Comparison of Step and Ramp Voltage Clamp on Background Currents in Guinea-Pig Ventricular Cells

Isolated cardiac ventricular myocytes from guinea-pig were used to investigate the effect of voltage clamp protocols on background Na+ current (ib.Na) and inward rectifier current (i K1). Using long (4 s) clamp pulses and very long step clamps, the i-V relations showed that removal of Na+ reduces the amplitude and shifts the voltage dependence of i K1 (Spindler et al. 1998). Ramp clamps, however, gave more complicated results, with slower ramps more often giving the same results as steps and pulses. Both i K1 itself and, during faster ramps, other currents show hysteresis, so masking the steady-state changes. Using pulses, TTX had no effect on steady-state current. Small differences occurred in the ramps, but even at fast ramp speeds the effects are very much smaller than in Purkinje tissue. Only part of ib,Na is TTX sensitive and the effect does not occur in all cells.