulum vesicles.

Stimulus-secretion coupling in exocrine glands involves Ca2+ release from intracellular stores. In endoplasmic reticulum vesicle preparations from rat exocrine pancreas, an inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate(InsP3)-sensitive, as well as an InsP3-insensitive, Ca2+ pool has been characterized. But Ca2+ channels in the endoplasmic reticulum of rat exocrine pancreas have not been demonstrated at the level of single-channel current. We have now used the patch-clamp technique on endoplasmic reticulum vesicles fused by means of the dehydration-rehydration method. In excised patches, single Ba2(+)- and Ca2(+)-selective channels were recorded. The channel activity was markedly voltage-dependent. Caffeine increased channel open-state probability, whereas ruthenium red and Cd2+ blocked single-channel currents. Ryanodine, nifedipine and heparin had no effect on channel activity. The channel activity was not dependent on the free Ca2+ concentration, the presence of InsP3, or pH. We conclude that this calcium channel mediates Ca2+ release from an intracellular store through an InsP3-insensitive mechanism.     

Cardiac-type excitation-contraction coupling in dysgenic skeletal muscle injected with cardiac dihydropyridine receptor cDNA

There are dihydropyridine (DHP)-sensitive calcium currents in both skeletal and cardiac muscle cells, although the properties of these currents are very different in the two cell types (for simplicity, we refer to currents in both tissues as L-type). The mechanisms of depolarization-contraction coupling also differ. As the predominant voltage-dependent calcium current of cardiac cells, the L-type current represents a major pathway for entry of extracellular calcium. This entry triggers the subsequent large release of calcium from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). In contrast, depolarization of skeletal muscle releases calcium from the SR without the requirement for entry of extracellular calcium through L-type calcium channels. To investigate the molecular basis for these differences in calcium currents and in excitation-contraction (E-C) coupling, we expressed complementary DNAs for the DHP receptors from skeletal and cardiac muscle in dysgenic skeletal muscle. We compared the properties of the L-type channels produced and showed that expression of a cardiac calcium channel in skeletal muscle cells results in E-C coupling resembling that of cardiac muscle.     

碘化N-正丁基氟哌啶醇对大鼠缺氧复氧心肌细胞钠钙交换体电流的抑制作用

碘化N-正丁基氟哌啶醇(N-n-butyl haloperidol iodide,F2)为本研究室改造合成的新化合物。前期研究发现F2作为L-型钙通道拮抗剂,能剂量依赖地拮抗缺血再灌注所导致的大鼠心脏损伤。研究F2对缺氧复氧(hypoxia/reoxygenation,H/R)大鼠心肌细胞钠钙交换体电流的作用并探讨其保护机制。采用Langendorff灌流系统灌流SD大鼠心脏,标准酶解法消化分离得到单个心室肌细胞。正常台式液灌流5min,立即灌流充90%N2-10%CO2的缺氧液,建立体外心肌细胞H/R模型,采用全细胞膜片钳技术记录对照、模型以及不同浓度F2(0.1、1、10μmol/L)对心肌细胞钠钙交换体电流,观察H/R状态F2对心肌细胞钠钙交换体电流的影响。结果显示:缺氧抑制钠钙交换体电流主要是抑制外向电流;H/R引起钠钙交换体电流增大,尤其是外向电流的增大。F2呈浓度依赖地抑制钠钙交换体电流,钠钙交换体电流I-V曲线上移。以上表明:F2能抑制钠钙交换体电流,尤其是外向电流,防止H/R时心肌细胞的钙超载,保护心肌细胞。     

Identification of Na-Ca exchange current in single cardiac myocytes

In cardiac muscle the exchange of intracellular Ca2+ for extracellular Na+ is an important transport mechanism for regulation of the intracellular free Ca2+ concentration [( Ca]i) and hence the contractile strength of the heart. Due to its stoichiometry of greater than or equal to 3:1 Na+/Ca2+ (refs 3,5), Na-Ca exchange is supposed to generate a current across the cell membrane. It is thought that such a current may contribute to cardiac action potential and physiological or pathological pacemaker activity. Although the occurrence of Na-Ca exchange is well documented, a membrane current generated by this transport has not been identified unequivocally. Previous attempts to detect such a current in multicellular preparations, for example, by measuring small current differences after varying the extracellular ionic composition, although providing evidence, did not rule out other possible interpretations. Here we demonstrate that a transient rise in [Ca]i caused by release of Ca from sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) generates a membrane current in cardiac myocytes. The dependence of this current on the transmembrane gradients for Na+ and Ca2+ and on membrane potential meets the criteria for a current produced by electrogenic Na-Ca exchange. Cyclic activation of this current by release of Ca from the SR can cause maintained spontaneous activity, suggesting that Na-Ca exchange contributes to certain forms of cardiac pacemaking.     

