Volatile Anesthetics Reduce Low-voltage-activated Calcium Currents in a Thyroid C-Cell Line

1996 ◽  
Vol 85 (5) ◽  
pp. 1167-1175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas S. McDowell ◽  
Joseph J. Pancrazio ◽  
Carl III Lynch
Keyword(s):  
Calcium Channels ◽  
Cell Line ◽  
Low Voltage ◽  
Volatile Anesthetics ◽  
Calcium Currents ◽  
Whole Cell ◽  
Voltage Range ◽  
C Cell ◽  
Voltage Dependent ◽  
Voltage Dependent Calcium Channels

Background Volatile anesthetics may act in part by inhibiting voltage-dependent calcium channels. The effects of several volatile agents on three types of calcium channels in a thyroid C-cell line were examined. Methods Whole-cell calcium currents were recorded using standard patch clamp techniques. Current-voltage relationships were derived before, during, and after application of isoflurane, enflurane, or halothane. Low-voltage-activated (LVA; T type) calcium currents were isolated based on the voltage range of activation. High-voltage-activated (HVA) calcium currents were separated into L and N types using omega-conotoxin GVIA (omega-CTX) and nicardipine. Results All three agents reversibly decreased both LVA and HVA currents at clinically relevant concentrations. Isoflurane and enflurane both reduced peak LVA current more than peak HVA current: -33 +/- 6% (mean +/- SE) versus -22 +/- 4% for 0.71 mM isoflurane (n = 6), and -46 +/- 6% versus -35 +/- 5% for 1.21 mM enflurane (n = 6). In contrast, halothane depressed LVA and HVA currents to a similar extent: -22 +/- 4% versus -29 +/- 3% for 0.65 mM halothane (n = 6). Isoflurane had no effect on LVA whole-cell current kinetics. Pretreatment with either omega-CTX (400 nM) or nicardipine (1 microM) did not change the sensitivity of HVA current to isoflurane. Conclusions Isoflurane and enflurane block LVA calcium channels more potently than either L-type or N-type calcium channels, but halothane shows no such preferential effect. These results may have implications for the mechanism action of volatile anesthetics.

Voltage-dependent calcium channels in ventricular cells of rainbow trout: effect of temperature changes in vitro

2000 ◽  
Vol 278 (6) ◽  
pp. R1524-R1534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine S. Kim ◽  
Mary D. Coyne ◽  
Judith K. Gwathmey
Keyword(s):  
Rainbow Trout ◽  
Calcium Channels ◽  
Temperature Sensitivity ◽  
Calcium Currents ◽  
Temperature Dependency ◽  
Patch Clamp Technique ◽  
Ventricular Cells ◽  
Voltage Dependent ◽  
Voltage Dependent Calcium Channels

Voltage-dependent calcium channels (VDCC) in ventricular myocytes from rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss) were investigated in vitro using the perforated patch-clamp technique, which maintains the integrity of the intracellular milieu. First, we characterized the current using barium as the charge carrier and established the doses of various pharmacological agents to use these agents in additional studies. Second, we examined the current at several physiological temperatures to determine temperature dependency. The calcium currents at 10°C (acclimation temperature) were identified as l-type calcium currents based on their kinetic behavior and response to various calcium channel agonists and antagonists. Myocytes were chilled (4°C) and warmed (18 and 22°C), and the response of VDCC to varying temperatures was observed. There was no significant dependency of the current amplitude and kinetics on temperature. Amplitude decreased 25–36% at 4°C (Q10 ∼1.89) and increased 18% at 18°C (Q10 ∼1.23) in control, Bay K8644 (Bay K)-, and forskolin-enhanced currents. The inactivation rates (τi) did not demonstrate a temperature sensitivity for the VDCC (Q10 1.23–1.92); Bay K treatment, however, increased temperature sensitivity of τi between 10 and 18°C (Q10 3.98). The low Q10 values for VDCC are consistent with a minimal temperature sensitivity of trout myocytes between 4 and 22°C. This low-temperature dependency may provide an important role for sarcolemmal calcium channels in adaptation to varying environmental temperatures in trout.

Multiple calcium currents in a thyroid C-cell line: biophysical properties and pharmacology

1991 ◽  
Vol 260 (6) ◽  
pp. C1253-C1263 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. A. Biagi ◽  
J. J. Enyeart
Keyword(s):  
Cell Line ◽  
Time Constant ◽  
Calcium Currents ◽  
C Cells ◽  
Patch Clamp Technique ◽  
C Cell ◽  
Dependent Inactivation ◽  
Voltage Dependent ◽  
Rat Thyroid ◽  
Ca2 Channels

The whole cell version of the patch-clamp technique was used to characterize voltage-gated Ca2+ channels in the calcitonin-secreting rat thyroid C-cell line 6-23 (clone 6). Three types of Ca2+ channels could be distinguished based on differences in voltage dependence, kinetics, and pharmacological sensitivity. T-type current was half-maximal at -31 mV, showed steady-state voltage-dependent inactivation that was half-maximal at -57 mV, inactivated with a voltage-dependent time constant that reached a minimum of 20 ms at potentials positive to -20 mV, and deactivated with a single time constant of approximately 2 ms at -80 mV. Reactivation of inactivated channels occurred with a time constant of 1.26 s at -90 mV. T current was selectively blocked by Ni2+ at concentrations between 5 and 50 microM. La3+ and Y3+ blocked the T current at 10- to 20-fold lower concentrations. Dihydropyridine-sensitive L-type current was half-maximal at a test potential of -3 mV and was approximately doubled in size when Ba2+ replaced Ca2+ as the charge carrier. Unlike L-type Ca2+ current in many cells, this current in C-cells displayed little Ca(2+)-dependent inactivation. N-type current was composed of inactivating and sustained components that were inhibited by omega-conotoxin. The inactivating component was half-maximal at +9 mV and could be fitted by two exponentials with time constants of 22 and 142 ms. A slow inactivation of N current with a time constant of 24.9 s was observed upon switching the holding potential from -80 to -40 mV. These results demonstrate that, similar to other neural crest derived cells, thyroid C-cells express multiple Ca2+ channels, including one previously observed only in neurons.

