Inward-rectifying potassium channels in rat hepatocytes

1989 ◽  
Vol 256 (6) ◽  
pp. G1028-G1035 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. M. Henderson ◽  
J. Graf ◽  
J. L. Boyer

The patch-clamp technique has been used to investigate single-channel and whole cell conductances in freshly isolated rat hepatocytes. Whole cell experiments, with high (144 mM) intracellular and extracellular potassium as the principal conductive species, show some variation between cells in the current-voltage relationship (mean whole-cell conductance at physiological potentials being 2.7 nS). This may suggest functional heterogeneity of cells. The most common finding is that the current-voltage relationship shows inward rectification. This is reflected in cell-attached single-channel recordings in which channels displaying strong inward rectification and K+ selectivity are seen. The channels show a mean inward conductance (with 144 mM potassium in the pipette) of 44 pS and an outward conductance of 23 pS. The open probability is not voltage dependent, and the channels do not exhibit calcium dependence. The channels are quite different from others described in hepatocytes, but they show marked similarities to channels recently described in renal epithelial cells. Current-voltage relationships in the whole cell mode exhibit an increase in slope conductance at large hyperpolarizing and depolarizing potentials.

2006 ◽  
Vol 127 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Paulais ◽  
Sahran Lachheb ◽  
Jacques Teulon

This study investigates the presence and properties of Na+-activated K+ (KNa) channels in epithelial renal cells. Using real-time PCR on mouse microdissected nephron segments, we show that Slo2.2 mRNA, which encodes for the KNa channels of excitable cells, is expressed in the medullary and cortical thick ascending limbs of Henle's loop, but not in the other parts of the nephron. Patch-clamp analysis revealed the presence of a high conductance K+ channel in the basolateral membrane of both the medullary and cortical thick ascending limbs. This channel was highly K+ selective (PK/PNa ∼ 20), its conductance ranged from 140 to 180 pS with subconductance levels, and its current/voltage relationship displayed intermediate, Na+-dependent, inward rectification. Internal Na+ and Cl− activated the channel with 50% effective concentrations (EC50) and Hill coefficients (nH) of 30 ± 1 mM and 3.9 ± 0.5 for internal Na+, and 35 ± 10 mM and 1.3 ± 0.25 for internal Cl−. Channel activity was unaltered by internal ATP (2 mM) and by internal pH, but clearly decreased when internal free Ca2+ concentration increased. This is the first demonstration of the presence in the epithelial cell membrane of a functional, Na+-activated, large-conductance K+ channel that closely resembles native KNa channels of excitable cells. This Slo2.2 type, Na+- and Cl−-activated K+ channel is primarily located in the thick ascending limb, a major renal site of transcellular NaCl reabsorption.


1989 ◽  
Vol 256 (6) ◽  
pp. C1277-C1282 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Sims ◽  
S. J. Dixon

Membrane properties of freshly isolated rat osteoclasts were studied using the whole cell patch-clamp recording technique. The membrane potential could switch between two stable levels, approximately -70 and -15 mV. Voltage-clamp studies indicated that osteoclasts exhibited marked inward rectification, with hyperpolarizing voltage commands from -70 mV activating large inward currents. No voltage-dependent currents were observed in response to depolarization. An increase in external K+ concentration shifted the current-voltage relationship positive in a manner predicted for K+ current. Furthermore, barium and cesium reversibly suppressed the inward current. Thus the dominant current evident in osteoclasts was inwardly rectifying K+ current, resembling that found in a number of cell types, including cardiac and skeletal muscle and oocytes. The current-voltage relationship of osteoclasts was "N-shaped" and could intersect the zero-current level at three potentials, accounting for two stable membrane potentials. Switching of membrane potential between these two levels may regulate a number of the cellular processes involved in bone resorption.


1996 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1049-1057 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengbiao Lu ◽  
Douglas G. McMahon