Normalization of current kinetics by interaction between the alpha 1 and beta subunits of the skeletal muscle dihydropyridine-sensitive Ca2+ channel.

Purification of skeletal muscle dihydropyridine binding sites has enabled protein complexes to be isolated from which Ca2+ currents have been reconstituted. Complementary DNAs encoding the five subunits of the dihydropyridine receptor, alpha 1, beta, gamma, alpha 2 and delta, have been cloned and it is now recognized that alpha 2 and delta are derived from a common precursor. The alpha 1 subunit can itself produce Ca2+ currents, as was demonstrated using mouse L cells lacking alpha 2 delta, beta and gamma (our unpublished results). In L cells, stable expression of skeletal muscle alpha 1 alone was sufficient to generate voltage-sensitive, high-threshold L-type Ca2+ channel currents which were dihydropyridine-sensitive and blocked by Cd2+, but the activation kinetics were about 100 times slower than expected for skeletal muscle Ca2+ channel currents. This could have been due to the cell type in which alpha 1 was being expressed or to the lack of a regulatory component particularly one of the subunits that copurifies with alpha 1. We show here that coexpression of skeletal muscle beta with skeletal muscle alpha 1 generates cell lines expressing Ca2+ channel currents with normal activation kinetics as evidence for the participation of the dihydropyridine-receptor beta subunits in the generation of skeletal muscle Ca2+ channel currents.     

Electrogenic Na-Ca exchange in retinal rod outer segment

Previous work has suggested that a Na-Ca exchanger may have a key role in visual transduction in retinal rods. This exchanger is thought to maintain a low internal free Ca2+ concentration in darkness and to contribute to the rod's recovery after light by removing any internally released Ca2+. Little else is known about this transport mechanism in rods. We describe here an inward membrane current recorded from single isolated rods which appears to be associated with such external Na+-dependent Ca2+ efflux activity. External Na+, but not Li+, could generate this current; high external K+ inhibited it while small amounts of La3+ (10 microM) completely abolished it. The exchanger can also transport Sr2+, but not Ba2+ or other divalent cations. The exchange ratio was estimated to be 3Na+:1Ca2+. As well as demonstrating clearly the Na-Ca exchanger in the rod outer segment, our experiments also cast serious doubt on the commonly held view that light simply releases internal Ca2+ to bind to and block the light-sensitive conductance.     

Kinetics, stoichiometry and role of the Na-Ca exchange mechanism in isolated cardiac myocytes

Compelling evidence has existed for more than a decade for a sodium/calcium (Na-Ca) exchange mechanism in the surface membrane of mammalian heart muscle cells which exchanges about three sodium ions for each calcium ion. Although it is known that cardiac muscle contraction is regulated by a transient increase in intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) triggered by the action potential, the contribution of the Na-Ca exchanger to the [Ca2+]i transient and to calcium extrusion during rest is unclear. To clarify these questions, changes in [Ca2+]i were measured with indo-1 in single cardiac myocytes which were voltage clamped and dialysed with a physiological level of sodium. We find that Ca entry through the Na-Ca exchanger is too slow to affect markedly the rate of rise of the normal [Ca2+]i transient. On repolarization, Ca extrusion by the exchanger causes [Ca2+]i to decline with a time constant of 0.5 s at -80 mV. The rate of decline can be slowed e-fold with a 77-mV depolarization. Calcium extrusion by the exchanger can account for about 15% of the rate of decline of the [Ca2+]i transient (the remainder being calcium resequestration by the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR]. The ability of the cell to extrude calcium was greatly reduced on inhibiting the exchanger by removing external sodium, which itself led to an increase in resting [Ca2+]i. This finding is in contrast to the suggestion that calcium extrusion at rest is mediated mainly by a sarcolemmal Ca-ATPase.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Endfeet of retinal glial cells have higher densities of ion channels that mediate K+ buffering

A major function of glial cells in the central nervous system is to buffer the extracellular potassium concentration, [K+]o. A local rise in [K+]o causes potassium ions to enter glial cells, which have membranes that are highly permeable to K+; potassium then leaves the glial cells at other locations where [K+]o has not risen. We report here the first study of the individual ion channels mediating potassium buffering by glial cells. The patch-clamp technique was employed to record single channel currents in Müller cells, the radial glia of the vertebrate retina. Those cells have 94% of their potassium conductance in an endfoot apposed to the vitreous humour, causing K+ released from active retinal neurones to be buffered preferentially to the vitreous. Recordings from patches of endfoot and cell body membrane show that a single type of inward-rectifying K+ channel mediates potassium buffering at both cell locations. The non-uniform density of K+ conductance is due to a non-uniform distribution of one type of K+ channel, rather than to the cell expressing high conductance channels at the endfoot and low conductance channels elsewhere on the cell.     