Voltage-dependent calcium channels in rat midbrain dopamine neurons: modulation by dopamine and GABAB receptors

1995 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 1137-1148 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. L. Cardozo ◽  
B. P. Bean
Keyword(s):  
Calcium Channels ◽  
Calcium Current ◽  
Receptor Agonist ◽  
Gabab Receptor ◽  
Calcium Currents ◽  
Dopamine Neurons ◽  
Gabab Receptors ◽  
High Threshold ◽  
Voltage Dependent ◽  
Voltage Dependent Calcium Channels

1. Voltage-dependent calcium channels were studied with whole cell voltage-clamp recordings from neurons enzymatically dispersed from the ventral mesencephalon of rat brains (postnatal days 3-10) and identified as dopamine neurons by 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine autofluorescence. 2. Dopamine neurons had large high-threshold calcium currents activated by depolarizations positive to -50 mV. Different components of calcium channel current were not readily distinguishable by voltage dependence or kinetics, but pharmacological experiments showed the existence of different channel types. The overall current had significant components blocked by nimodipine (28%), by omega-conotoxin GVIA (22%), and by omega-agatoxin-IVA (omega-Aga-IVA) (37%), and there was a significant amount of current (16%) remaining in saturating concentrations of all three blockers. 3. High-threshold calcium current was reversibly reduced by the gamma-aminobutyric acid-B (GABAB) receptor agonist baclofen and by dopamine and the D2 receptor agonist quinpirole. Inhibition by GABAB or dopamine agonists developed and reversed within seconds. 4. Quinpirole reduced both omega-conotoxin-sensitive and omega-Aga-IVA-sensitive components of calcium current. 5. With physiological ionic conditions, inward calcium currents were outweighed by outward currents, in part through calcium-activated potassium channels activated by omega-conotoxin-sensitive and omega-Aga-IVA-sensitive calcium entry.

Biophysical Properties, Pharmacology, and Modulation of Human, Neuronal L-Type (α1D, CaV1.3) Voltage-Dependent Calcium Currents

2001 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
pp. 816-827 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. C. Bell ◽  
A. J. Butcher ◽  
N. S. Berrow ◽  
K. M. Page ◽  
P. F. Brust ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Calcium Channels ◽  
Fusion Protein ◽  
Cell Line ◽  
G Protein ◽  
G Proteins ◽  
Calcium Currents ◽  
Inactivation Kinetics ◽  
Receptor Subtype ◽  
Pharmacological Properties ◽  
Voltage Dependent

Voltage-dependent calcium channels (VDCCs) are multimeric complexes composed of a pore-forming α1 subunit together with several accessory subunits, including α2δ, β, and, in some cases, γ subunits. A family of VDCCs known as the L-type channels are formed specifically from α1S (skeletal muscle), α1C (in heart and brain), α1D (mainly in brain, heart, and endocrine tissue), and α1F (retina). Neuroendocrine L-type currents have a significant role in the control of neurosecretion and can be inhibited by GTP-binding (G-) proteins. However, the subunit composition of the VDCCs underlying these G-protein–regulated neuroendocrine L-type currents is unknown. To investigate the biophysical and pharmacological properties and role of G-protein modulation of α1D calcium channels, we have examined calcium channel currents formed by the human neuronal L-type α1D subunit, co-expressed with α2δ-1 and β3a, stably expressed in a human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cell line, using whole cell and perforated patch-clamp techniques. The α1D-expressing cell line exhibited L-type currents with typical characteristics. The currents were high-voltage activated (peak at +20 mV in 20 mM Ba2+) and showed little inactivation in external Ba2+, while displaying rapid inactivation kinetics in external Ca2+. The L-type currents were inhibited by the 1,4 dihydropyridine (DHP) antagonists nifedipine and nicardipine and were enhanced by the DHP agonist BayK S-(−)8644. However, α1D L-type currents were not modulated by activation of a number of G-protein pathways. Activation of endogenous somatostatin receptor subtype 2 (sst2) by somatostatin-14 or activation of transiently transfected rat D2 dopamine receptors (rD2long) by quinpirole had no effect. Direct activation of G-proteins by the nonhydrolyzable GTP analogue, guanosine 5′-0-(3-thiotriphospate) also had no effect on the α1D currents. In contrast, in the same system, N-type currents, formed from transiently transfected α1B/α2δ-1/β3, showed strong G-protein–mediated inhibition. Furthermore, the I–II loop from the α1D clone, expressed as a glutathione-S-transferase (GST) fusion protein, did not bind Gβγ, unlike the α1B I–II loop fusion protein. These data show that the biophysical and pharmacological properties of recombinant human α1D L-type currents are similar to α1C currents, and these currents are also resistant to modulation by Gi/o-linked G-protein–coupled receptors.

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