Developmental changes in Na+ conductances in rat neocortical neurons: appearance of a slowly inactivating component

1988 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 778-795 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. Huguenard ◽  
O. P. Hamill ◽  
D. A. Prince

1. Na+ conductances have been characterized in rat neocortical neurons from the sensorimotor area. Neurons were obtained by acute dissociation from animals at developmental stages from embryonic day 16 (E16) to postnatal day 50 (P50) to quantify any developmental changes in the kinetic properties of the Na+ conductance. 2. Neurons were divided into two classes, based on morphology, to determine whether there are any cell-type specific differences in Na+ conductances that contribute to the different action potential morphologies seen in current-clamp recordings in vitro. 3. Upon isolation, neurons were voltage clamped using the whole-cell variation of the patch-clamp technology. Both cell types, pyramidal and nonpyramidal, demonstrate large increases in Na+ current density during this developmental period (E16-P50). Normalized conductances were near 10 pS/micron2 in neurons from embryonic animals, and increased 6- to 10-fold during the first 2 wk postnatal. The final conductance reached in pyramidal neurons was higher than in non-pyramidal neurons. 4. We found no differences between the two cell types, pyramidal and nonpyramidal, in the voltage dependence of activation, inactivation kinetics, voltage dependence of steady-state inactivation, and recovery from inactivation. 5. The time course of Na+ current in immature neurons were fit with classical Hodgkin-Huxley kinetics. However, in more mature neurons the kinetics of inactivation became more complicated such that two decay components were required to obtain good fit. The slowly decaying component had a time course 5 to 10 times slower than the fast component. 6. Several procedures were used to reduce the magnitude of Na+ conductance in mature neurons to ensure graded, voltage-dependent inward currents. These included reduced extracellular [Na+], submaximal tetrodotoxin concentrations, and reduced holding potential. Under each of these conditions we were able to verify the observation that Na+ current inactivation occurs with two exponentials. 7. Single-channel Na+ currents were obtained from cell-attached patches. The membrane density of active Na+ channels increases with development, and ensemble averages from mature neurons demonstrated two inactivation processes. The slow inactivation process was accounted for by long-latency single-channel openings of the same amplitude as the short-latency openings. 8. We conclude that there are no kinetic differences in the Na+ channels between cell types. Differences in action potentials are then not explained by differences in Na+ current kinetics, but might be partially explained by the different densities.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

1994 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 2562-2565 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Brown ◽  
P. C. Schwindt ◽  
W. E. Crill

1. These experiments tested the hypothesis that the differing voltage dependence of the transient (INa) and persistent (INaP) Na+ currents in neocortical neurons results from the state of inactivation of one type of Na+ channel rather than from the existence of different types of Na+ channels. This question was examined in acutely isolated pyramidal neurons from the sensorimotor cortex of rats by using papain to remove inactivation from INa and comparing the resulting activation curve with that of INaP. 2. In control cells, INaP activated at more negative potentials than INa. Inclusion of papain in the recording pipette removed inactivation from INa and caused the INa activation curve to be shifted leftward to the position of the curve for INaP measured in control cells. Papain greatly increased both INa amplitude and the time to reach peak INa during smaller depolarizations, whereas the difference between control and test currents was reduced during large depolarizations. 3. We conclude that differences in the voltage dependence of INa and INaP activation does not provide sufficient evidence that these currents flow through separate sets of Na+ channels. Instead, our results are consistent with the idea that INaP largely arises from a fraction of the transient Na+ channels that intermittently lose their inactivation.


1990 ◽  
Vol 96 (4) ◽  
pp. 689-706 ◽  
Author(s):  
D S Krafte ◽  
A L Goldin ◽  
V J Auld ◽  
R J Dunn ◽  
N Davidson ◽  
...  

