Isolation and characterization of IKr in cardiac myocytes by Cs+ permeation

2006 ◽  
Vol 290 (3) ◽  
pp. H1038-H1049 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shetuan Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Cardiac Myocytes ◽  
Potassium Current ◽  
Ventricular Myocytes ◽  
Delayed Rectifier ◽  
Pharmacological Properties ◽  
Membrane Expression ◽  
Isolation And Characterization ◽  
Recovery From Inactivation ◽  
Voltage Dependent ◽  
Herg Current

Isolation of the rapidly activating delayed rectifier potassium current ( IKr) from other cardiac currents has been a difficult task for quantitative study of this current. The present study was designed to separate IKr using Cs+ in cardiac myocytes. Cs+ have been known to block a variety of K+ channels, including many of those involved in the cardiac action potential such as inward rectifier potassium current IK1 and the transient outward potassium current Ito. However, under isotonic Cs+ conditions (135 mM Cs+), a significant membrane current was recorded in isolated rabbit ventricular myocytes. This current displayed the voltage-dependent onset of and recovery from inactivation that are characteristic to IKr. Consistently, the current was selectively inhibited by the specific IKr blockers. The biophysical and pharmacological properties of the Cs+-carried human ether-a-go-go-related gene (hERG) current were very similar to those of the Cs+-carried IKr in ventricular myocytes. The primary sequence of the selectivity filter in hERG was in part responsible for the Cs+ permeability, which was lost when the sequence was changed from GFG to GYG, characteristic of other, Cs+-impermeable K+ channels. Thus the unique high Cs+ permeability in IKr channels provides an effective way to isolate IKr current. Although the biophysical and pharmacological properties of the Cs+-carried IKr are different from those of the K+-carried IKr, such an assay enables IKr current to be recorded at a level that is large enough and sufficiently robust to evaluate any IKr alterations in native tissues in response to physiological or pathological changes. It is particularly useful for exploring the role of reduction of IKr in arrhythmias associated with heart failure and long QT syndrome due to the reduced hERG channel membrane expression.

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.

Modulation of the delayed rectifier, IK, by cadmium in cat ventricular myocytes

1992 ◽  
Vol 262 (1) ◽  
pp. C75-C83 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. H. Follmer ◽  
N. J. Lodge ◽  
C. A. Cullinan ◽  
T. J. Colatsky
Keyword(s):  
Voltage Clamp ◽  
Ventricular Myocytes ◽  
Outward Current ◽  
Membrane Potentials ◽  
Delayed Rectifier ◽  
Voltage Range ◽  
Control Value ◽  
Current Voltage ◽  
Voltage Dependent ◽  
Slope Factor

The effects of cadmium on the delayed outward potassium current (IK) were investigated in isolated cat ventricular myocytes using the single suction pipette voltage-clamp technique. IK activation was examined using peak tail currents elicited after 750-ms voltage-clamp steps to selected membrane potentials from a holding potential of -40 mV. In the presence of Cd2+ (0.2 mM), peak tail currents increased from a control value of 85 +/- 12 to 125 +/- 18 pA (n = 4). Activation curves constructed from the average peak tail-current measurements in all experiments showed that Cd2+ shifted the voltage dependence of activation to more positive potentials by 16.4 +/- 2.0 mV and increased the slope factor of the activation curve from 6.1 +/- 0.2 to 6.9 +/- 0.2 mV. In the absence of Cd2+, increases in holding potential from -30 to -70 mV had no effect on the magnitude of the peak tail currents, suggesting that the Cd(2+)-induced increase was not the result of a voltage-dependent increase in the number of available K+ channels at the holding potential. Slow voltage ramps from -70 to +70 mV revealed that Cd2+ increased the outward current at membrane potentials positive to +20 mV and shifted the voltage range in which IK inwardly rectified to more positive potentials. The fully activated current-voltage relationship was also shifted to more positive potentials by Cd2+. Cd2+ did not alter channel selectivity for K+.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Temperature-dependent expression of sarcolemmal K+ currents in rainbow trout atrial and ventricular myocytes

2002 ◽  
Vol 282 (4) ◽  
pp. R1191-R1199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matti Vornanen ◽  
Ari Ryökkynen ◽  
Antti Nurmi
Keyword(s):  
Rainbow Trout ◽  
Cardiac Myocytes ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Ventricular Myocytes ◽  
Cardiac Contractility ◽  
Temperature Acclimation ◽  
Delayed Rectifier ◽  
Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus Mykiss ◽  
Delayed Rectifier Current ◽  
Ventricular Cells

Temperature has a strong influence on the excitability and the contractility of the ectothermic heart that can be alleviated in some species by temperature acclimation. The molecular mechanisms involved in the temperature-induced improvement of cardiac contractility and excitability are, however, still poorly known. The present study examines the role of sarcolemmal K+ currents from rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss) cardiac myocytes after thermal acclimation. The two major K+ conductances of the rainbow trout cardiac myocytes were identified as the Ba2+-sensitive background inward rectifier current ( I K1) and the E-4031-sensitive delayed rectifier current ( I Kr). In atrial cells, the density of I K1 is very low and the density of I Kr is remarkably high. The opposite is true for ventricular cells. Acclimation to cold (4°C) modified the two K+ currents in opposite ways. Acclimation to cold increases the density of I Kr and depresses the density of I K1. These changes in repolarizing K+ currents alter the shape of the action potential, which is much shorter in cold-acclimated than warm-acclimated (17°C) trout. These results provide the first concrete evidence that K+channels of trout cardiac myocytes are adaptable units that provide means to regulate cardiac excitability and contractility as a function of temperature.