AbstractTo further characterize the properties of retinal horizontal cell electrical synapses, we have studied the gating characteristics of gap junctions between cone-driven horizontal cells from the hybrid striped bass retina using double whole-cell voltage-clamp techniques. In a total of 105 cell pairs, the macroscopic conductance ranged from 0.4–100 nS with most cell pairs exhibiting junctional conductances between 10 and 30 nS. The junctional current-voltage relationship showed that peak or instantaneous currents (Iinst) were linear within the Vj range of ±100 mV and that steady-state junctional currents (Iss) exhibited rectification with increasing voltage beginning around ±30–40 mV Vj. The normalized junctional current-voltage relationship was well fit by a two-state Boltzmann distribution, with an effective gating charge of 1.9 charges/channel, a half-maximal voltage of approximately ±55 mV, and a normalized residual conductance of 0.28. The decay of junctional current followed a single exponential time course with the time constant decreasing with increasing Vj. Recovery of junctional current from voltage-dependent inactivation takes about 1 s following a pulse of 80 mV, and is about five times slower than the inactivation time course at the same Vj. Single-channel analysis showed that the unitary conductance of junctional channels is 50–70 pS. The overall open probability decreased in a voltage-dependent manner. Both the mean channel open time and the frequency of channel opening decreased, while the channel closure time increased. The ratio of closed time/total recording time significantly increased as Vj increased. Increased Vj reduced the number of events at all levels and shifted the unitary conductance to a lower level. Kinetic analysis of channel open duration showed that the distribution of channel open times was best fit by two exponentials and increased Vj significantly reduced the slower time constant. These results indicate that bass retina horizontal cells exhibit voltage-dependent inactivation of macroscopic junctional current. The inactivation occurs at the single-channel level mainly by increasing the rate of closure of voltage-sensitive channels.


1992 ◽  
Vol 262 (2) ◽  
pp. G369-G374 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. M. Mintenig ◽  
A. S. Monaghan ◽  
F. V. Sepulveda

The presence of K(+)-selective channels has been probed in enterocytes isolated from guinea pig small intestinal villi by the patch-clamp technique. A channel with a single-channel conductance of approximately 130 pS was observed in excised inside-out patches bathed in symmetrical K+. A change in the K+ concentration in the intracellular aspect of the membrane altered the current-voltage relationship as expected from the constant-field equation when it is assumed that K+ is the only permeant ion. A change in Cl- concentration was without effect. Neither the activity of the channel nor its conductance was altered by addition of ATP or Ba2+ to the intracellular side of the patches. Changes in the free Ca2+ concentration were also without effect. The channel's open probability showed no voltage dependence and appeared only occasionally active in cell-attached patches where it had a linear current-voltage relation. The K+ channel described, which cannot be readily classified in any of the known classes of K+ channels, might provide an exit pathway for K+ recycling in guinea pig villus enterocytes.


1991 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Ozawa ◽  
M. Iino ◽  
K. Tsuzuki

1. Two different types of kainate response were recorded in cultured rat hippocampal neurons with the use of the whole-cell and outside-out configurations of the patch-clamp technique. 2. There was an outward rectification in the current-voltage (I-V) plot of the kainate-induced current (type I response) in relatively large neurons bearing a morphological resemblance to young pyramidal cells. In smaller neurons with elliptical somata and fine neurites, the kainate response was characterized by a remarkable inward rectification in the I-V plot of the kainate-induced current and a significant permeability to Ca2+ (type II response). 3. Both type I and type II responses were negligible below 2 microM and almost saturated at 500 microM kainate. The concentrations producing half-maximal responses and the Hill coefficients were 68 microM and 1.76 and 56 microM and 1.21 for type I and type II responses, respectively. Both responses were suppressed similarly by the non-N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX). 4. The mean single-channel conductance (gamma) of the type II kainate response was estimated, from the relation between the whole-cell mean currents and current variances, to be 8.7 pS. The power spectrum for the current noise was fitted with the sum of two Lorentzians with cutoff frequencies (fc) of 61.1 +/- 1.4 and 327.8 +/- 10.5 Hz (n = 12).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


1994 ◽  
Vol 266 (5) ◽  
pp. H1812-H1821 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Koumi ◽  
J. A. Wasserstrom

Acetylcholine (ACh) is known to increase K+ conductance in the atrium and in pacemaker tissues in the heart. This effect has not been well defined in mammalian ventricular tissues. We have identified and characterized the ACh-sensitive muscarinic K+ channel [IK(ACh)] activity in isolated human, cat, and guinea pig ventricular myocytes using the patch-clamp technique. Application of ACh increased whole cell membrane current in human ventricular myocytes. Current-voltage relationship of the ACh-induced current in ventricle exhibited inward-rectification whose slope conductance was smaller than that in atrium. In single-channel recording from cell-attached patches, IK(ACh) activity was observed when ACh was included in the solution. The channel exhibited a slope conductance of 43 +/- 2 pS. Open times were distributed according to a single exponential function with mean open lifetime of 1.8 +/- 0.3 ms. The channel had conductance and kinetic characteristics similar to human atrial IK(ACh), which had a slope conductance of 43 +/- 3 pS and mean open lifetime of 1.6 +/- 0.3 ms. However, concentration of ACh at half-maximal stimulation (KD) of the channel in ventricle was greater (KD = 0.13 microM) than that in atrium (KD = 0.03 microM). Adenosine caused activation of the same K+ channel. After formation of an excised inside-out patch, channel activity disappeared. Application of GTP (100 microM) or GTP gamma S (100 microM) to the solution caused reactivation of the channel. When myocytes were preincubated with pertussis toxin (PTX), ACh failed to activate these channels, indicating that the PTX-sensitive G protein, Gi, is essential for activation of IK(ACh). IK(ACh) channel activity was also found in cat and guinea pig ventricular myocytes. We conclude that ACh directly activates the IK(ACh) in mammalian ventricular myocytes via Gi in a fashion almost identical to atrial myocytes.


eLife ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shigetomo Suyama ◽  
Alexandra Ralevski ◽  
Zhong-Wu Liu ◽  
Marcelo O Dietrich ◽  
Toshihiko Yada ◽  
...  