This study investigates the inactivation properties of Na channels expressed in Xenopus oocytes from two rat IIA Na channel cDNA clones differing by a single amino acid residue. Although the two cDNAs encode Na channels with substantially different activation properties (Auld, V. J., A. L. Goldin, D. S. Krafte, J. Marshall, J. M. Dunn, W. A. Catterall, H. A. Lester, N. Davidson, and R. J. Dunn. 1988. Neuron. 1:449-461), their inactivation properties resemble each other strongly but differ markedly from channels induced by poly(A+) rat brain RNA. Rat IIA currents inactivate more slowly, recover from inactivation more slowly, and display a steady-state voltage dependence that is shifted to more positive potentials. The macroscopic inactivation process for poly(A+) Na channels is defined by a single exponential time course; that for rat IIA channels displays two exponential components. At the single-channel level these differences in inactivation occur because rat IIA channels reopen several times during a depolarizing pulse; poly(A+) channels do not. Repetitive stimulation (greater than 1 Hz) produces a marked decrement in the rat IIA peak current and changes the waveform of the currents. When low molecular weight RNA is coinjected with rat IIA RNA, these inactivation properties are restored to those that characterize poly(A+) channels. Slow inactivation is similar for rat IIA and poly(A+) channels, however. The data suggest that activation and inactivation involve at least partially distinct regions of the channel protein.


1996 ◽  
Vol 107 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
L G Palmer ◽  
G Frindt

The gating kinetics of apical membrane Na channels in the rat cortical collecting tubule were assessed in cell-attached and inside-out excised patches from split-open tubules using the patch-clamp technique. In patches containing a single channel the open probability (Po) was variable, ranging from 0.05 to 0.9. The average Po was 0.5. However, the individual values were not distributed normally, but were mainly < or = 0.25 or > or = 0.75. Mean open times and mean closed times were correlated directly and inversely, respectively, with Po. In patches where a sufficient number of events could be recorded, two time constants were required to describe the open-time and closed-time distributions. In most patches in which basal Po was < 0.3 the channels could be activated by hyperpolarization of the apical membrane. In five such patches containing a single channel hyperpolarization by 40 mV increased Po by 10-fold, from 0.055 +/- 0.023 to 0.58 +/- 0.07. This change reflected an increase in the mean open time of the channels from 52 +/- 17 to 494 +/- 175 ms and a decrease in the mean closed time from 1,940 +/- 350 to 336 +/- 100 ms. These responses, however, could not be described by a simple voltage dependence of the opening and closing rates. In many cases significant delays in both the activation by hyperpolarization and deactivation by depolarization were observed. These delays ranged from several seconds to several tens of seconds. Similar effects of voltage were seen in cell-attached and excised patches, arguing against a voltage-dependent chemical modification of the channel, such as a phosphorylation. Rather, the channels appeared to switch between gating modes. These switches could be spontaneous but were strongly influenced by changes in membrane voltage. Voltage dependence of channel gating was also observed under whole-cell clamp conditions. To see if mechanical perturbations could also influence channel kinetics or gating mode, negative pressures of 10-60 mm Hg were applied to the patch pipette. In most cases (15 out of 22), this maneuver had no significant effect on channel behavior. In 6 out of 22 patches, however, there was a rapid and reversible increase in Po when the pressure was applied. In one patch, there was a reversible decrease. While no consistent effects of pressure could be documented, membrane deformation could contribute to the variation in Po under some conditions.


1990 ◽  
Vol 259 (4) ◽  
pp. C668-C674 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. Wilkinson ◽  
D. C. Dawson

Current fluctuation analysis was used to investigate the properties of apical Na+ channels during muscarinic inhibition of active Na+ absorption. A reversible Na+ channel blocker, 6-chloro-3,5-diaminopyrazine-2-carboxamide (CDPC), was used to induce fluctuations in the short-circuit current (I(sc)). Power density spectra of the CDPC-induced fluctuations exhibited a clearly discernible Lorentzian component, characterized by a corner frequency that was linearly related to CDPC concentration between 20 and 100 microM. The on (k'on) and off (k(off)) rate coefficients for the CDPC blocking reaction were k'on = 11.1 +/- 0.8 rad.s-1.microM-1 and k(off) = 744 +/- 53 rad/s, and the microscopic inhibition constant was 67 microM (n = 11). CDPC blocking kinetics were not significantly different after inhibition of Isc by 5 microM serosal carbachol. Single-channel Na+ current (iNa) and the density of open and blocked Na+ channels (N(ob)) were estimated from the fluctuations induced by 40 microM CDPC. Under control conditions, iNa was 0.43 +/- 0.05 pA and N(ob) was 251 +/- 42 X 10(6)/cm2 (n = 10). After exposure to serosal carbachol (2-10 microM) for 60 min, Na+ current and N(ob) were reduced by approximately 50%, but iNa was not changed significantly. These results indicate that muscarinic inhibition of electrogenic Na+ absorption was associated with a reduction in the number of open Na+ channels in the apical membrane. They also suggest that this downregulation of transport involved a coordinated decrease in both apical and basolateral membrane conductances.


