15
J . Physiol. (1983), 342, p p . 253-266 253 With 1 0 text-ftgurem Printed i n Great Britain DEPRESSION OF CALCIUM-DEPENDENT POTASSIUM CONDUCTANCE OF GUINEA-PIG MYENTERIC NEURONES BY MUSCARINIC AGONISTS BY R . A . NORTH AND T. TOKIMASA From t h e Neuropharmacology Laboratory, Department o f Nutrition a n d Food Science, 56-245, Massachusetts Institute o f Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, U.S.A. (Received 7 December 1982) SUMMARY 1 . Intracellular recordings were made from myenteric neurones of the guinea-pig ileum. 2 . Muscarinic agonists acetylcholine (ACh) a n d oxotremorine reduced membrane potassium conductance (g]K) Calcium carried into the neurone b y o n e o r more action potentials increased membrane potassium conductance (g], Ca). 3 . T h e time course of the muscarinic changes i n g ] w a s compared t o that o f t h e change i n g K , C a following a n action potential. T h e time course o f conductance decrease w a s similar i n both cases, a n d both time courses h a d t h e same temperature coefficient. 4 . Concentrations o f ACh (100 n w ) which were t o o l o w t o cause a detectable reduction i n resting g K shortened t h e duration o f t h e g K , C a increase which followed a n action potential. Lo w concentrations o f barium (10-100 / M ) h a d the same effect a s ACh. This wa s n o t d u e t o a reduction i n calcium entry during t h e action potential. Higher concentrations o f ACh a n d barium also reduced resting membrane conductance. 5 . T h e conductance changes during t h e muscarinic action a n d t h e action potential after-hyperpolarization did not a d d linearly. I t i s proposed that muscarinic agonists a n d barium m a y a c t b y reducing t h e availability ofcalcium ions at a site within t h e membrane which controls g K . INTRODUCTION Muscarinic agonists reduce a potassium conductance i n several mammalian neurones (Krynjevic, Pumain & Renaud, 1971; Brown & Adams, 1980; Dodd, Dingledine & Kelly, 1981; Morita, North & Tokimasa, 1982a) a n d i n some sites this action underlies a slow excitatory post-synaptic potential (e.p.s.p.) caused b y acetylcholine (ACh) released from presynaptic nerve (Weight & Votava, 1970; North & Tokimasa, 1982). I n the course o f experiments on myenteric neurones, i t w s found that t h e calcium-dependent potassium conductance (gK, C a ) o f AH (type 2 ) neurones (Nishi & North, 1973; Hirst, Holman & Spence, 1974) wa s particularly sensitive t o muscarinic agonists (Morita e t a l . 1982a). This m a y b e important f o r two reasons. First, little i s known about t h e mechanism through which muscarinic agonists reduce g K . T h e finding that g K , C a i s particularly susceptible t o muscarinic agonists might indicate a role f o r intracellular calcium i n t h e transduction o f their effects a n d ) by guest on October 27, 2010  jp.physoc.org Downloaded from J Physiol (

R.A. North and T. Tokimasa- Depression of Calcium-Dependent Potassium Conductance of Guinea-Pig Myenteric Neurones by Muscaric Agonists

  • Upload
    fedrm

  • View
    222

  • Download
    0

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

8/3/2019 R.A. North and T. Tokimasa- Depression of Calcium-Dependent Potassium Conductance of Guinea-Pig Myenteric Ne…

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ra-north-and-t-tokimasa-depression-of-calcium-dependent-potassium-conductance 1/14

J . P h y s i o l . ( 1 9 8 3 ) , 3 4 2 , p p . 2 5 3 - 2 6 6 253W i t h 1 0 t e x t - f t g u r e m

P r i n t e d i n G r e a t B r i t a i n

DEPRESSION OF CALCIUM-DEPENDENT POTASSIUM CONDUCTANCE

OF GUINEA-PIG MYENTERIC NEURONES BY MUSCARINIC AGONISTS

BY R . A . NORTH AND T . TOKIMASA

From t h e N e u r o p h a r m a c o l o g y L a b o r a t o r y , D e p a r t m e n t o f N u t r i t i o n a n d F o o d S c i e n c e ,5 6 - 2 4 5 , M a s s a c h u s e t t s I n s t i t u t e o f T e c h n o l o g y , C a m b r i d g e , MA 0 2 1 3 9 , U . S . A .

( R e c e i v e d 7 D e c e m b e r 1 9 8 2 )

SUMMARY

1 . I n t r a c e l l u l a r r e c o r d i n g s w e r e made f r o m m y e n t e r i c n e u r o n e s o f t h e g u i n e a - p i g

i l e u m .

2 . M u s c a r i n i c a g o n i s t s a c e t y l c h o l i n e ( A C h ) a n d o x o t r e m o r i n e r e d u c e d membrane

p o t a s s i u m c o n d u c t a n c e ( g ] K ) C a l c i u m c a r r i e d i n t o t h e n e u r o n e b y o n e o r m o r e a c t i o n

p o t e n t i a l s i n c r e a s e d membrane p o t a s s i u m c o n d u c t a n c e ( g ] , C a ) .3 . T h e t i m e c o u r s e o f t h e m u s c a r i n i c c h a n g e s i n g ] w a s c o m p a r e d t o t h a t o f t h e

c h a n g e i n g K , C a f o l l o w i n g a n a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l . T h e t i m e c o u r s e o f c o n d u c t a n c e d e c r e a s ew a s s i m i l a r i n b o t h c a s e s , a n d b o t h t i m e c o u r s e s h a d t h e s a m e t e m p e r a t u r e c o e f f i c i e n t .

4 . C o n c e n t r a t i o n s o f ACh ( 1 0 0 n w ) w h i c h w e r e t o o l o w t o c a u s e a d e t e c t a b l e

r e d u c t i o n i n r e s t i n g g K s h o r t e n e d t h e d u r a t i o n o f t h e g K , C a i n c r e a s e w h i c h f o l l o w e d

a n a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l . Lo w c o n c e n t r a t i o n s o f b a r i u m ( 1 0 - 1 0 0 / M ) h a d t h e same e f f e c ta s A C h . T h i s was n o t d u e t o a r e d u c t i o n i n c a l c i u m e n t r y d u r i n g t h e a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l .H i g h e r c o n c e n t r a t i o n s o f ACh a n d b a r i u m a l s o r e d u c e d r e s t i n g membrane

c o n d u c t a n c e .

5 . T h e c o n d u c t a n c e c h a n g e s d u r i n g t h e m u s c a r i n i c a c t i o n a n d t h e a c t i o n p o t e n t i a la f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n d i d n o t a d d l i n e a r l y . I t i s p r o p o s e d t h a t m u s c a r i n i c a g o n i s t s

a n d b a r i u m m a y a c t b y r e d u c i n g t h e a v a i l a b i l i t y o f c a l c i u m i o n s a t a s i t e w i t h i n t h e

membrane w h i c h c o n t r o l s g K .

INTRODUCTION

M u s c a r i n i c a g o n i s t s r e d u c e a p o t a s s i u m c o n d u c t a n c e i n s e v e r a l mammalian

n e u r o n e s ( K r y n j e v i c , Pumain & R e n a u d , 1 9 7 1 ; Brown & A d a m s , 1 9 8 0 ; D o d d ,

D i n g l e d i n e & K e l l y , 1 9 8 1 ; M o r i t a , N o r t h & T o k i m a s a , 1 9 8 2 a ) a n d i n some s i t e s t h i sa c t i o n u n d e r l i e s a s l o w e x c i t a t o r y p o s t - s y n a p t i c p o t e n t i a l ( e . p . s . p . ) c a u s e d b ya c e t y l c h o l i n e ( A C h ) r e l e a s e d f r o m p r e s y n a p t i c n e r v e ( W e i g h t & V o t a v a , 1 9 7 0 ; N o r t h

& T o k i m a s a , 1 9 8 2 ) . I n t h e c o u r s e o f e x p e r i m e n t s on m y e n t e r i c n e u r o n e s , i t was f o u n d

t h a t t h e c a l c i u m - d e p e n d e n t p o t a s s i u m c o n d u c t a n c e ( g K , C a ) o f AH ( t y p e 2 ) n e u r o n e s

( N i s h i & N o r t h , 1 9 7 3 ; H i r s t , Holman & S p e n c e , 1 9 7 4 ) was p a r t i c u l a r l y s e n s i t i v e t o

m u s c a r i n i c a g o n i s t s ( M o r i t a e t a l . 1 9 8 2 a ) . T h i s m a y b e i m p o r t a n t f o r two r e a s o n s .

F i r s t , l i t t l e i s known a b o u t t h e m e c h a n i s m t h r o u g h w h i c h m u s c a r i n i c a g o n i s t s r e d u c e

g K . T h e f i n d i n g t h a t g K , C a i s p a r t i c u l a r l y s u s c e p t i b l e t o m u s c a r i n i c a g o n i s t s m i g h ti n d i c a t e a r o l e f o r i n t r a c e l l u l a r c a l c i u m i n t h e t r a n s d u c t i o n o f t h e i r e f f e c t s a n d

) by guest on October 27, 2010 jp.physoc.orgDownloaded from J Physiol (

8/3/2019 R.A. North and T. Tokimasa- Depression of Calcium-Dependent Potassium Conductance of Guinea-Pig Myenteric Ne…

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ra-north-and-t-tokimasa-depression-of-calcium-dependent-potassium-conductance 2/14

R . A . NORTH AND T . TOKIMASA

t h e r e f o r e w a r r a n t e d f u r t h e r s t u d y . S e c o n d l y , a n a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n a c t i v a t e d

b y c a l c i u m e n t r y d u r i n g t h e a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l l i m i t s t h e f i r i n g f r e q u e n c y o f m a n y

n e u r o n e s ; i t s r e d u c t i o n b y ACh w o u l d p r o v i d e f o r s y n a p t i c e x c i t a t i o n e v e n w i t h o u t

d e p o l a r i z a t i o n o f t h e r e s t i n g m e m b r a n e . We t h e r e f o r e m a d e a m o r e d e t a i l e d s t u d y

o f t h e i n t e r a c t i o n b e t w e e n ACh a n d t h e s l o w a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n f o l l o w i n g a n

a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l i n m y e n t e r i c n e u r o n e s .