Effect of ytterbium on sodium current and its kinetics in rat hippocampal neurons

This study addressed the effects of Yb3＋ on voltage-gated sodium currents in rat hippocampal neurons using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique. Voltage-clamp recordings in single neurons were filtered and stored in a computer. Yb3＋ increased the amplitude of sodium currents in a concentration-dependent and voltage-dependent man- ner. The 50 % enhancement concentration of Yb3＋ on sodium currents was about 8.97 μmol/L, which was dif- ferent from the inhibitory effects of Yb3＋ on potassium current. The analysis on the activation and inactivation kinetics of Na＋ current showed that 100 μmol/L Yb3＋ did not change the process of activation and inactivation. In addition, the times reaching the peak of current （t） and inactivated time constant （τ） were voltage dependent. 100 μmol/L Yb3＋ significantly prolonged the time to peak at -70 and -80 mV. The effect disappeared at the positive direction of -70 mV. Furthermore, Yb3＋ decreased r val- ues to more positive values than -80 mV. In total, Yb3＋ did not change the process of activation, but impelled inacti- vated process. Yb3＋ mainly increased the Na＋ current through changing its conductance. It might be one of the mechanisms that Yb3＋ affected the hippocampal neurons.     

Single Na+ channel currents observed in cultured rat muscle cells

The voltage- and time-dependent conductance of membrane Na+ channels is responsible for the propagation of action potentials in nerve and muscle cells. In voltage-step-clamp experiments on neurone preparations containing 10(4)-10(7) Na+ channels the membrane conductance shows smooth variations in time, but analysis of fluctuations and other eivdence suggest that the underlying single-channel conductance changes are stochastic, rapid transitions between 'closed' and 'open' states as seen in other channel types. We report here the first observations of currents through individual Na+ channels under physiological conditions using an improved version of the extracellular patch-clamp technique on cultured rat muscle cells. Our observations support earlier inferences about channel gating and show a single-channel conductance of approximately 18 pS.     

Single-channel currents in isolated patches of plasma membrane from basal surface of pancreatic acini

Precise localization and characterization of conductance pathways in glandular epithelia have so far proved difficult. The patch-clamp technique for high resolution current recording, which has already been applied successfully to a number of electrically excitable cells, can in principle overcome these difficulties. We now report measurements of single-channel currents from isolated patches of plasma membrane (inside-out) from the baso-lateral surface of collagenase-isolated rat and mouse pancreatic acini. We have identified a cation channel having a conductance of approximately 30 pS and a mean open time in the range 0.3-1 s which is dependent on internal calcium. The single-channel current-voltage relationship is linear and the mean open time independent of the membrane potential. These channels may, at least in part, account for the Ca2+-mediated neural and hormonal control of pancreatic acinar membrane conductance, which is probably responsible for the Ca2+-dependent acinar fluid secretion.     

Regulation and deregulation of cardiac Na(+)-Ca2+ exchange in giant excised sarcolemmal membrane patches

A plasmalemmal Na(+)-Ca2+ exchange mechanism is an important electrogenic determinant of contractility in cardiac cells. As in other cell types, calcium influx by Na(+)-Ca2+ exchange is secondarily activated by cytoplasmic calcium and probably ATP, but these modulatory mechanisms are either absent or altered in isolated cardiac sarcolemmal vesicles. Involvement of a calcium-dependent protein kinase in exchange regulation has been suggested but not verified. Here I describe measurements of outward Na(+)-Ca2+ exchange current, corresponding to calcium influx, in giant excised sarcolemmal patches from guinea pig myocytes. The exchange current is stimulated by both calcium and Mg-ATP from the cytoplasmic face, evidently through separate mechanisms. Activation by cytoplasmic calcium takes place within seconds, is reversible, and does not require ATP. Stimulation by Mg-ATP reverses only slowly over greater than 10 min, or not at all. Unexpectedly, a substantial decrease in exchange current occurs during activation by cytoplasmic sodium, which seems to reflect an inactivation process rather than ion concentration changes or a 'first pass' exchange cycle. This apparent inactivation, and the modulations by cytoplasmic calcium and Mg-ATP, are all abolished by brief treatment of the cytoplasmic surface with chymotrypsin, leaving the exchanger in a maintained state of high activity. Therefore, limited proteolysis deregulates Na(+)-Ca2+ exchange and could contribute to the loss of secondary regulation of the exchange in isolated sarcolemmal vesicles.     

