Expression of voltage-dependent sodium and transient potassium currents in an identified sub-population of dorsal root ganglion cells acutely isolated from 12-day-old mouse embryos

The electrophysiological properties of a subset of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons microdissected from 12-day-old (E12) mouse embryos and acutely isolated were analyzed as soon as 3 after their isolation. Two classes of neurons were defined according to their mean diameter. The larger diameter class was examined in this study. They display uniform cytoskeletal properties with co-expression of vimentin and neurofilament triplet proteins. Patch-clamp methods also revealed a homogeneous and limited repertoire of ionic channels that included (1) a TTX-sensitive Na⁺ current whose properties are similar to that reported in mature mammalian neurons, and (2) two types of K⁺ currents that can be compared with the delayed rectifier (I _k ) and the transient (I _a) potassium currents found in other mammalian preparations. It may be possible to use this in vitro model to examine the development of new types of currents, such as Ca²⁺ currents during neuronal growth and differentiation.     

Effects of acetylcholine on time-dependent currents in sheep cardiac Purkinje fibers

Voltage clamp experiments were carried out on sheep Purkinje fibers to determine the effect of Ach on the time-dependent currents.On the pacemaker current (i _{K 2}) Ach 10^–6 mol·l^–1 had the following effects: shift of the activation curve by a few mV in the depolarizing direction, without change in the rectifier ratio. The potential dependence of the time constants for activation and deactivation was influenced in a similar way as the activation curve.Ach had no effect on the positive dynamic current (i _qr ) or the late plateau outward current (i _x ).The slow inward current (i _si ) as well as the transient inward current (T.I.) were reduced in amplitude and slowed in time course by Ach.The changes in pacemaker current are important in explaining the increased rate of diastolic depolarization in the presence of Ach. The decrease of slow inward current by Ach cannot be made responsible for the plateau shift or the prolongation of the action potential.Supported by F.G.W.O. Belgium 3.0087.74     

The hyperpolarisation-activated current,I f,is not required for pacemaking in single cells from the rabbit atrioventricular node

Using electrophysiological and radiotracer studies in parallel, we have investigated the characteristics of the endogenous Na⁺-dependent amino acid transporter (system B^0,+) in Xenopus oocytes with regard to ion dependence, voltage dependence and transport stoichiometry. In voltage-clamped oocytes (–60 mV) superfusion with saturating concentrations of amino acids (1 mM) in 100 mM NaCl resulted in reversible, inward currents (mean±SEM): alanine, 1.83±0.09 nA (n=21); arginine, 2.54±0.18 nA (n=17); glutamine, 1.73±0.10 nA (n=19). Only arginine evoked a current in choline medium (0.50±0.13 nA, n=10), whereas Cl^– replacement had no effect on evoked currents. The glutamine-evoked current was saturable (I _max=1.73 nA, glutamine K _m=0.12 mM) and linearly dependent upon voltage between –90 and –30 mV. Using direct and indirect (activation) methods, we found that transport can proceed with Na⁺/amino acid coupling stoichiometry of either 11 or 21, but coupling was the same for each amino acid tested (alanine, arginine and glutamine) within a batch of oocytes (i.e. from a single toad). Despite the net single positive charge on arginine, the magnitude of the net transmembrane charge movement during Na⁺-coupled arginine transport was identical to that for the zwitterionic neutral amino acids glutamine and alanine; this may be explained by a concomitant stimulation of K⁺ efflux during arginine transport with a putative coupling of 1 K⁺1 arginine.     

Atypical miniature end-plate currents in the normal rat neuromuscular synapse and after acetylcholinesterase inhibition and cooling

Leningrad State University, A. A. Ukhtomskii Leningrad Institute of Physiology. (Presented by Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR S. N. Golikov.) Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 109, No. 6, pp. 523–525, June, 1990.     

Enhanced inhibitory avoidance learning prevents the memory-impairing effects of post-training hippocampal inactivation

Rats were trained on an inhibitory avoidance task to study the effects of post-training administration of tetrodotoxin (TTX, which temporarily inactivates neural activity) on memory consolidation. During training, independent groups of rats received either a mild foot shock (0.8 mA) or a stronger (1.0 mA) foot shock. TTX was administered bilaterally into the dorsal hippocampus immediately after training, and memory of the task was measured 48 h later. We corroborated the typical amnesic effect of intrahippocampal infusions of TTX in those rats trained with the mild-intensity foot shock. More importantly, with the stronger foot shock, the same treatment was ineffective in producing amnesia. These results suggest that, after an enhanced learning experience, other brain regions are also activated, which may compensate for the amnesic effect of TTX infusions into the hippocampus.Due to an error in the citation line, this revised PDF (published in December 2003) deviates from the printed version, and is the correct and authoritative version of the paper.     

Persistent enhancement of transmitter release accompanying long-term potentiation in the guinea pig hippocampus

In order to examine temporal changes in enhancement of transmitter release during long-term potentiation (LTP), we examined amplitude fluctuation of excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) for longer periods than 2 h after tetanic stimulation (up to 4 h in the longest observation). The relative magnitude of excitatory postsynaptic potentiation (EPSP) fluctuation (coefficient of variation, CV) reduced throughout the observation periods in association with an increase in EPSP amplitude after tetanic stimulation. The reciprocals of squared CVs (= mean²/variance) were almost in proportion to the magnitude of LTP, and the ratio of 1/CV² and the LTP magnitude did not change significantly for up to 4 h. These findings suggest that a prolonged enhancement of transmitter release from presynaptic terminals underlies LTP, and the relative contribution of this presynaptic enhancement does not change significantly for 2 h (maybe up to 4 h, or longer) after tetanic stimulation.     