METHODS

A d u l t g u i n e a - p i g s ( 2 5 0 - 3 5 0 g ) w e r e h e a v i l y s t u n n e d a n d b l e d f r o m t h e n e c k . The i l e u m was

r a p i d l y r e m o v e d a n d p l a c e d i n K r e b s s o l u t i o n o f t h e f o l l o w i n g c o m p o s i t i o n ( m M ) : N a C l , 1 1 7 ; K C l ,

4 - 7 ; C a C l 2 , 2 - 5 ; M g S O 4 , 1 - 2 ; N a H 2 P O 4 , 1 - 2 ; N a H C O 3 , 2 5 ; g l u c o s e , 1 1 ; g a s s e d w i t h 5 % C O 2 a n d 9 5 % 2 .When B a C l 2 was u s e d MgSO4 was s u b s t i t u t e d b y M g C l 2 . The m y e n t e r i c p l e x u s - l o n g i t u d i n a l m u s c l e

p r e p a r a t i o n u s e d w a s p r e p a r e d a s d e s c r i b e d b y N i s h i & N o r t h ( 1 9 7 3 ) . S i n g l e m y e n t e r i c g a n g l i a w e r e

i m m o b i l i z e d b y m e a n s o f p i n n i n g t h r o u g h t h e c l o s e l y a d j a c e n t m u s c l e u s i n g s t a i n l e s s - s t e e l p i n s1 0 h i m i n d i a m e t e r . T h e g a n g l i o n w a s v i s u a l i z e d b y d i f f e r e n t i a l i n t e r f e r e n c e c o n t r a s t o p t i c s ( t o t a lm a g n i f i c a t i o n x 2 5 0 ) . I n t r a c e l l u l a r r e c o r d i n g s w e r e made w i t h g l a s s m i c r o - e l e c t r o d e s c o n t a i n i n g

2 M-KC1 ( d . c . r e s i s t a n c e 3 0 - 1 0 0 M O ) , u s i n g a p r e - a m p l i f i e r (WP I n s t r u m e n t , M 7 0 1 ) w h i c h

p e r m i t t e d c u r r e n t i n j e c t i o n . V a l u e s o f r e s t i n g p o t e n t i a l w e r e d e t e r m i n e d b y s u d d e n w i t h d r a w a l o f

t h e m i c r o - e l e c t r o d e . A g l a s s m i c r o - e l e c t r o d e ( t i p d i a m e t e r 1 0 - 3 0 s u m ) f i l l e d w i t h K r e b s s o l u t i o n was

u s e d t o s t i m u l a t e n e u r o n a l e l e m e n t s w i t h i n t h e g a n g l i o n . T h e t i p o f t h i s e l e c t r o d e was p o s i t i o n e do n t h e s u r f a c e o f t h e g a n g l i o n a n d moved t o d i f f e r e n t p o s i t i o n s a r o u n d t h e i m p a l e d n e u r o n e u n d e r

v i s u a l c o n t r o l . S i n g l e o r r e p e a t e d c a t h o d a l c u r r e n t p u l s e s ( 1 0 0 - 5 0 0 , I s d u r a t i o n ) w e r e p a s s e dt h r o u g h t h i s e l e c t r o d e ( f o c a l s t i m u l a t i o n ) .

M y e n t e r i c n e u r o n e s w e r e c l a s s i f i e d a c c o r d i n g t o t h e c r i t e r i a o r i g i n a l l y p r o p o s e d b y N i s h i & N o r t h

( 1 9 7 3 ) a n d H i r s t e t a l . ( 1 9 7 4 ) . I f t h e n e u r o n e r e s p o n d e d t o f o c a l s t i m u l a t i o n w i t h a f a s t e x c i t a t o r yp o s t - s y n a p t i c p o t e n t i a l ( e . p . s . p . ) i t was c a l l e d a n S ( t y p e 1 ) n e u r o n e . T h o s e n e u r o n e s w h i c h h a dn o f a s t e . p . s . p . a n d w h i c h s h o w e d a p r o l o n g e d a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n f o l l o w i n g a s i n g l e soma a c t i o n

p o t e n t i a l w e r e c a l l e d AH ( t y p e 2 ) n e u r o n e s . E x p e r i m e n t s d e s c r i b e d i n t h i s p a p e r w e r e made o n AH

n e u r o n e s . T h e p r e p a r a t i o n w a s p e r f u s e d ( 1 - 4 m l / m i n ) w i t h a p r e - h e a t e d K r e b s s o l u t i o n s o t h a t t h e

t e m p e r a t u r e a t t h e r e c o r d i n g s i t e wa s k e p t a t 3 6 - 3 7 ' C . T e m p e r a t u r e was m o n i t o r e d w i t h a n e e d l e

t h e r m i s t o r . R e d u c t i o n i n t e m p e r a t u r e b y 1 0 ' C o c c u r r e d w i t h i n 5 m i n , a n d e x p e r i m e n t s w e r e d o n e

d u r i n g t h e n e x t 1 0 m i n p e r i o d . D i f f e r e n t s o l u t i o n s w e r e a p p l i e d t o t h e p r e p a r a t i o n b y means o f a

t a p w h i c h c h a n g e d t h e i n f l o w t o t h e t i s s u e . T h e b a t h v o l u m e was 1 - 2 m l . S o l u t i o n s o f d i f f e r e n t i o n i cc o m p o s i t i o n w e r e m a i n t a i n e d i s o - o s m o t i c b y a d j u s t i n g t h e s o d i u m c h lo r i d e c o n c e n t r a t i o n .

A c e t y l c h o l i n e w a s a p p l i e d b y i o n o p h o r e s i s . T h e i o n o p h o r e s i s e l e c t r o d e c o n t a i n e d a c e t y l c h o l i n ec h l o r i d e ( 1 0 0 mM-1 M ) ; i t s t i p was p o s i t i o n e d w i t h i n 3 - 5 ,m o f t h e p o i n t o f i m p a l e m e n t a n d o u t w a r d

c u r r e n t p u l s e s w e r e u s e d t o e j e c t t h e A C h . A s m a l l ( 2 - 5 n A ) i n w a r d c u r r e n t w a s r o u t i n e l y a p p l i e d

t o r e d u c e d i f f u s i o n . A c t i o n p o t e n t i a l s w e r e e v o k e d b y p a s s i n g b r i e f ( 2 0 - 5 0 m s ) d e p o l a r i z i n g c u r r e n t

p u l s e s a c r o s s t h e m e m b r a n e . T h e s e w e r e f o l l o w e d b y a h y p e r p o l a r i z i n g a f t e r p o t e n t i a l a s a r e s u l to f c a l c i u m e n t r y d u r i n g t h e s p i k e a c t i v a t i n g p o t a s s i u m c o n d u c t a n c e ( M o r i t a , N o r t h & T o k i m a s a ,

1 9 8 2 b ) . T h e f r a c t i o n a l c o n d u c t a n c e i n c r e a s e d u r i n g t h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n ( g a , C a ) was

c a l c u l a t e d f r o m g R , C a = ( R I R ' ) -1 w h e r e R a n d R ' a r e m e m b r a n e i n p u t r e s i s t a n c e i n t h e c o n t r o l( a t r e s t i n g m e m b r a n e p o t e n t i a l ) a n d d u r i n g t h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n r e s p e c t i v e l y . g K C a was

p l o t t e d a s a f u n c t i o n o f t i m e ( s e e M o r i t a e t a l . 1 9 8 2 b ) . R e s u l t s a r e e x p r e s s e d a s m e a n v a l u e s ± 5 . E .o f m e a n f o r t h e n u m b e r o f n e u r o n e s s t u d i e d . D r u g s u s e d w e r e a c e t y l c h o l i n e c h l o r i d e ( S i g m a ) ,o x o t r e m o r i n e s e s q u i f u m a r a t e ( A l d r i c h ) , h e x a m e t h o n i u m b r o m i d e ( S i g m a ) , h y o s c i n e h y d r o c h l o r i d e( S i g m a ) a n d t e t r o d o t o x i n ( S a n k y o ) .

RESULTS

C o m p a r i s o n o f m u s c a r i n i c d e p o l a r i z a t i o n w i t h a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n

I f t h e c o n d u c t a n c e w h i c h o p e n s d u r i n g t h e c a l c i u m - d e p e n d e n t a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r -i z a t i o n i s t h e same a s t h a t w h i c h c l o s e s d u r i n g m u s c a r i n i c a c t i o n , o n e w o u l d e x p e c t

a n i d e n t i c a l r e v e r s a l p o t e n t i a l a n d o n e m i g h t e x p e c t s i m i l a r i t i e s i n t h e i r t i m e c o u r s e s .

2 5 4

) by guest on October 27, 2010 jp.physoc.orgDownloaded from J Physiol (

8/3/2019 R.A. North and T. Tokimasa- Depression of Calcium-Dependent Potassium Conductance of Guinea-Pig Myenteric Ne…

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ra-north-and-t-tokimasa-depression-of-calcium-dependent-potassium-conductance 3/14

ACh AND Ca-DEPENDENT K PERMEABILITY

M u s c a r i n i c A f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n

-60

- 7 6 -

- 8 3 f fyl

T10T 1 0 mV

F i g . 1 . R e v e r s a l p o t e n t i a l s o f m u s c a r i n i c ACh p o t e n t i a l a n d a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l a f t e r -h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n i n a s i n g l e n e u r o n e . ACh w a s a p p l i e d i o n o p h o r e t i c a l l y ( 2 0 n A , 5 0 m s ;t e n a p p l i c a t i o n s a t 1 0 H z ) ( b a r s ) , i n t h e p r e s e n c e o f h e x a m e t h o n i u m ( 2 0 0 f M ) . A f t e r -h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n s w e r e e v o k e d b y a s i n g l e soma a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l . B o t h m u s c a r i n i c AChp o t e n t i a l a n d a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n w e r e o b s e r v e d a t v a r i o u s membrane p o t e n t i a l s( i n d i c a t e d b y e a c h r e c o r d ) . R e v e r s a l p o t e n t i a l s o f m u s c a r i n i c r e s p o n s e a n d a f t e r - h y p e r -p o l a r i z a t i o n w e r e -94 a n d -95 mV r e s p e c t i v e l y . Downward d e f l e x i o n s i n t h i s a n d o t h e r

F i g u r e s a r e h y p e r p o l a r i z i n g e l e c t r o t o n i c p o t e n t i a l s e v o k e d b y c u r r e n t p u l s e s o f c o n s t a n t

a m p l i t u d e a n d 5 0 m s d u r a t i o n . N o t e t h e i n c r e a s e i n c o n d u c t a n c e d u r i n g t h e a f t e r - h y p e r -p o l a r i z a t i o n a n d t h e f a l l i n c o n d u c t a n c e d u r i n g t h e m u s c a r i n i c a c t i o n .