Effects of ytterbium on outward K<Superscript>+</Superscript> currents in NIH3T3 cell

Using the whole cell patch-clamp technique, we observed the outward K+ currents and studied for the first time the effects of Yb3+ on the currents and kinetics of activation and inactivation in non-excitable NIH3T3 cell. Our results show that the outward K+ currents were promoted with increasing concentration of Ca2+ in pipette solution and saturated at the concentration of 100 μmol/L Ca2+. Yb3+ in bath solution inhibited the currents in a concentration-dependent manner. At the concentration of 1 μmol/L, Yb...     

Effects of protein kinase C activators on cardiac Ca2+ channels

Phorbol esters have marked effects on voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels. Inhibitory and stimulatory effects on cardiac Ca2+ channels have been attributed in both cases to activation of protein kinase C. We show that the phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate stimulates dihydropyridine-sensitive 45Ca2+ influx in primary cultures of neonatal rat ventricular myocytes within 5 s, but that after a 20-min pre-incubation period the phorbol ester markedly inhibits 45Ca2+ influx. The sequence of stimulation followed by inhibition is confirmed in cell-attached patch clamp recordings of single Ca2+ channel currents. The stimulatory effect is faster at 0 mV than at -40 mV, leading to the novel conclusion that the rate of protein kinase C activation is modulated by the state of the Ca2+ channel.     

Heterotrimeric G protein participated in modulation of cytoplasmic calcium concentration in pollen cells

Cytoplasmic free calcium concentration([Ca2+]c) in pollen cells of Lilium daviddi is measured with confocal laser scanning microscopy to investigate the effect of heterotrimeric G protein (G protein) on [Ca2+]c and the possible signal transduction pathway of G protein triggering cellular calcium signal. After application, cholera toxin (CTX), an agonist of G protein, triggers a transient increase of [Ca2+]c in pollen cells, and evokes a spatial-temporal characteristic calcium dynamics; while pertussis toxin (PTX), a G protein antagonist, leads to the decrease of [Ca2+]c. Both L-type Ca2+ channel blocker verapamil and inhibitor of IP3 receptor heparin inhibit CTX-induced [Ca2+]c increase. The results show that G protein may play a role in the modulation of [Ca2+]c through enhancing the extracellular Ca2+ influx and releasing of Ca2+ from intracellular stores.     

Ca2+ signals induced from calcium stores in pancreatic islet β cells

In single rat pancreatic β cells, using fura-2 microfluorometry to measure [Ca²⁺]i response upon different stimuli, the ways of calcium regulation have been studied. When the extracellular calcium concentration was 2.5 mmol/L, either 60 mmol/L KCl, 20 mmol/L D-glucose or 0.1 mmol/L tolbutamide induced increase in [Ca²⁺]i. Such increase in [Ca²⁺]i was absent when the same stimuli were applied under zero extracellular calcium. These results indicate that the increase of [Ca²⁺]i is induced by the activation of voltage-dependent calcium channels in β cells. The manifold forms of [Ca²⁺]i change induced by glucose imply that the effects of glucose are complex. 5 mmol/L caffeine or 5 mmol/L MCh increase the [Ca²⁺]i, which is independent of the external calcium, suggesting that [Ca²⁺]i can be regulated by Ca²⁺ release from not only the IP₃-sensitive but also the ryanodine sensitive calcium stores in β cells. The latency of Ca responses for IP₃ pathway (5 s) is faster than that for ryanodine pathway (30 s). It is concluded that there are multiple calcium stores in rat pancreatic β cells.     

Novel mechanism of voltage-dependent gating in L-type calcium channels

Activation of voltage-dependent calcium channels by membrane depolarization triggers a variety of key cellular responses, such as contraction in heart and smooth muscle and exocytotic secretion in endocrine and nerve cells. Modulation of calcium channel gating is believed to be the mechanism by which several neurotransmitters, hormones and therapeutic agents mediate their effects on cell function. Here we describe a novel type of voltage-dependent equilibrium between different gating patterns of dihydropyridine-sensitive (L-type) cardiac Ca2+ channels. Strong depolarizations drive the channel from its normal gating pattern into a mode of gating characterized by long openings and high open probability. The rate constants for conversions between gating modes, estimated from single channel recordings, are much slower than normal channel opening and closing rates, but the equilibrium between modes is almost as steeply voltage-dependent as channel activation and deactivation at more negative potentials. This new mechanism of voltage-dependent gating can explain previous reports of activity-dependent Ca2+ channel potentiation in cardiac and other cells and forms a potent mechanism by which Ca2+ uptake into cells could be regulated.