The Influence of External Potassium on the Inactivation of Sodium Currents in the Giant Axon of the Squid, Loligo pealei

Isolated giant axons were voltage-clamped in seawater solutions having constant sodium concentrations of 230 mM and variable potassium concentrations of from zero to 210 mM. The inactivation of the initial transient membrane current normally carried by Na+ was studied by measuring the Hodgkin-Huxle...

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Main Authors: Adelman, William J., Palti, Yoram
Format: Online
Language:English
Published: The Rockefeller University Press 1969
Online Access:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2202877/
id pubmed-2202877
recordtype oai_dc
spelling pubmed-22028772008-04-23 The Influence of External Potassium on the Inactivation of Sodium Currents in the Giant Axon of the Squid, Loligo pealei Adelman, William J. Palti, Yoram Article Isolated giant axons were voltage-clamped in seawater solutions having constant sodium concentrations of 230 mM and variable potassium concentrations of from zero to 210 mM. The inactivation of the initial transient membrane current normally carried by Na+ was studied by measuring the Hodgkin-Huxley h parameter as a function of time. It was found that h reaches a steady-state value within 30 msec in all solutions. The values of h ∞, τh, αh,and βh as functions of membrane potential were determined for various [K o]. The steady-state values of the h parameter were found to be inversely related, while the time constant, τh, was directly related to external K+ concentration. While the absolute magnitude as well as the slopes of the h ∞ vs. membrane potential curves were altered by varying external K+, only the magnitude and not the shape of the corresponding τh curves was altered. Values of the two rate constants, αh and βh, were calculated from h∞ and τh values. αh is inversely related to [Ko] while βh is directly related to [Ko] for hyperpolarizing membrane potentials and is independent of [Ko] for depolarizing membrane potentials. Hodgkin-Huxley equations relating αh and βh to Em were rewritten so as to account for the observed effects of [Ko]. It is concluded that external potassium ions have an inactivating effect on the initial transient membrane conductance which cannot be explained solely on the basis of potassium membrane depolarization. The Rockefeller University Press 1969-06-01 /pmc/articles/PMC2202877/ /pubmed/5783008 Text en Copyright © 1969 by The Rockefeller University Press This article is distributed under the terms of an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike–No Mirror Sites license for the first six months after the publication date (see http://www.rupress.org/terms). After six months it is available under a Creative Commons License (Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 4.0 Unported license, as described at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).
repository_type Open Access Journal
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution US National Center for Biotechnology Information
building NCBI PubMed
collection Online Access
language English
format Online
author Adelman, William J.
Palti, Yoram
spellingShingle Adelman, William J.
Palti, Yoram
The Influence of External Potassium on the Inactivation of Sodium Currents in the Giant Axon of the Squid, Loligo pealei
author_facet Adelman, William J.
Palti, Yoram
author_sort Adelman, William J.
title The Influence of External Potassium on the Inactivation of Sodium Currents in the Giant Axon of the Squid, Loligo pealei
title_short The Influence of External Potassium on the Inactivation of Sodium Currents in the Giant Axon of the Squid, Loligo pealei
title_full The Influence of External Potassium on the Inactivation of Sodium Currents in the Giant Axon of the Squid, Loligo pealei
title_fullStr The Influence of External Potassium on the Inactivation of Sodium Currents in the Giant Axon of the Squid, Loligo pealei
title_full_unstemmed The Influence of External Potassium on the Inactivation of Sodium Currents in the Giant Axon of the Squid, Loligo pealei
title_sort influence of external potassium on the inactivation of sodium currents in the giant axon of the squid, loligo pealei
description Isolated giant axons were voltage-clamped in seawater solutions having constant sodium concentrations of 230 mM and variable potassium concentrations of from zero to 210 mM. The inactivation of the initial transient membrane current normally carried by Na+ was studied by measuring the Hodgkin-Huxley h parameter as a function of time. It was found that h reaches a steady-state value within 30 msec in all solutions. The values of h ∞, τh, αh,and βh as functions of membrane potential were determined for various [K o]. The steady-state values of the h parameter were found to be inversely related, while the time constant, τh, was directly related to external K+ concentration. While the absolute magnitude as well as the slopes of the h ∞ vs. membrane potential curves were altered by varying external K+, only the magnitude and not the shape of the corresponding τh curves was altered. Values of the two rate constants, αh and βh, were calculated from h∞ and τh values. αh is inversely related to [Ko] while βh is directly related to [Ko] for hyperpolarizing membrane potentials and is independent of [Ko] for depolarizing membrane potentials. Hodgkin-Huxley equations relating αh and βh to Em were rewritten so as to account for the observed effects of [Ko]. It is concluded that external potassium ions have an inactivating effect on the initial transient membrane conductance which cannot be explained solely on the basis of potassium membrane depolarization.
publisher The Rockefeller University Press
publishDate 1969
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2202877/
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