R e v e r s a l p o t e n t i a l . The r e v e r s a l p o t e n t i a l o f t h e m u s c a r i n i c d e p o l a r i z a t i o n and

a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n w e r e s i m i l a r t o t h o s e r e p o r t e d p r e v i o u s l y

( m u s c a r i n i c r e s p o n s e -88 mV, M o r i t a e t a l . 1 9 8 2 a ; a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n -91 mV,M o r i t a e t a l . 1 9 8 2 b ) . I n t h i s s t u d y we c o m p a r e d t h e two r e v e r s a l p o t e n t i a l s i n t h e

s a m e n e u r o n e ( n = 3 ) a n d f o u n d t h e m t o b e i d e n t i c a l ( F i g . 1 ) . We s o u g h t f u r t h e r

e v i d e n c e t h a t t h e s e t w o p o t e n t i a l c h a n g e s w e r e d u e o n l y t o c h a n g e s i n p o t a s s i u m

c o n d u c t a n c e b y a l t e r i n g t h e p o t a s s i u m i o n c o n c e n t r a t i o n . T h e r e v e r s a l p o t e n t i a l o f

t h e m u s c a r i n i c r e s p o n s e was - 9 1 - 0 + 2 - 3 mV, - 7 2 - 7 + 1 - 5 mV a n d -517+ 1 - 8 mV

( m e a n s + S . E . o f m e a n , n = 3 ) i n s o l u t i o n s c o n t a i n i n g 4 - 7 , 9 - 4 a n d 2 3 - 5 m M - p o t a s s i u m .T h e c h a n g e i n r e v e r s a l p o t e n t i a l was 5 6 mV p e r t e n - f o l d c h a n g e o f p o t a s s i u m

c o n c e n t r a t i o n . T h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n w a s s i m i l a r l y a f f e c t e d b y c h a n g e s i np o t a s s i u m c o n c e n t r a t i o n , b e i n g r e d u c e d i n a m p l i t u d e i n h i g h p o t a s s i u m c o n c e n t r a t i o n s

a n d m a r k e d l y a u g m e n t e d i n p o t a s s i u m - f r e e s o l u t i o n s ( F i g . 2 , a l s o N i s h i & N o r t h ,

1 9 7 3 ) .T i m e c o u r s e . A f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n s w e r e s t u d i e d w h i c h f o l l o w e d o n e o r more

a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l s . T h e f r a c t i o n a l c o n d u c t a n c e i n c r e a s e ( 9 K C a ' s e e M e t h o d s ) was

m e a s u r e d a s a f u n c t i o n o f t i m e ( t ) ; t h i s c o u l d b e f i t t e d t o a n e q u a t i o n o f t h e f o r m

g K , C a = A [ e x p ( - t / T 2 ) - e x p ( - t / r L ) ] w h e r e T 2 wa s t h e t i m e c o n s t a n t o f d e c l i n e o fc o n d u c t a n c e a n d T 1 t h e t i m e c o n s t a n t f o r i n c r e a s e i n c o n d u c t a n c e . F o l l o w i n g a s i n g l ea c t i o n p o t e n t i a l T 1 w a s 214+13 m s a n d T 2 was 1640+ 1 4 0 m s ( m e a n s + s . E . o f m e a n ,

2 5 5

) by guest on October 27, 2010 jp.physoc.orgDownloaded from J Physiol (

8/3/2019 R.A. North and T. Tokimasa- Depression of Calcium-Dependent Potassium Conductance of Guinea-Pig Myenteric Ne…

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ra-north-and-t-tokimasa-depression-of-calcium-dependent-potassium-conductance 4/14

2 5 6 R . A . NORTH AND T . TOKIMASA

A

a. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ C

e l

1 0 m V

B 1 0 s

f

- 1nA

b d

6 0 m V 4 s

1 5 m s

F i g . 2 . T h e e f f e c t s o f e x t r a c e l l u l a r K c o n c e n t r a t i o n on b o t h m u s c a r i n i c ACh p o t e n t i a l a n d

a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n i n a s i n g l e n e u r o n e . A , e f f e c t s o f h i g h ( 9 4 m M ) K a n d K - f r e e

s o l u t i o n s . a - c , ACh was a p p l i e d i o n o p h o r e t i c a l l y ( 1 0 n A , 5 0 0 m s , t r i a n g l e s ) i n t h e p r e s e n c e

o f h e x a m e t h o n i u m ( 2 0 0 / M ) . d - f , a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n s were e v o k e d b y a s i n g l e soma

a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l . a a n d d c o n t r o l ( 4 7 m M - K ) . b a n d e , e l e v a t i o n o f t h e e x t r a c e l l u l a r K

c o n c e n t r a t i o n t o 9 - 4 mm d e p o l a r i z e d t h e membrane b y 8 mV b u t m a r k e d l y r e d u c e d t h e

a m p l i t u d e s o f b o t h t h e m u s c a r i n i c ACh p o t e n t i a l a n d t h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n . T h e s ec h a n g e s r e v e r s e d c o m p l e t e l y . c a n d f , r e m o v a l o f K f r o m t h e p e r f u s i n g s o l u t i o n h y p e r -p o l a r i z e d t h e membrane ( 5 - 7 mV) a n d m a r k e d l y a u g m e n t e d b o t h t h e m u s c a r i n i c ACh

p o t e n t i a l a n d t h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n . T h i s e f f e c t a l s o w a s h e d o u t ( n o t s h o w n ) . B , e f f e c to f K - f r e e s o l u t i o n o n a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l i n a d i f f e r e n t n e u r o n e . R e c o r d s a - d s h o w o s c i l l o s c o p ep h o t o g r a p h s o f t r a n s m e m b r a n e c u r r e n t ( u p p e r t r a c e ) a n d membrane p o t e n t i a l ( l o w e rt r a c e ) . a , a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l a n d b , e l e c t r o t o n i c p o t e n t i a l i n c o n t r o l s o l u t i o n ( 4 - 7 m M - K ) . c ,a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l a n d d , e l e c t r o t o n i c p o t e n t i a l i n K - f r e e s o l u t i o n . The membrane wa s

s l i g h t l y h y p e r p o l a r i z e d ( l e s s t h a n 1 0 mV) a n d i n p u t r e s i s t a n c e i n c r e a s e d , b u t a c t i o n

p o t e n t i a l d u r a t i o n was u n c h a n g e d i n K - f r e e s o l u t i o n . T h e a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l shown i n a wa s

f o l l o w e d b y t h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n s h o w n i n e . T h e a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l i n c ( K - f r e es o l u t i o n ) was f o l l o w e d b y t h e a u g m e n t e d a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n s h o w n i n f . T h i s e f f e c t

r e v e r s e d when n o r m a l s o l u t i o n w a s p e r f u s e d ( g ) .

t h i r t y - s e v e n n e u r o n e s ) , m e a s u r e d a t m e m b r a n e p o t e n t i a l s r a n g i n g f r o m -4 0 mV t o

-7 0 m V ) . T h i s v a l u e f o r r 2 a g r e e s w e l l w i t h t h a t f o u n d i n t h e p r e v i o u s s t u d y ( M o r i t a

e t a l . 1 9 8 2 b ) .T h e r a t e a t w h i c h t h e c o n d u c t a n c e d e c r e a s e d d u r i n g t h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n

w a s s i m i l a r t o t h e r a t e a t w h i c h c o n d u c t a n c e d e c r e a s e d d u r i n g t h e r i s i n g p h a s e o f t h e

m u s c a r i n i c p o t e n t i a l . T 2 f o r a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n c o n d u c t a n c e d e c r e a s e was

8 0 0 - 2 5 0 0 m s ( n = 2 4 ) , a n d T , f o r m u s c a r i n i c r e s p o n s e c o n d u c t a n c e d e c r e a s e was

3 0 0 - 1 5 0 0 m s ( n = 4 5 ) . On t h e o t h e r h a n d , t h e r a t e a t w h i c h c o n d u c t a n c e i n c r e a s e dd u r i n g t h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n was much f a s t e r t h a n t h e r a t e a t w h i c h

c o n d u c t a n c e i n c r e a s e d d u r i n g r e c o v e r y o f t h e m u s c a r i n i c r e s p o n s e .

) by guest on October 27, 2010 jp.physoc.orgDownloaded from J Physiol (

8/3/2019 R.A. North and T. Tokimasa- Depression of Calcium-Dependent Potassium Conductance of Guinea-Pig Myenteric Ne…

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ra-north-and-t-tokimasa-depression-of-calcium-dependent-potassium-conductance 5/14

ACh AND Ca-DEPENDENT K PERMEABILITY 2 5 7

A

2~~~~~2~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ m V8

T~~ri'rrrm ~ r m Rm-4 5 mV

2

m~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ S

F i g . 3 . C o m p a r i s o n o f a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n w h i c h f o l l o w e d o n e a n d t w o a c t i o n

p o t e n t i a l s . A , t y p i c a l r e s u l t a t r e s t i n g membrane p o t e n t i a l (-54 m V ) . Tw o s p i k e s ( r i g h t )e v o k e d a n a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n w i t h a p e a k a m p l i t u d e a n d g K , C a a p p r o x i m a t e l y d o u b l et h a t e v o k e d b y o n e s p i k e ( l e f t ) . H o w e v e r , t h e t i m e c o u r s e s w e r e n o t d i f f e r e n t ( o n e s p i k e :' r 3 2 0 m s , r 2 1 2 7 5 m s ; two s p i k e s : r l 3 2 0 m s , T 2 1 3 1 5 m s ) . B , s i m i l a r r e s u l t s f r o m a n o t h e rn e u r o n e a t t w o d i f f e r e n t membrane p o t e n t i a l s ( r e s t i n g l e v e l w a s -70 m V ) . At b o t h

p o t e n t i a l l e v e l s , T a n d T 2 w e r e n o t c h a n g e d s i g n i f i c a n t l y b y i n c r e a s i n g t h e number o f a c t i o np o t e n t i a l s f r o m o n e t o t w o . On t h e o t h e r h a n d , t h e r e w e r e s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s i n T 2b e t w e e n -4 5 a n d -7 0 mV ( s e e M o r i t a e t a l . 1 9 8 2 b ) . T h e a c t u a l v a l u e s o f 7 2 w e r e ( f r o m

t o p t r a c e t o b o t t o m ) 1 2 2 4 , 1 3 0 0 , 3 2 0 0 a n d 3 3 0 0 m s .