Spontaneous transient inward currents and rhythmicity in canine and guinea-pig tracheal smooth muscle cells

Spontaneous transient inward currents (STICs) were recorded in canine and guinea-pig tracheal myocytes held at negative membrane potentials. STICs were Cl^– selective since their reversal potential was dependent on the Cl^– gradient and they were blocked by the Cl^– channel blocker niflumic acid. STICs were insensitive to Cs⁺, charybdotoxin, and nifedipine. Ca²⁺-activated K⁺ currents often preceded STICs, suggesting that the STICs are Ca²⁺ dependent. In support of this suggestion, we found the Cl^– currents were: (1) abolished by depleting intracellular Ca²⁺ stores using caffeine, acetylcholine, histamine, or substance P; (2) enhanced by increasing external concentrations of Ca²⁺; (3) evoked by voltage-dependent Ca²⁺ influx. The channels responsible for this Cl^– current are of small unitary conductance (<20 pS). Decay of the STICs was described by a single exponential with a time constant of 94±9 ms at –70 mV; the time constant increased considerably at more positive potentials. Using Ca²⁺-dependent Cl^– currents and contractions as indices of internal levels of Ca²⁺, we found that isolated tracheal cells are capable of exhibiting rhythmic behaviour: bursts of currents and contractions with a periodicity of less than 0.1 Hz and which continued for more than 20 min. These rhythmic events were recorded at negative membrane potentials, suggesting that cyclical release of internally sequestered Ca²⁺ is responsible. We conclude that spontaneous release of Ca²⁺ from intracellular stores in tracheal muscle cells leads to transient currents in some cases accompanied by rhythmic contractions. Our studies provide evidence for a cellular mechanism that could underly myogenic oscillations of membrane potential in smooth muscle.     

Frequency-to-voltage conversion in the pyramidal tract neuron: an important role of the inhibitory postsynaptic potential

Frequency-coded impulses are known to be converted into postsynaptic potentials (PSPs) at the synapse of a target neuron. This can be termed frequency-voltage (F-V) conversion. Studies on this problem in pyramidal tract neurons (PTNs) showed that not only the amplitude but also the duration of depolarizing PSPs was determined as a function of the input impulse frequency. Two opposite patterns of F-V conversion were observed following activation of two input systems to PTNs. Inhibitory postsynaptic potentials were found to play an important role in the regulation of the duration of PSPs by curtailing excitatory post-synaptic potentials.     

A model of electrical activity and cytosolic calcium dynamics in vascular endothelial cells in response to fluid shear stress

A mathematical model is proposed to describe the intracellularCa ²⁺ (Ca _i) transient and electrical activity of vascular endothelial cells (VEC) elicited by fluid shear stress (τ). The intracellularCa ²⁺ store of the model VEC is comprised of aCa _i-sensitive (sc) and an inositol (1,4,5)-trisphosphate (IP ₃)-sensitive compartment (dc). The dc [Ca ²⁺] is refilled by the sc whose [Ca ²⁺] is the same as extracellular [Ca ²⁺].IP ₃ produced by the τ-deformed mechanoreceptors discharges the dcCa ²⁺ into the cytosol. The increase of cytosolic[Ca ²⁺] inducesCa ²⁺ release (CICR) from the sc. The raisedCa _i activates aCa _i-activatedK ⁺ current (I _{K, Ca}) and inhibitsIP ₃ production. The cell membrane potential is determined byI _{K, Ca}, voltage-dependentNa ⁺ andK ⁺ currents. Steady τ>0.1 dyne/cm² elicits aCa _i varies sigmoidally withLog ₁₀(τ) with a maximal peakCa _i of 150 nM at τ=4 dynes/cm². Step increases of τ fail to elicit aCa ²⁺ response in cells previously stimulated by a lower shear. TheCa ²⁺ response gradually decreases with repetitive τ stimuli. Pulsatile shear elicits two to three times higherCa _i and hyperpolarizes the cell more than steady shear of the same magnitude. The simulatedCa ²⁺ responses to τ are quantitatively and qualitatively similar to those observed in cultured VEC. The model provides a possible explanation of why the vasodilating stimulus is greater for pulsatile flow than for nonpulsatile flow.     

Postsynaptic fibers reaching the dorsal column nuclei in the rat

Postsynaptic fibers reaching the dorsal column nuclei were investigated in rat by means of retrograde transport of wheat germ agglutinin-horseradish peroxidase conjugate. Each nucleus received only ipsilateral afferents with most of the labeled cells forming a band which covered the mediolateral extent of the dorsal horn in an area that resembled lamina IV in the cat. The labeling excluded the reticular extension of the neck of the dorsal horn. Lumbosacral afferents were restricted to the gracilis nucleus and cervicothoracic afferents to the cuneatus nucleus. Cervical and anterior lumbar levels showed additional projections coming from their most medial parts. The organization of this second-order pathway in rat is similar to that in cat and monkey.