1997 ◽  
Vol 78 (2) ◽  
pp. 825-834 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nechama Lasser-Ross ◽  
William N. Ross ◽  
Yosef Yarom

Lasser-Ross, Nechama, William N. Ross, and Yosef Yarom. Activity-dependent [Ca2+]i changes in guinea pig vagal motoneurons: relationship to the slow afterhyperpolarization. J. Neurophysiol. 78: 825–834, 1997. Vagal motoneurons in slices from the guinea-pig brain stem were injected with the fluorescent [Ca2+]i indicators fura-2, furaptra, or Calcium Green-1. Spike-induced fluorescence changes were measured in the soma and dendrites and simultaneously the long-lasting afterhyperpolarization was recorded with a sharp microelectrode in the soma. Na+ spikes or Ca2+ spikes increased [Ca2+]i (measured as a change in indicator fluorescence) in all locations in the soma and dendrites. Each spike in a train of action potentials caused a step increase in fluorescence of about equal amplitude when nonsaturating indicators were used. Peak changes at all locations occurred at the time of the last action potential. Transients measured with low concentrations of Calcium Green-1 or furaptra had a recovery time constant of ∼500–1,500 ms in the cell body. The recovery time course was faster in the dendrites than in the soma. The norepinephrine-sensitive, slow afterhyperpolarization (sAHP) had a time to peak of ∼800 ms and a recovery time constant of 2–5 s, much longer than the recovery time course of the fluorescence changes. Some of these experiments were repeated on pyramidal neurons from the CA1 region of the rat hippocampus with similar results. In both cell types, the data suggest that the time course of neither the rising phase nor the falling phase of the sAHP, nor the underlying conductance, directly reflects the time course of the [Ca2+]i change. The mechanism connecting the parameters remains unclear. One possibility is that an additional second messenger system is involved.


1998 ◽  
Vol 111 (4) ◽  
pp. 565-581 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birgit Hirschberg ◽  
James Maylie ◽  
John P. Adelman ◽  
Neil V. Marrion

Small-conductance Ca-activated K+ channels play an important role in modulating excitability in many cell types. These channels are activated by submicromolar concentrations of intracellular Ca2+, but little is known about the gating kinetics upon activation by Ca2+. In this study, single channel currents were recorded from Xenopus oocytes expressing the apamin-sensitive clone rSK2. Channel activity was detectable in 0.2 μM Ca2+ and was maximal above 2 μM Ca2+. Analysis of stationary currents revealed two open times and three closed times, with only the longest closed time being Ca dependent, decreasing with increasing Ca2+ concentrations. In addition, elevated Ca2+ concentrations resulted in a larger percentage of long openings and short closures. Membrane voltage did not have significant effects on either open or closed times. The open probability was ∼0.6 in 1 μM free Ca2+. A lower open probability of ∼0.05 in 1 μM Ca2+ was also observed, and channels switched spontaneously between behaviors. The occurrence of these switches and the amount of time channels spent displaying high open probability behavior was Ca2+ dependent. The two behaviors shared many features including the open times and the short and intermediate closed times, but the low open probability behavior was characterized by a different, long Ca2+-dependent closed time in the range of hundreds of milliseconds to seconds. Small-conductance Ca- activated K+ channel gating was modeled by a gating scheme consisting of four closed and two open states. This model yielded a close representation of the single channel data and predicted a macroscopic activation time course similar to that observed upon fast application of Ca2+ to excised inside-out patches.