I n l a t e r e x p e r i m e n t s we s t u d i e d t h e i n t e r a c t i o n b e t w e e n t h e m u s c a r i n i c a c t i o n s o f

ACh a n d t h e c a l c i u m - d e p e n d e n t 9 K . I n t h e s e e x p e r i m e n t s t h e a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l was

u s e d t o ' i n j e c t ' c a l c i u m i o n s i n t o t h e n e u r o n e , b u t i t i sa l s o p o s s i b l e t h a t t h e

m u s c a r i n i c a g o n i s t s d i r e c t l y a l t e r c a l c i u m e n t r y ( G i l e s & N o b l e , 1 9 7 6 ) . We t h e r e f o r e

f i r s t e x a m i n e d t h e e f f e c t s o f i n c r e a s i n g o r d e c r e a s i n g t h e amount o f c a l c i u m e n t r y

o n t h e t i m e c o u r s e o f t h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n . T h e d u r a t i o n o f t h e d e p o l a r i z i n g

c u r r e n t p u l s e was i n c r e a s e d s o t h a t i t e v o k e d t w o a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l s s e p a r a t e d b y

1 0 - 2 0 m s . O n e m i g h t p r e s u m e t h a t t h i s a p p r o x i m a t e l y d o u b l e d t h e amount o f

c a l c i u m e n t e r i n g t h e n e u r o n e . T h e p e a k 9 K , C a i n c r e a s e d b y 9 3 % when t w o a c t i o n

p o t e n t i a l s w e r e u s e d ( a c t u a l c o n d u c t a n c e c h a n g e w a s 1 - 9 3 + 0 - 0 7 ( n = 1 5 ) t i m e s t h a t

c a u s e d b y o n e a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l ) . H o w e v e r , i n t h e s a m e c e l l s r l a n d r 2 w e r e t h e same

w h e t h e r o n e o r t w o a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l s w e r e u s e d t o a c t i v a t e K , C a ( t h e r a t i o o f t h e

v a l u e f o r t w o s p i k e s t o t h e v a l u e f o r o n e s p i k e w a s 1 - 0 9 + 0 0 1 f o r r 1 a n d 1 - 0 7 + 0 - 0 3

f o r 7 2 ) ( F i g . 3 ) .W e a l s o u s e d c o b a l t t o c h a n g e t h e amount o f c a l c i u m e n t e r i n g t h e n e u r o n e .

F i g .4

s h o w s s u c h a n e x p e r i m e n t . I n t h e p r e s e n c e o f t e t r o d o t o x i n ( 3 0 0 n M ) t h e c a l c i u m

a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l ( N o r t h , 1 9 7 3 ; H i r s t & S p e n c e , 1 9 7 3 ) was f o l l o w e d b y a n a f t e r -

9 PH Y 3 4 2

) by guest on October 27, 2010 jp.physoc.orgDownloaded from J Physiol (

8/3/2019 R.A. North and T. Tokimasa- Depression of Calcium-Dependent Potassium Conductance of Guinea-Pig Myenteric Ne…

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ra-north-and-t-tokimasa-depression-of-calcium-dependent-potassium-conductance 6/14

R . A . NORTH AND T . TOKIMASA

h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n . P e r f u s i o n w i t h c o b a l t ( 2 0 0 / L M ) r e d u c e d t h e c a l c i u m s p i k e and p e a k

9 K , C a f e l l t o 6 9 + 5 % ( n = 4 ) o f i t s v a l u e i n t h e a b s e n c e o f c o b a l t . T h e t i m e c o n s t a n t s

o f o n s e t ( r 1 ) a n d o f f s e t ( , 2 ) o f t h e c o n d u c t a n c e c h a n g e w e r e n o t a l t e r e d b y c o b a l t i nt h e s e c e l l s ( r 1 9 8 + 1 % , r 2 9 4 + 4 % , n = 4 ) . C o n c e n t r a t i o n s o f c o b a l t g r e a t e r t h a n

4 0 0 / L M c o m p l e t e l y a b o l i s h e d t h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n ( M o r i t a e t a l . 1 9 8 2 b ) . Takent o g e t h e r , t h e s e r e s u l t s i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e p e a k g K , C a i s m o s t a f f e c t e d b y t h e amount

o f c a l c i u m e n t e r i n g t h e n e u r o n e , b u t t h e r a t e a t w h i c h g K C a r i s e s a n d f a l l s i si n s e n s i t i v e t o c h a n g e s i n c a l c i u m e n t r y .

A BaanA

0

4 ms

C C

lOmV

2 s

F i g . 4 . E f f e c t o f c o b a l t o n t h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n a n d T T X - r e s i s t a n t a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l .A , c o n t r o l . a , t r a n s m e m b r a n e c u r r e n t . b , i n t r a c e l l u l a r p o t e n t i a l . F o u r a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l se v o k e d b y i n c r e a s i n g d e p o l a r i z i n g c u r r e n t s w e r e s u p e r i m p o s e d . c , a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o nw h i c h f o l l o w e d a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l i n d i c a t e d b y o p e n c i r c l e i n b . B , i n c o b a l t ( 2 0 0 A M ) . a ,t r a n s m e m b r a n e c u r r e n t . b , i n t r a c e l l u l a r p o t e n t i a l . A c t i o n p o t e n t i a l s w e r e e v o k e d b y t h es a m e f o u r c u r r e n t s . T h e y w e r e d e p r e s s e d b y c o b a l t . c , a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n w h i c hf o l l o w e d a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l i n d i c a t e d b y o p e n c i r c l e i n b . C o b a l t d e p r e s s e d t h e p e a ka m p l i t u d e o f a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n b u t d i d n o t a f f e c t i t s t i m e c o u r s e . T e t r o d o t o x i n( 3 0 0 n M ) p r e s e n t t h r o u g h o u t .

E f f e c t o f c o o l i n g . T h e r i s i n g a n d f a l l i n g p h a s e o f t h e m u s c a r i n i c d e p o l a r i z a t i o n a r emuch p r o l o n g e d b y c o o l i n g . I f t h e s a m e c o n d u c t a n c e u n d e r l i e s t h e m u s c a r i n i c

d e p o l a r i z a t i o n a n d a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n , o n e m i g h t e x p e c t t h e t e m p e r a t u r e s e n -

s i t i v i t y o f c h a n n e l o p e n i n g a n d c l o s i n g d u r i n g t h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n t o b es i m i l a r t o t h a t o f c h a n n e l o p e n i n g a n d c l o s i n g d u r i n g m u s c a r i n i c d e p o l a r i z a t i o n . F o rt h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n Q 1 0 v a l u e s f o r r 1 a n d r 2 w e r e 3 0 3 + 0 3 4 a n d 3 - 2 6 + 0 - 3 0

( n = 5 ) . T h e s e w e r e n o t d i f f e r e n t f r o m t h e Q 1 0 f o r t h e t i m e c o n s t a n t s o f t h e

m u s c a r i n i c d e p o l a r i z a t i o n i n t h e s a m e n e u r o n e ( F i g . 5 A ) .I t c o u l d b e a r g u e d t h a t t h e p r i n c i p a l e f f e c t s o f c o o l i n g o n t h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r -

i z a t i o n r e s u l t f r o m c h a n g e s i n c a l c i u m e n t r y , s i n c e t h e a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l i s p r o l o n g e db y c o o l i n g ( F i g . 5 B ) . H o w e v e r , r e d u c i n g t h e t e m p e r a t u r e b y 1 0 I C c a u s e d a t h r e e -f o l d c h a n g e i n T 1 a n d r 2 , w h e r e a s i n c r e a s i n g ( w i t h two a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l s ) o r r e d u c i n g( w i t h c o b a l t ) t h e c a l c i u m e n t r y d i d n o t c h a n g e r , a n d r 2 ( s e e a b o v e ) .

2 5 8

) by guest on October 27, 2010 jp.physoc.orgDownloaded from J Physiol (

8/3/2019 R.A. North and T. Tokimasa- Depression of Calcium-Dependent Potassium Conductance of Guinea-Pig Myenteric Ne…

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ra-north-and-t-tokimasa-depression-of-calcium-dependent-potassium-conductance 7/14

ACh AND Ca-DEPENDENT K PERMEABILITY

A

3 61 ~ ~0 m V

2 6 -

B

a l a 23 6 =

b 1266

C 1 0 m s

1 1 nA

3 6 26 j'

-~~~~ 1 4 0 mV

F i g . 5 . E f f e c t o f c o o l i n g o n t i m e c o u r s e o f m u s c a r i n i c ACh p o t e n t i a l a n d a f t e r - h y p e r -p o l a r i z a t i o n . A , ACh w a s a p p l i e d i o n o p h o r e t i c a l l y ( 1 0 n A , 5 0 m s ; 1 0 p u l s e s a t 1 0 H z ,

i n d i c a t e d b y b a r ) . H e x a m e t h o n i u m ( 2 0 0 / L M ) . R e d u c t i o n i n t e m p e r a t u r e f r o m 3 6 t o 2 6 0 Cm a r k e d l y r e d u c e d a n d p r o l o n g e d t h e m u s c a r i n i c d e p o l a r i z a t i o n . B , a , a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r -

i z a t i o n w h i c h f o l l o w e d o n e a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l ( 1 ) a n d t w o a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l s ( 2 ) a t 3 6 ' C . b ,a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n w h i c h f o l l o w e d a s i n g l e a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l a t 2 6 ' C . A a n d B a r e f r o m

t h e s a m e n e u r o n e . C , t y p i c a l e f f e c t o f l o w e r i n g t h e t e m p e r a t u r e f r o m 3 6 t o 2 6 ' C o n a c t i o np o t e n t i a l c o n f i g u r a t i o n .

E f f e c t o f ACh o n t h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o t a r i z a t i o n

P e r f u s i o n o f A C h . We p r e v i o u s l y r e p o r t e d t h a t l o w c o n c e n t r a t i o n s o f o x o t r e m o r i n e

( < 3 0 n M ) d e p r e s s e d t h e c a l c i u m - d e p e n d e n t a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n w h i c h f o l l o w e d

a t r a i n o f a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l s ( M o r i t a e t a l . 1 9 8 2 a ) . T h i s o c c u r r e d w i t h o u t c h a n g e i n

r e s t i n g p o t e n t i a l o r i n p u t r e s i s t a n c e , a n d was r e v e r s i b l y p r e v e n t e d b y l o w c o n c e n -

t r a t i o n s ( 1 - 1 0 n M ) o f h y o s c i n e . W e e x t e n d e d t h i s f i n d i n g t o t h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r -

i z a t i o n o f a s i n g l e a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l . O x o t r e m o r i n e ( 3 0 n M ) d e c r e a s e d p e a kK ,

C a t o

7 9 + 3 % o f c o n t r o l , a n d r 2 t o 67+3 % o f c o n t r o l ( n = 7 ) . r , w a s n o t c h a n g e d . Lo w

c o n c e n t r a t i o n s ( 1 0 0 - 2 0 0 n M ) o f ACh ( i n t h e p r e s e n c e o f h e x a m e t h o n i u m , 2 0 0 / L M ) h a d

a s i m i l a r e f f e c t ( F i g . 6 ) . P e a k K , C a f e l l t o 8 4 + 2 % o f c o n t r o l , r , w a s n o t c h a n g e d a n d

r 2 f e l l t o 7 0 + 8 % o f c o n t r o l ( n = 4 ) . T h e s e c o n c e n t r a t i o n s o f ACh c a u s e d n o d e t e c t a b l e

c h a n g e i n e i t h e r t h e n o r m a l o r t h e T T X - r e s i s t a n t a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l ( F i g . 6 ) , s u g g e s t i n g

t h a t t h e r e d u c t i o n i n a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n w a s n o t a c o n s e q u e n c e o f r e d u c e d

c a l c i u m e n t r y .