Two temporally overlapping "delayed-rectifiers" determine the voltage-dependent potassium current phenotype in cultured hippocampal interneurons

1996 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 1477-1490 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Chikwendu ◽  
C. J. McBain
Keyword(s):  
Potassium Current ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Relative Proportion ◽  
Minor Component ◽  
Transient Current ◽  
Stratum Radiatum ◽  
Delayed Rectifier ◽  
Gamma Aminobutyric Acid ◽  
Current Component ◽  
Voltage Dependent

1. Whole cell voltage-clamp recordings were used to characterize the calcium-independent "delayed-rectifier" potassium currents of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-positive stratum radiatum-lacunosum-moleculare (st. L-M) interneurons in primary culture derived from neonate rats [postnatal day 5-7 (P5-P7)]. 2. Two distinct current phenotypes were observed, which we termed "sustained" and "slowly inactivating." Despite possessing similar voltage-dependent activation properties, current differed in their time-dependent inactivation properties and their kinetics of activation and deactivation. The phenotypes of the observed currents did not change during the time in vitro. The total current phenotype observed in any cell likely resulted from the temporal overlap of the two current components expressed in different relative proportions. 3. Externally applied 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) selectively blocked the slowly inactivating current component, by a use-dependent, but voltage-independent mechanism, suggesting that channel activation is required for 4-AP to interact with its binding site. In contrast, the sustained current component was unaffected by 4-AP. 4. Both the slowly inactivating and sustained current phenotypes were sensitive to externally applied tetraethylammonium (TEA). The IC50 of block by TEA was lower in cells expressing predominantly the sustained current components. 5. Currents recorded in the presence of internally applied TEA were of a slowly inactivating phenotype, suggesting that [TEA]i preferentially blocked the sustained current component. 6. When test pulses were preceded by a prepulse to -100 mV, a transient A-type current component was observed, but in contrast to pyramidal neurons and other interneuron types, this transient current contributed only a minor component to the total initial peak current. 7. In conclusion, two distinct, temporally overlapping potassium current phenotypes were observed on st. L-M interneurons. The overall phenotype was determined by the relative proportion of each current component. The absence of a prominent transient current suggests that the two delayed-rectifier currents play a critical role in determining the firing characteristics of these interneurons.

scholarly journals Accumulation of slowly activating delayed rectifier potassium current (IKs) in canine ventricular myocytes

2003 ◽  
Vol 551 (3) ◽  
pp. 777-786 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Stengl ◽  
P. G A Volders ◽  
M. B Thomsen ◽  
R. L H M G Spatjens ◽  
K. R Sipido ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Potassium Current ◽  
Ventricular Myocytes ◽  
Delayed Rectifier ◽  
Delayed Rectifier Potassium Current

Identification and characteristics of delayed rectifier K+ current in fetal mouse ventricular myocytes

1996 ◽  
Vol 270 (6) ◽  
pp. H2088-H2093 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Wang ◽  
H. J. Duff
Keyword(s):  
Action Potential ◽  
Cardiac Myocytes ◽  
Ventricular Myocytes ◽  
Dominant Role ◽  
Ventricular Myocardium ◽  
Negative Slope ◽  
Delayed Rectifier ◽  
Mouse Heart ◽  
Fetal Mouse ◽  
K Current

Although the genetics of mammalian cardiac K+ channels have been most intensively investigated in mice, there are limited data available from the electrophysiological studies of the K+ currents in native mouse cardiac myocytes, especially in fetal mouse heart. The present study utilized whole cell patch-clamp techniques to assess the delayed rectifier K+ current (IK) in fetal (18th day of gestation) mouse ventricular myocytes. IK in fetal mouse ventricular myocytes activated rapidly, displayed a negative slope conductance of the current-voltage relationships at test potentials > 0 mV, satisfied the envelope of IK-tail test for a single component, and was very sensitive to dofetilide. These characteristics confirm that this current is the rapidly activating component of IK known as IK,r. In addition, dofetilide dramatically prolonged action potential duration in single ventricular myocytes as well as in ventricular myocardium, suggesting that IK,r plays a dominant role in action potential repolarization in fetal mouse heart. From these data we can conclude that fetal mouse cardiac myocytes express IK,r, which functions as a dominant repolarizing K+ current.

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