POMC neurons integrate metabolic signals from the periphery. Here, we show in mice that food deprivation induces a linear current-voltage relationship of AMPAR-mediated excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) in POMC neurons. Inhibition of EPSCs by IEM-1460, an antagonist of calcium-permeable (Cp) AMPARs, diminished EPSC amplitude in the fed but not in the fasted state, suggesting entry of GluR2 subunits into the AMPA receptor complex during food deprivation. Accordingly, removal of extracellular calcium from ACSF decreased the amplitude of mEPSCs in the fed but not the fasted state. Ten days of high-fat diet exposure, which was accompanied by elevated leptin levels and increased POMC neuronal activity, resulted in increased expression of Cp-AMPARs on POMC neurons. Altogether, our results show that entry of calcium via Cp-AMPARs is inherent to activation of POMC neurons, which may underlie a vulnerability of these neurons to calcium overload while activated in a sustained manner during over-nutrition.


1996 ◽  
Vol 270 (6) ◽  
pp. C1807-C1814 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Liu ◽  
S. A. Simon

Nicotine and capsaicin produce many similar physiological responses that include pain, irritation, and vasodilation. To determine whether neuronal nicotine acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) are present on capsaicin-sensitive neurons, whole cell patch-clamp recordings were performed on rat trigeminal ganglion cells. It was found that approximately 20% of the total number of neurons tested was activated by both 100 microM nicotine and 1 nM capsaicin. Other subsets of neurons were activated by only one of these compounds, whereas a fourth subset was not activated by either compound. At -60 mV, the magnitude of the capsaicin-activated currents was about three times larger than the magnitude of the nicotine-activated currents. The current-voltage relationship of the nAChR exhibited marked rectification, such that for voltages > or = 0 mV the current was essentially zero. In contrast, the current-voltage relationship of the capsaicin-activated current was ohmic from +/- 60 mV. These data indicate the existence of subsets of capsaicin-sensitive afferent neurons.


1992 ◽  
Vol 671 (1 Ion-Motive AT) ◽  
pp. 449-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
X.-Y. LIU ◽  
T. A. KINARD ◽  
J. R. STIMERS

2000 ◽  
Vol 84 (5) ◽  
pp. 2204-2216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc L. Belleau ◽  
Richard A. Warren

We have studied the postnatal development of the physiological characteristics of nucleus accumbens (nAcb) neurons in slices from postnatal day 1 ( P1) to P49 rats using the whole cell patch-clamp technique. The majority of neurons (102/108) were physiologically identified as medium spiny (MS) projection neurons, and only these were subjected to detailed analysis. The remaining neurons displayed characteristics suggesting that they were not MS neurons. Around the time of birth and during the first postnatal weeks, the membrane and firing characteristics of MS neurons were quite different from those observed later. These characteristics changed rapidly during the first 3 postnatal weeks, at which point they began to resemble those found in adults. Both whole cell membrane resistance and membrane time constant decreased more than fourfold during the period studied. The resting membrane potential (RMP) also changed significantly from an average of −50 mV around birth to less than −80 mV by the end of the third postnatal week. During the first postnatal week, the current-voltage relationship of all encountered MS neurons was linear over a wide range of membrane potentials above and below RMP. Through the second postnatal week, the proportion of neurons displaying inward rectification in the hyperpolarized range increased steadily and after P15, all recorded MS neurons displayed significant inward rectification. At all ages, inward rectification was blocked by extracellular cesium and tetra-ethyl ammonium and was not changed by 4-aminopyridine; this shows that inward rectification was mediated by the same currents in young and mature MS neurons. MS neurons fired single and repetitive Na+/K+ action potentials as early as P1. Spike threshold and amplitude remained constant throughout development in contrast to spike duration, which decreased significantly over the same period. Depolarizing current pulses from rest showed that immature MS neurons fired action potentials more easily than their older counterparts. Taken together, the results from the present study suggest that young and adult nAcb MS neurons integrate excitatory synaptic inputs differently because of differences in their membrane and firing properties. These findings provide important insights into signal processing within nAcb during this critical period of development.


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