H i g h e r c o n c e n t r a t i o n s o f ACh ( 1 - 3 / L M ) , i n t h e p r e s e n c e o f h e x a m e t h o n i u m

( 2 0 0 / Z M ) , d e p o l a r i z e d t h e membrane b y 3 - 7 mV a n d i n c r e a s e d t h e i n p u t r e s i s t a n c e

( < 2 0 % ) . S u c h c o n c e n t r a t i o n s o f ACh o n l y s l i g h t l y r e d u c e d t h e T T X - r e s i s t a n ta c t i o n p o t e n t i a l , b u t t h e y m a r k e d l y s h o r t e n e d t h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n ; p e a k

Y K , C a f e l l t o 7 2 + 7 % , a n d 7 2 w a s r e d u c e d t o 4 1 + 8 % o f c o n t r o l . r 1 w a s n o t c h a n g e d( n = 4 ) ( F i g . 7 ) . 9 - 2

2 5 9

) by guest on October 27, 2010 jp.physoc.orgDownloaded from J Physiol (

8/3/2019 R.A. North and T. Tokimasa- Depression of Calcium-Dependent Potassium Conductance of Guinea-Pig Myenteric Ne…

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ra-north-and-t-tokimasa-depression-of-calcium-dependent-potassium-conductance 8/14

R . A . NORTH AND T . TOKIMASA

A

a b C -1 0 mV

2 s

B

a

b

1 0 m V

2sC

4 m sd e f-~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ n a A n>w _ C 2 < C ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 4 0V

F i g . 6 . T h e e f f e c t o f a l o w c o n c e n t r a t i o n o f ACh ( 1 0 0 n M ) o n t h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n .A , a , c o n t r o l . b , d u r i n g p e r f u s i o n w i t h ACh ( 1 0 0 n M ) . c , w a s h . B , a n o t h e r c e l l , i n t h e

p r e s e n c e o f t e t r o d o t o x i n ( 3 0 0 n M ) . a , c o n t r o l . b , p e r f u s i o n w i t h ACh ( 1 0 0 n M ) . c , w a s h . d - f ,o s c i l l o s c o p e p h o t o g r a p h s o f t h e a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l s . T o p t r a c e , c u r r e n t . B o t t o m t r a c e ,p o t e n t i a l . I n e a c h p a n e l a d e p o l a r i z i n g p u l s e i s s u p e r i m p o s e d o n t h e b e g i n n i n g o f a

h y p e r p o l a r i z i n g p u l s e w h i c h e x t e n d s b e y o n d t h e p e r i o d s h o w n . d , c o n t r o l . e , ACh ( 1 0 0 n M ) .f , w a s h . T h e r e d u c t i o n i n t h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n i n b w a s n o t a c c o m p a n i e d b y a n yc h a n g e i n t h e c a l c i u m s p i k e ( e ) .

T h e s e o b s e r v a t i o n s s h o w t h a t when t h e c o n c e n t r a t i o n o f ACh i s h i g h e n o u g h t o

d e p o l a r i z e t h e m e m b r a n e , a d e p r e s s i o n o f v o l t a g e - s e n s i t i v e c a l c i u m e n t r y a l s o o c c u r s .T h i s c o u l d r e s u l t i n t h e r e d u c t i o n o f t h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n . I t i s d i f f i c u l t t o

e x c l u d e t h e p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t e v e n l o w c o n c e n t r a t i o n s o f ACh m i g h t d e p r e s s c a l c i u m

e n t r y e v e n t h o u g h n o c h a n g e w a s d e t e c t e d i n t h e c o n f i g u r a t i o n o f t h e T T X - r e s i s t a n t

a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l . H o w e v e r , i t s h o u l d b e s t r e s s e d t h a t a r e d u c t i o n i n c a l c i u m e n t r y

b y c o b a l t w h i c h d e p r e s s e d p e a k g K , C a b y 3 0 % c a u s e d n o c h a n g e i n r 2 ( s e e a b o v e ) .

A h i g h c o n c e n t r a t i o n o f ACh w h i c h d e p r e s s e d q K C a t o a s i m i l a r d e g r e e r e d u c e d r 2

t o 5 0 % o f i t s c o n t r o l v a l u e .I o n o p h o r e s i s o f A C h . F u r t h e r e v i d e n c e t h a t a r e d u c t i o n i n c a l c i u m e n t r y was n o t

i n v o l v e d i n t h e d e p r e s s i o n o f t h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n w a s p r o v i d e d b y e x p e r i -m e n t s i n w h i c h t h e ACh was a p p l i e d a f t e r t h e a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l s u s e d t o i n d u c e t h e s l o w

a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n . T h i s e x p e r i m e n t t o o k a d v a n t a g e o f t h e v e r y l o n g t i m e

c o u r s e o f t h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n o f t h e m y e n t e r i c n e u r o n e s . T h e r e s u l t i s s h o w n

i n F i g . 8 . T h e c o n d u c t a n c e i n c r e a s e a c t i v a t e d b y c a l c i u m e n t r y w a s c u t s h o r t b y t h e

m u s c a r i n i c a c t i o n o f A C h , e v e n t h o u g h t h e ACh was a p p l i e d a f t e r t h e a c t i o n

p o t e n t i a l . T h e d e g r e e o f t r u n c a t i o n o f t h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n was more t h a nw o u l d b e e x p e c t e d f r o m t h e l i n e a r a d d i t i o n o f t h e o p p o s i n g c o n d u c t a n c e s .

B a r i u m m i m i c s A C h . The m u s c a r i n i c d e p o l a r i z a t i o n c a n b e m i m i c k e d b y b a r i u m

2 6 0

) by guest on October 27, 2010 jp.physoc.orgDownloaded from J Physiol (

8/3/2019 R.A. North and T. Tokimasa- Depression of Calcium-Dependent Potassium Conductance of Guinea-Pig Myenteric Ne…

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ra-north-and-t-tokimasa-depression-of-calcium-dependent-potassium-conductance 9/14

ACh AND Ca-DEPENDENT K PERMEABILITY 2 6 1

A

1 0 mV

B 2 s

a b C _ O * 5 n A

i 3 0 m V

4 s

1 0 MV

4 m s

F i g . 7 . T h e e f f e c t s o f a h i g h e r c o n c e n t r a t i o n o f ACh ( 3 / S M ) o n t h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o na n d o n t h e T T X - r e s i s t a n t a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l . A , a , c o n t r o l . b , ACh ( 3 / M ) d e p o l a r i z e d t h e

membrane b y 5 mV. T h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n w a s r e c o r d e d a f t e r r e s t o r i n g t h e

p o t e n t i a l t o i t s c o n t r o l l e v e l w i t h h y p e r p o l a r i z i n g c u r r e n t . c , w a s h . B , a d i f f e r e n t n e u r o n e .

a - c , o s c i l l o s c o p e p h o t o g r a p h s . U p p e r t r a c e , c u r r e n t . L o w e r t r a c e , p o t e n t i a l . I n e a c h p a n e l ,a d e p o l a r i z i n g p u l s e ( 1 n A ) i s s u p e r i m p o s e d o n t h e b e g i n n i n g o f a l o n g e r h y p e r p o l a r i z i n gp u l s e w h i c h o u t l a s t s t h e p e r i o d s h o w n . T e t r o d o t o x i n ( 3 0 0 n M ) p r e s e n t t h r o u g h o u t .a , c o n t r o l . b , ACh ( 3 / S M ) d e p o l a r i z e d t h e m e m b r a n e b y 5 mV. A c t i o n p o t e n t i a l was

r e c o r d e d a f t e r r e s t o r a t i o n t o t h e o r i g i n a l membrane p o t e n t i a l . c , w a s h o u t . T h e

T T X - r e s i s t a n t a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l was s l i g h t l y d e p r e s s e d b y A C h . d - f , a f t e r - h y p e r -p o l a r i z a t i o n e v o k e d b y t h e s p i k e s s h o w n i n a - c . d , c o n t r o l . e , A C h . f , w a s h .

( C o n s t a n t i , Adams & B r o w n , 1 9 8 1 ) . B a r i u m i o n s a r e known t o b l o c k c a l c i u m - a c t i v a t e d

p o t a s s i u m c u r r e n t s i n m o l l u s c a n n e u r o n e s ( H e r m a n n & G o r m a n , 1 9 7 9 ) , a n d we

t h e r e f o r e e x a m i n e d t h e e f f e c t o f b a r i u m o n 9 K , C a B a r i u m d o s e - d e p e n d e n t l y s u p p r e s s e d

9 K , C a ( F i g . 9 ) . At 1 0 / M , t h i s o c c u r r e d w i t h o u t c h a n g e i n r e s t i n g c o n d u c t a n c e o r a c t i o n

p o t e n t i a l wave f o r m . At 1 0 0 / M a n d 1 mm, t h e r e s t i n g c o n d u c t a n c e o f t h e membrane

d e c r e a s e d , a n d t h e a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l w a s p r o l o n g e d ( F i g . 9 ) . T h e s e e f f e c t s a r e t h e r e f o r e

c l o s e l y a n a l o g o u s t o t h o s e o f A C h . T h e m o s t s e n s i t i v e m e a s u r e o f t h e i r e f f e c t s i s

s u p p r e s s i o n o f 9 K , C a ' a n d a t h i g h e r c o n c e n t r a t i o n s ' r e s t i n g ' c o n d u c t a n c e a n d s p i k er e p o l a r i z a t i o n a r e a l s o a f f e c t e d .

E f f e c t o f a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n o n r e s p o n s e t o ACh

T h e a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l p r o v i d e s a means o f i n j e c t i n g c a l c i u m i n t o t h e c e l l d u r i n g t h e

c o u r s e o f t h e m u s c a r i n i c d e p o l a r i z a t i o n . I f t h e m u s c a r i n i c e f f e c t i s i n d e p e n d e n t o f

i n t r a c e l l u l a r c a l c i u m , t h e n t h e c o n d u c t a n c e c h a n g e s r e s u l t i n g f r o m c a l c i u m e n t r y

s h o u l d a d d a l g e b r a i c a l l y w i t h t h o s e d u e t o A C h . F i g . 1 0 s h o w s t h a t t h e m u s c a r i n i c

c o n d u c t a n c e d e c r e a s e i s c u t s h o r t b y c a l c i u m e n t r y , a n d t h a t t h i s c a n n o t b e a c c o u n t e d

s i m p l y b y a d d i t i o n o f c o n d u c t a n c e s . T h i s i m p l i e s t h a t a s u d d e n i n c r e a s e i n i n t r a c e l l u l a r

c a l c i u m i m p a i r s t h e m e c h a n i s m t h r o u g h w h i c h ACh c l o s e s p o t a s s i u m c h a n n e l s .