1984 ◽  
Vol 84 (5) ◽  
pp. 687-704 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Moczydlowski ◽  
S Hall ◽  
S S Garber ◽  
G S Strichartz ◽  
C Miller

Na+ channels from rat muscle plasma membrane vesicles were inserted into neutral planar phospholipid bilayers and were activated by batrachotoxin. Single channel blocking events induced by the addition of various guanidinium toxins were analyzed to derive the rates of channel-toxin association and dissociation. Blocking by tetrodotoxin, saxitoxin, and six natural saxitoxin derivatives containing sulfate or hydroxyl groups were studied. Although the binding affinities vary over 2,000-fold, all of the toxins exhibit identical voltage dependence of the blocking reactions, regardless of the toxin's net charge. The results suggest that the voltage dependence of toxin binding is due to a voltage-dependent conformational equilibrium of the toxin receptor, rather than to direct entry of the charged toxin molecule into the applied transmembrane electric field.


1994 ◽  
Vol 103 (2) ◽  
pp. 279-319 ◽  
Author(s):  
W N Zagotta ◽  
T Hoshi ◽  
J Dittman ◽  
R W Aldrich

Voltage-dependent gating behavior of Shaker potassium channels without N-type inactivation (ShB delta 6-46) expressed in Xenopus oocytes was studied. The voltage dependence of the steady-state open probability indicated that the activation process involves the movement of the equivalent of 12-16 electronic charges across the membrane. The sigmoidal kinetics of the activation process, which is maintained at depolarized voltages up to at least +100 mV indicate the presence of at least five sequential conformational changes before opening. The voltage dependence of the gating charge movement suggested that each elementary transition involves 3.5 electronic charges. The voltage dependence of the forward opening rate, as estimated by the single-channel first latency distribution, the final phase of the macroscopic ionic current activation, the ionic current reactivation and the ON gating current time course, showed movement of the equivalent of 0.3 to 0.5 electronic charges were associated with a large number of the activation transitions. The equivalent charge movement of 1.1 electronic charges was associated with the closing conformational change. The results were generally consistent with models involving a number of independent and identical transitions with a major exception that the first closing transition is slower than expected as indicated by tail current and OFF gating charge measurements.


1985 ◽  
Vol 223 (1233) ◽  
pp. 475-484 ◽  

The fast transient inward current elicited by depolarizations above about –60 mV in calf Purkinje fibres was found to be depressed by Cd in concentrations less than 1 mm. The Cd-sensitive current, which strongly depended on external Na, was recorded in the presence of 2 mm MnCl 2 and was blocked by TTX , indicating that a contamination from slow Ca-dependent currents could be discounted. The current reduction caused by Cd was also observed in nominally Ca-free solutions. The Cd-induced depression of the fast Na current was not accompanied by changes in the current kinetic parameters, as revealed by comparing inactivation curves and peak current voltage relations at different Cd concentrations, and could be attributed to a voltage-independent channel blocking action. Half-blockade occurred at 0.182±0.06 mm ( n = 4). Plots of peak current amplitude as a function of the Cd concentration showed that the cooperation of two Cd ions was required to block a single channel.


2014 ◽  
Vol 112 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martine R. Groen ◽  
Ole Paulsen ◽  
Enrique Pérez-Garci ◽  
Thomas Nevian ◽  
J. Wortel ◽  
...  

Synaptic plasticity rules change during development: while hippocampal synapses can be potentiated by a single action potential pairing protocol in young neurons, mature neurons require burst firing to induce synaptic potentiation. An essential component for spike timing-dependent plasticity is the backpropagating action potential (BAP). BAP along the dendrites can be modulated by morphology and ion channel composition, both of which change during late postnatal development. However, it is unclear whether these dendritic changes can explain the developmental changes in synaptic plasticity induction rules. Here, we show that tonic GABAergic inhibition regulates dendritic action potential backpropagation in adolescent, but not preadolescent, CA1 pyramidal neurons. These developmental changes in tonic inhibition also altered the induction threshold for spike timing-dependent plasticity in adolescent neurons. This GABAergic regulatory effect on backpropagation is restricted to distal regions of apical dendrites (>200 μm) and mediated by α5-containing GABA(A) receptors. Direct dendritic recordings demonstrate α5-mediated tonic GABA(A) currents in adolescent neurons which can modulate BAPs. These developmental modulations in dendritic excitability could not be explained by concurrent changes in dendritic morphology. To explain our data, model simulations propose a distally increasing or localized distal expression of dendritic α5 tonic inhibition in mature neurons. Overall, our results demonstrate that dendritic integration and plasticity in more mature dendrites are significantly altered by tonic α5 inhibition in a dendritic region-specific and developmentally regulated manner.


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