) by guest on October 27, 2010 jp.physoc.orgDownloaded from J Physiol (

8/3/2019 R.A. North and T. Tokimasa- Depression of Calcium-Dependent Potassium Conductance of Guinea-Pig Myenteric Ne…

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ra-north-and-t-tokimasa-depression-of-calcium-dependent-potassium-conductance 10/14

R . A . NORTH AND T . TOKIMASA

A

a

i i - 3 - r i i i 1 - l - l - ~ l l 1 1 1 1 i t V l i l i l l l i ~ l - i l l l i l I l l l - i i i l i i l h l ll l~ h h I l h l i i i l 1 l l 1 1 1 > 1 7I I I , - I T T O T 1 1 1 W W R I I I I I I 1 1 1 1 1 l i i i

AChc

d

B -25- ,p. __

2s

20-

c ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ T i m es )

1 5

F i g . 8 . ACh r e d u c e s t h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n e v e n w h e n a p p l i e d a f t e r c a l c i u m e n t r yo c c u r s . A , a , c o n t r o l a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n f o l l o w i n g o n e a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l . b , c o n t r o l

m u s c a r i n i c r e s p o n s e ( 1 2 n A , 5 0 0 m s , i n d i c a t e d b y b a r ) . c , a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l w a s e v o k e d b y

s t i m u l a t i o n 2 0 m s a f t e r b e g i n n i n g ACh i o n o p h o r e s i s . T h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n was c u ts h o r t . d , a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l w a s e v o k e d 2 0 m s b e f o r e b e g i n n i n g ACh i o n o p h o r e s i s . ACh h a st h e s a m e e f f e c t a s i n c . B , e f f e c t o f ACh o f g I K , C a ' m e a s u r e d f r o m r e c o r d s i n A . O r d i n a t e ,membrane c o n d u c t a n c e . A b s c i s s a , t i m e a f t e r s p i k e o r b e g i n n i n g o f ACh p u l s e ( 2 0 m ss e p a r a t i o n i s i g n o r e d ) . T r a c e 1 ( @ ) i s t h e t i m e c o u r s e o f t h e c o n d u c t a n c e i n c r e a s e ( g K , C a )u n d e r l y i n g t h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n . T r a c e 2 ( U ) i s t h e r i s i n g p a r t o f t h e A C h - i n d u c e dc o n d u c t a n c e d e c r e a s e . 0 , t h e a l g e b r a i c su m o f 1 a n d 2 . T r a c e 4 ( A ) i s t h e o b s e r v e dc o n d u c t a n c e c h a n g e f r o m r e c o r d A d . T h e m u s c a r i n i c a c t i o n o f ACh c a u s e s 9 K , C a t o d e c l i n em o r e r a p i d l y t h a n e x p e c t e d f r o m s i m p l e a l g e b r a i c a d d i t i o n o f c o n d u c t a n c e s ( s h a d e d a r e a ) .

DISCUSSION

The f i n d i n g s c o n f i r m o u r e a r l i e r r e p o r t t h a t ACh a n d o t h e r m u s c a r i n i c a g o n i s t sr e d u c e a p o t a s s i u m c o n d u c t a n c e w h i c h i s e s s e n t i a l l y v o l t a g e - i n d e p e n d e n t w i t h i n t h e

r a n g e o f -6 0 t o -9 0 mV ( M o r i t a e t a l . 1 9 8 2 a ) . T h i s a c t i o n i s n o t u n i q u e t o

A C h : i t i s s h a r e d b y b a r i u m ( M o r i t a e t a l . 1 9 8 2 a ) , s u b s t a n c e P ( K a t a y a m a ,N o r t h & W i l l i a m s , 1 9 7 9 ) , n e u r o t e n s i n ( W i l l i a m s , K a t a y a m a & N o r t h , 1 9 7 9 ) a n d

5 - h y d r o x y t r y p t a m i n e ( 5 - H T ) ( J o h n s o n , K a t a y a m a & N o r t h , 1 9 8 0 ) . B o t h s u b s t a n c e

P ( K a t a y a m a e t a l . 1 9 7 9 ) a n d 5-HT ( W o o d & M a y e r , 1 9 7 9 ) h a v e a l s o b e e n s h o w n t o

r e d u c e c a l c i u m - d e p e n d e n t a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n s ; i n t h e c a s e o f s u b s t a n c e P , t h e

c o n c e n t r a t i o n r e q u i r e d t o i n h i b i t t h e c a l c i u m - d e p e n d e n t a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n( 1 0 n M ) was l o w e r t h a n t h a t r e q u i r e d t o r e d u c e t h e r e s t i n g p o t a s s i u m c o n d u c t a n c e( T o k i m a s a , C h e r u b i n i & N o r t h , 1 9 8 2 ) . T h e p r e s e n t e x p e r i m e n t s i n d i c a t e t h a t

ACh a n d b a r i u m a l s o r e d u c e c a l c i u m - d e p e n d e n t a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n s , a n d t h e i r

2 6 2

) by guest on October 27, 2010 jp.physoc.orgDownloaded from J Physiol (

8/3/2019 R.A. North and T. Tokimasa- Depression of Calcium-Dependent Potassium Conductance of Guinea-Pig Myenteric Ne…

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ra-north-and-t-tokimasa-depression-of-calcium-dependent-potassium-conductance 11/14

ACh AND Ca-DEPENDENT K PERMEABILITY 2 6 3

A

4 s

B

a b _ c d 4 m s- - _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 1A

t /\ 1\a > 4 0 mV

F i g . 9 . B a r i u m d e p r e s s e s t h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n . A , a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n s w e r e

e v o k e d b y s i n g l e a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l s . a , c o n t r o l , b , b a r i u m ( 1 0 S M ) . c , b a r i u m ( 1 0 0 / z M ) . d ,b a r i u m ( 1 m M ) . I n c a n d d t h e membrane p o t e n t i a l w a s r e s t o r e d t o i t s c o n t r o l l e v e l b e f o r e

e v o k i n g t h e s p i k e b e c a u s e b a r i u m d e p o l a r i z e d t h e c e l l b y 7 a n d 2 5 mV r e s p e c t i v e l y . B ,o s c i l l o s c o p e r e c o r d s o f t h e s p i k e s i n A . Top t r a c e , c u r r e n t . Bottom t r a c e , p o t e n t i a l . a ,c o n t r o l . b , b a r i u m ( 1 0 S M ) . c , b a r i u m ( 1 0 0 u M ) . d , b a r i u m ( 1 m M ) . B a r i u m c a u s e d a

p r o g r e s s i v e i n c r e a s e i n s p i k e d u r a t i o n a n d t h i s w a s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a b o l i t i o n o f t h e

a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n . N o t i c e t h a t 1 0 / S M b a r i u m r e d u c e d t h e d u r a t i o n o f t h e a f t e r -h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n w i t h o u t a f f e c t i n g t h e a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l .

u n d e r l y i n g i n c r e a s e i n g K , C a ' a t c o n c e n t r a t i o n s l o w e r t h a n t h o s e w h i c h i n a c t i v a t e

r e s t i n g p o t a s s i u m c o n d u c t a n c e .

D o e s t h e i n h i b i t i o n o f q K , C a r e s u l t f r o m a r e d u c t i o n o f c a l c i u m e n t r y ? T h i s i s a

p a r t i c u l a r l y r e l e v a n t q u e s t i o n s i n c e G i l e s & N o b l e ( 1 9 7 6 ) h a v e s h o w n t h a t l o w

c o n c e n t r a t i o n s o f ACh i m p a i r c a l c i u m e n t r y i n c a r d i a c m u s c l e ( i n t h a t t i s s u e , h i g h e r

c o n c e n t r a t i o n s i n c r e a s e Y K ) . C h a n g i n g t h e amount o f c a l c i u m e n t r y b y c h a n g i n g t h e

number o f a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l s , o r b y u s i n g l o w c o n c e n t r a t i o n s o f c o b a l t , c h a n g e d t h e

p e a k 9 K , C a i n t h e e x p e c t e d way b u t d i d n o t c h a n g e t h e t i m e c o u r s e o f c l o s u r e o f

t h e p o t a s s i u m c h a n n e l s o p e n e d b y t h e e n t e r i n g c a l c i u m . I n c o n t r a s t , ACh i n c r e a s e d

t h e r a t e o f c l o s u r e o f p o t a s s i u m c h a n n e l s . T h u s , we c o n c l u d e t h a t t h e o b s e r v e d a c t i o n

o f ACh d o e s n o t r e s u l t f r o m p r i m a r y e f f e c t s o n c a l c i u m e n t r y .

A r e t h e same o r d i f f e r e n t c h a n n e l s o p e n e d b y c a l c i u m a n d c l o s e d b y ACh? The t i m e

c o u r s e w i t h w h i c h t h e c o n d u c t a n c e d e c r e a s e d i n t h er i s i n g

p h a s e o f t h e m u s c a r i n i c

r e s p o n s e was c o r r e l a t e d w i t h t h e t i m e c o u r s e w i t h w h i c h t h e c o n d u c t a n c e d e c r e a s e d

d u r i n g t h e d e c l i n e o f t h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n . N e i t h e r c o n d u c t a n c e a p p e a r s t o b e

s t r o n g l y v o l t a g e s e n s i t i v e ( M o r i t a e t a l . 1 9 8 2 a , b ) . T h e t i m e c o u r s e o f b o t h c o n d u c t a n c e

c h a n g e s was s i m i l a r l y a f f e c t e d b y c o o l i n g . F u r t h e r m o r e , t h e r e a r e t w o a s p e c t s o f t h e

p r e s e n t r e s u l t s w h i c h c a n n o t b e e x p l a i n e d o n t h e a s s u m p t i o n t h a t ACh c l o s e s a n d

c a l c i u m o p e n s s e p a r a t e p o p u l a t i o n s o f p o t a s s i u m c h a n n e l s . F i r s t , t h e a b i l i t y o f

c a l c i u m i o n s t o i n c r e a s e p e a k K , C a was h a r d l y i m p a i r e d b y A C h ; t h e p r i m a r y e f f e c twas on t h e r a t e a t w h i c h t h e c o n d u c t a n c e f e l l b a c k t o i t s c o n t r o l l e v e l . S e c o n d l y ,

c o n c e n t r a t i o n s o f ACh ( o r B a ) w h i c h w e r e t o o l o w t o r e d u c e r e s t i n g g K a c c e l e r a t e d

t h e d e c l i n e o f t h e K , C a i n c r e a s e d b y c a l c i u m e n t r y . R e s t i n g p o t a s s i u m c h a n n e l s c o u l db e c l o s e d b y ACh a n d b a r i u m o n l y when t h e a g o n i s t c o n c e n t r a t i o n s w e r e r a i s e d .

I n b u l l - f r o g s y m p a t h e t i c g a n g l i o n c e l l s , i t h a s b e e n a r g u e d t h a t t h e c h a n n e l s c l o s e d

) by guest on October 27, 2010 jp.physoc.orgDownloaded from J Physiol (

8/3/2019 R.A. North and T. Tokimasa- Depression of Calcium-Dependent Potassium Conductance of Guinea-Pig Myenteric Ne…

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ra-north-and-t-tokimasa-depression-of-calcium-dependent-potassium-conductance 12/14

R . A . NORTH AND T . TOKIMASA

A

. a _ _ _ - - - - - - - - 1 m V

i l I I ~ 1 1 1 I I I I I 1 1 1 1 0 - 01 1 1 1 1 i 1 1 1 l T I I mc~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I

r m ~ - a i l l ~ l T I l l O 1 1 1 P 1 t 1 I ^ I - I I T I 1 O 1 1 - 1 1 H I T I T I T 1 - 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 F M M M M "

d |

B

o25

C

05s ---I

F i g . 1 0 . C a l c i u m e n t r y c u t s s h o r t t h e m u s c a r i n i c d e p o l a r i z a t i o n . A , a , c o n t r o l a f t e r -h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n e v o k e d b y t h r e e s p i k e s . b , c o n t r o l m u s c a r i n i c d e p o l a r i z a t i o n ( A C hi o n o p h o r e s i s 1 2 n A , 5 0 0 m s , b a r ) . T h e t o t a l d u r a t i o n o f t h e m u s c a r i n i c r e s p o n s e w a s 4 0 s ,a n d i s i n d i c a t e d b y d o t t e d r e c o r d i n g s . c , same ACh a p p l i c a t i o n , f o l l o w e d 4 s l a t e r b y t h r e e

e v o k e d s p i k e s . T h e ACh d e p o l a r i z a t i o n w a s c u t s h o r t b y 50%. d , c o n t r o l a f t e r - h y p e r -p o l a r i z a t i o n e v o k e d b y t h r e e s p i k e s when t h e membrane w a s h e l d 5 mV d e p o l a r i z e d i ns i m u l a t i o n o f t h e m u s c a r i n i c r e s p o n s e . B , e f f e c t o f c a l c i u m e n t r y o n g K d e c r e a s e , m e a s u r e d

f r o m A . A b s c i s s a , membrane c o n d u c t a n c e . O r d i n a t e , t i m e a f t e r ACh i o n o p h o r e s i s . T r a c e

2 ( U ) i s t h e t i m e c o u r s e o f t h e m u s c a r i n i c c o n d u c t a n c e c h a n g e ( A C h ) . T r a c e 4 ( 0 ) i s t h et i m e c o u r s e o f t h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n . 0 , t h e a l g e b r a i c s u m o f t r a c e s 2 a n d 4 , w h i c h

w o u l d b e e x p e c t e d a s t h e r e s u l t o f t w o i n d e p e n d e n t c o n d u c t a n c e c h a n g e s . T r a c e 3 ( A )i s t h e o b s e r v e d c o n d u c t a n c e c h a n g e . C a l c i u m e n t r y i m p a i r s t h e p r o c e s s w h e r e b y ACh l e a d s

t o g K i n a c t i v a t i o n , l e a d i n g t o a m a r k e d r e d u c t i o n i n t h e d u r a t i o n o f t h e m u s c a r i n i c

d e p o l a r i z a t i o n .

b y m u s c a r i n i c a g o n i s t s a r e d i s t i n c t f r o m t h o s e a c t i v a t e d b y c a l c i u m i n j e c t i o n ( B r o w n

& A d a m s , 1 9 8 0 ; A d a m s , C o n s t a n t i , Brown & C l a r k , 1 9 8 2 ) b u t K o k e t s u , A k a s u &

M i y a g a w a ( 1 9 8 2 ) f o u n d t h a t t h e s p o n t a n e o u s o u t w a r d c u r r e n t s a c t i v a t e d b y c a f f e i n e ,

w h i c h a r e known t o r e s u l t f r o m e l e v a t i o n s i n i n t r a c e l l u l a r c a l c i u m , w e r e d e p r e s s e db y 1 , u M - A C h . I n d e e d , K o k e t s u e t a l . ( 1 9 8 2 ) f o u n d t h a t p o t a s s i u m c o n d u c t a n c e s

g e n e r a l l y r e f e r r e d t o a s g K v ( t h e d e l a y e d r e c t i f i e r ) a n d g K , m ( t h e c o n d u c t a n c e c l o s e d

b y m u s c a r i n i c a g o n i s t s ) w e r e b o t h i n c r e a s e d d u r i n g t h e c a f f e i n e - i n d u c e d c a l c i u m

r e l e a s e .I f t h e same c o n d u c t a n c e i s a f f e c t e d b o t h b y i n t r a c e l l u l a r c a l c i u m a n d A C h , how

d o e s ACh c l o s e c h a n n e l s o p e n e d b y i n t r a c e l l u l a r c a l c i u m ? T h e e x p o n e n t i a l r i s e a n d

f a l l O f r K , C a f o l l o w i n g a n a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l i s s u g g e s t i v e o f a t w o - c o m p a r t m e n t m o d e l

i n w h i c h 9 K , C a i s d e t e r m i n e d b y t h e c a l c i u m c o n c e n t r a t i o n i n t h e s e c o n d c o m p a r t m e n t .

The f i r s t c o m p a r t m e n t m i g h t b e a s s u m e d t o b e t h e c y t o p l a s m i m m e d i a t e l y b e n e a t h

t h e m e m b r a n e , w h i c h i s i n s t a n t a n e o u s l y l o a d e d w i t h c a l c i u m a t t h e t i m e o f t h e a c t i o n

p o t e n t i a l ; t h e s e c o n d c o m p a r t m e n t m i g h t b e t h e b i n d i n g s i t e ( X ) o n t h e i n n e r s u r f a c eo f t h e membrane w h i c h i s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e p o t a s s i u m c h a n n e l . W i t h i n s u c h a

2 6 4

) by guest on October 27, 2010 jp.physoc.orgDownloaded from J Physiol (

8/3/2019 R.A. North and T. Tokimasa- Depression of Calcium-Dependent Potassium Conductance of Guinea-Pig Myenteric Ne…

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ra-north-and-t-tokimasa-depression-of-calcium-dependent-potassium-conductance 13/14

ACh AND Ca-DEPENDENT K PERMEABILITY

f r a m e w o r k , ACh m a y s h o r t e n t h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n b y i n c r e a s i n g t h e r a t e a t

w h i c h c a l c i u m l e a v e s t h e s e c o n d c o m p a r t m e n t . H i g h e r c o n c e n t r a t i o n s o f ACh m a y

r e d u c e r e s t i n g p o t a s s i u m c o n d u c t a n c e b y c a u s i n g d i s s o c i a t i o n o f c a l c i u m n o r m a l l y

b o u n d t o s i t e X w h i c h i s h o l d i n g o p e n s o m e p o t a s s i u m c h a n n e l s .

H o w d o e s b a r i u m r e d u c e t h e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n ? C o n s i d e r a b l e e v i d e n c e

s u p p o r t s t h e i d e a t h a t b a r i u m i o n s c o m p e t e w i t h c a l c i u m f o r t h e s i t e X w h i c h i sa s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e o p e n p o t a s s i u m c h a n n e l ( G o r m a n & H e r m a n n , 1 9 7 9 ; Hermann

& G o r m a n , 1 9 7 9 ) . We f o u n d t h a t l o w c o n c e n t r a t i o n s o f b a r i u m s h o r t e n e d t h e

d u r a t i o n o f t h e a f t e r - h y p e r p ol a r i z a t i o n ; h i g h e r c o n c e n t r a t i o n s c o m p l e t e l y b l o c k e d i t

d e s p i t e t h e i n c r e a s e d c a l c i u m e n t r y w h i c h m i g h t b e p r e s u m e d t o r e s u l t f r o m s p i k e

b r o a d e n i n g . We c o n s i d e r t h a t b a r i u m h a d t o e n t e r t h e n e u r o n e i n o r d e r t o a c t , s i n c ei t s a c t i o n t o r e d u c e r e s t i n g g K w a s b l o c k e d b y c o b a l t . I n t h i s c a s e , t h e b a r i u m m a y

a c t s i m p l y a s a c o m p e t i t i v e i n h i b i t o r o f c a l c i u m b i n d i n g t o s i t e X . E h l e r t , R o e s k e

& Yamamura ( 1 9 8 1 ) h a v e c a l c u l a t e d t h e e f f e c t s o f a c o m p e t i t i v e i n h i b i t o r o n t h e t i m e

c o u r s e o f b i n d i n g o f a d r u g . T h e i r r e s u l t s s u g g e s t t h a t t h e a s s o c i a t i o n r a t e c o n s t a n t

f o r c a l c i u m w o u l d b e u n a f f e c t e d b y b a r i u m ; t h e p r i n c i p a l e f f e c t o f t h e p r e s e n c e o f

b a r i u m w o u l d b e t o i n c r e a s e t h e r a t e o f d i s s o c i a t i o n o f c a l c i u m f r o m s i t e X . T h e e f f e c t s

o f h i g h e r c o n c e n t r a t i o n s o f b a r i u m m i g h t b e i n t e r p r e t e d s i m i l a r l y t o t h o s e o f A C h .

T h a t i s , p o t a s s i u m c h a n n e l s w h i c h c l o s e a r e t h o s e w h i c h a r e n o r m a l l y h e l d o p e n b y

a s s o c i a t i o n o f c a l c i u m i o n s t o s i t e X .

On t h e o t h e r h a n d , i t i s w e l l known t h a t b a r i u m i o n s c a n c l o s e p o t a s s i u m c h a n n e l s

d i r e c t l y , a p p a r e n t l y b y e n t e r i n g a n d b l o c k i n g t h e m ( E a t o n & B r o d w i c k , 1 9 8 0 ;

A r m s t r o n g & T a y l o r , 1 9 8 0 ) . T h e c o n c e n t r a t i o n s u s e d i n t h o s e s t u d i e s a r e c o n s i d e r a b l y

h i g h e r t h a n t h o s e w h i c h a r e e f f e c t i v e i n m y e n t e r i c n e u r o n e s . I t m a y b e t h a t

i n t e r a c t i o n s w i t h

g K c aa r e r e a d i l y d e t e c t a b l e i n m y e n t e r i c n e u r o n e s s i m p l y b e c a u s e

t h e s e c e l l s h a v e a more p r o m i n e n t g K , C a t h a n m o s t o t h e r n e u r o n e s ( N i s h i & N o r t h ,

1 9 7 3 ; M o r i t a e t a l . 1 9 8 2 a ) .

Among v a r i o u s t i s s u e s m u s c a r i n i c a g o n i s t s h a v e q u i t e d i f f e r e n t e f f e c t s o n membrane

i o n c h a n n e l s . O u r f i n d i n g s a r e m o s t s i m i l a r t o t h o s e w h i c h o c c u r i n mammalian c e n t r a ln e r v e c e l l s ( K r n j e v i c e t a l . 1 9 7 1 ; Dodd e t a l . 1 9 8 1 ; B e r n a r d o & P r i n c e , 1 9 8 2 ; H a l l i w e l l& A d a m s , 1 9 8 2 ; S e g a l , 1 9 8 2 ) i n w h i c h t h e p r e d o m i n a n t a c t i o n a p p e a r s t o b e

p o t a s s i u m c h a n n e l c l o s u r e . The p h y s i o l o g i c a l s i g n i f i c a n c e o f t h e s e l e c t i v e r e d u c t i o n

i n s p i k e a f t e r - h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n a t l o w c o n c e n t r a t i o n s r e m a i n s t o b e a s s e s s e d , b u t

s u c h a m e c h a n i s m o f a c t i o n d o e s p r o v i d e ACh w i t h a means o f i n c r e a s i n g t h e r a t e o f

a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l d i s c h a r g e w i t h o u t n e c e s s a r i l y c a u s i n g m e m b r a n e d e p o l a r i z a t i o n .When t h e ACh c o n c e n t r a t i o n b e c o m e s h i g h e n o u g h t o c a u s e d e p o l a r i z a t i o n t o

t h r e s h o l d , t h e a c c o m p a n y i n g i n h i b i t i o n o f o u t w a r d c u r r e n t s a c t i v a t e d b y c a l c i u m

e n t r y d u r i n g t h e s p i k e w i l l c a u s e t h e n e u r o n e t o m a i n t a i n a h i g h f r e q u e n c y o f

d i s c h a r g e .

S u p p o r t e d b y U . S . D e p a r t m e n t o f H e a l t h a n d H u m a n S e r v i c e s G r a n t s NS 1 8 1 1 1 a n d DA 0 3 1 6 0 .

REFERENCES

A D A M S , P . R . , C O N S T A N T I , A . , B R O W N , D . A . & C L A R K , R . B . ( 1 9 8 2 ) . I n t r a c e l l u l a r Ca a c t i v a t e s a

f a s t v o l t a g e - s e n s i t i v e K c u r r e n t i n v e r t e b r a t e s y m p a t h e t i c n e u r o n e s . N a t u r e , L o n d . 2 9 6 , 7 4 6 - 7 4 9 .

A R M S T R O N G , C . M . & T A Y L O R , S . R . ( 1 9 8 0 ) . I n t e r a c t i o n o f b a r i u m i o n s w i t h p o t a s s i u m c h a n n e l s

i n s q u i d g i a n t a x o n s . B i o p h y 8 . J . 3 0 , 4 7 3 - 4 8 8 .

2 6 5

) by guest on October 27, 2010 jp.physoc.orgDownloaded from J Physiol (

8/3/2019 R.A. North and T. Tokimasa- Depression of Calcium-Dependent Potassium Conductance of Guinea-Pig Myenteric Ne…

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ra-north-and-t-tokimasa-depression-of-calcium-dependent-potassium-conductance 14/14

R . A . NORTH AND T . TOKIMASA

B E R N A R D O , L . S . & P R I N C E , D . A . ( 1 9 8 2 ) . I o n i c m e c h a n i s m s o f c h o l i n e r g i c e x c i t a t i o n i n ma mma li a nh i p p o c a m p a l p y r a m i d a l c e l l s . B r a i n R e 8 . 2 4 9 , 3 3 3 - 3 4 4 .

B R O W N , D . A . & A D A M S , P . R . ( 1 9 8 0 ) . M u s c a r i n i c s u p p r e s s i o n o f a n o v e l v o l t a g e - s e n s i t i v e K c u r r e n ti n a v e r t e b r a t e n e u r o n e . N a t u r e , L a n d . 2 8 3 , 6 7 3 - 6 7 7 .

C O N S T A N T I , A . , A D A M S , P . R . & B R O W N , D . A . ( 1 9 8 1 ) . Why d o b a r i u m i o n s i m i t a t e a c e t y l c h o l i n e ?B r a i n R e 8 . 2 0 6 , 2 4 4 - 2 5 1 .

D O D D , J . , D I N G L E D I N E , R . & K E L L Y , J . S . ( 1 9 8 1 ) . T h e e x c i t a t o r y a c t i o n o f a c e t y l c h o l i n e o nh i p p o c a m p a l neurones o f t h e g u i n e a - p i g a n d r a t m a i n t a i n e d i n v i t r o . B r a i n R e 8 . 2 0 7 , 1 0 9 - 1 2 7 .

E A T O N , D . C . & B R O D W I C K , M . S . ( 1 9 8 0 ) . E f f e c t s o f b a r i u m on t h e p o t a s s i u m c o n d u c t a n c e o f s q u i daxon. J . g e n . P h y 8 i o l . 7 5 , 7 2 7 - 7 5 0 .

E H L E R T , F . J . , R O E S K E , W. R . & Y A M A M U R A , H . I . ( 1 9 8 1 ) . M a t h e m a t i c a l a n a l y s i s o f t h e k i n e t i c so f c o m p e t i t i v e i n h i b i t i o n i n n e u r o t r a n s m i t t e r r e c e p t o r b i n d i n g a s s a y s . M o l . P h a r m a c . 1 9 , 3 6 7 - 3 7 1 .

G I L E S , W. & N O B L E , S . J . ( 1 9 7 6 ) . C h a n g e s i n m e m b r a n e c u r r e n t s i n b u l l f r o g a t r i u m p r o d u c e d b y

a c e t y l c h o l i n e . J . P h y s i o l . 2 6 1 , 1 0 3 - 1 2 3 .

G O R M A N , A . & H E R M A N N , A . L . F . ( 1 9 7 9 ) . I n t e r n a l e f f e c t s o f d i v a l e n t c a t i o n s o n p o t a s s i u m

p e r m e a b i l i t y i n m o l l u s c a n n e u r o n e s . J . P h y . i o l . 2 9 6 , 3 9 3 - 4 1 0 .

H A L L I W E L L , J . V . & A D A M S , P . R . ( 1 9 8 2 ) . V o l t a g e c l a m p a n a l y s i s o f m u s c a r i n i c e x c i t a t i o n i nh i p p o c a m p a l n e u r o n s . B r a i n R e 8 . 2 5 0 , 7 1 - 9 2 .

H E R M A N N , A . & G O R M A N , A . L . F . ( 1 9 7 9 ) . B l o c k a d e o f v o l t a g e - d e p e n d e n t a n d C a - d e p e n d e n t Kc u r r e n t c o m p o n e n t s b y i n t e r n a l b a r i u m i n m o l l u s c a n p a c e m a k e r n e u r o n s . E x p e r i e n t i a 3 5 , 2 2 9 - 2 3 1 .

H I R S T , G . D . S . , H O L M A N , M . E . & S P E N C E , I . ( 1 9 7 4 ) . Tw o t y p e s o f n e u r o n e s i n t h e m y e n t e r i c p l e x u so f duodenum i n t h e g u i n e a - p i g . J . P h y g i o l . 2 3 6 , 3 0 3 - 3 2 6 .

H I R S T , G . D . S . & S P E N C E , I . ( 1 9 7 3 ) . C a l c i u m a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l s i n mammalian p e r i p h e r a l n e u r o n e s .

N a t u r e , L o n d . 2 4 3 , 5 4 - 5 6 .

J O H N S O N , S . M . , K A T A Y A M A , Y . , M O R I T A , K . & N O R T H , R . A . ( 1 9 8 0 ) . M e d i a t o r s o f s l o w s y n a p t i c

p o t e n t i a l s i n t h e m y e n t e r i c p l e x u s o f t h e g u i n e a - p i g i l e u m . J . P h y 8 i o l . 3 2 0 , 1 7 5 - 1 8 6 .

J O H N S O N , S . M . , K A T A Y A M A , Y . & N O R T H , R . A . ( 1 9 8 0 ) . M u l t i p l e a c t i o n s o f 5-HT o n m y e n t e r i cn e u r o n e s o f t h e g u i n e a - p i g i l e u m . J . P h y s i o l . 3 0 4 , 4 5 9 - 4 7 0 .

K A T A Y A M A , Y . , N O R T H , R . A . & W I L L I A M S , J . T . ( 1 9 7 9 ) . T h e a c t i o n o f s u b s t a n c e P o n n e u r o n e so f t h e m y e n t e r i c p l e x u s o f t h e g u i n e a - p i g s m a l l i n t e s t i n e . P r o c . R S o c . B 2 0 6 , 1 9 1 - 2 0 8 .

K O K E T S U , K . , A K A S U , T . & M I Y A G A W A , M . ( 1 9 8 2 ) . I d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f g K s y s t e m s a c t i v a t e d b y C a .B r a i n R e 8 . 2 4 3 , 3 6 9 - 3 7 2 .

K R N J E V I 6 , K . , P U M A I N , R . & R E N A U D , L . ( 1 9 7 1 ) . T h e m e c h a n i s m o f e x c i t a t i o n b y a c e t y l c h o l i n ei n t h e c e r e b r a l c o r t e x . J . P h y s i o l . 2 1 5 , 2 4 7 - 2 6 8 .

M O R I T A , K . , N O R T H , R . A . & T O K I M A S A , T . ( 1 9 8 2 a ) . M u s c a r i n i c a g o n i s t s i n a c t i v a t e p o t a s s i u mc o n d u c t a n c e o f g u i n e a - p i g m y e n t e r i c n e u r o n e s . J . P h y s i o l . 3 3 3 , 1 2 5 - 1 3 9 .

M O R I T A , K . , N O R T H , R . A . & T O K I M A S A , T . ( 1 9 8 2 b ) . T h e c a l c i u m - a c t i v a t e d p o t a s s i u m c o n d u c t a n c ei n g u i n e a - p i g m y e n t e r i c n e u r o n e s . J . P h y s i o l . 3 2 9 , 3 4 1 - 3 5 4 .

N I S H I , S . & N O R T H , R . A . ( 1 9 7 3 ) . I n t r a c e l l u l a r r e c o r d i n g f r o m t h e m y e n t e r i c p l e x u s o f g u i n e a - p i gi l e u m . J . P h y s i o l . 3 2 1 , 4 7 1 - 4 9 1 .

N O R T H , R . A . ( 1 9 7 3 ) . T h e c a l c i u m - d e p e n d e n t s l o w a f t e r h y p e r p o l a r i z a t i o n i n m y e n t e r i c n e u r o n e sw i t h t e t r o d o t o x i n - r e s i s t a n t a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l s . B r . J . P h a r m a c . 4 9 , 7 0 9 - 7 1 1 .

N O R T H , R . A . & T O K I M A S A , T . ( 1 9 8 2 ) . M u s c a r i n i c s y n a p t i c p o t e n t i a l s i n g u i n e a - p i g m y e n t e r i c p l e x u sn e u r o n e s . J . P h y s i o l . 3 3 3 , 1 5 1 - 1 5 6 .

S E G A L , M . ( 1 9 8 2 ) . M u l t i p l e a c t i o n s o f a c e t y l c h o l i n e a t a m u s c a r i n i c r e c e p t o r s t u d i e d i n t h e r a t

h i p p o c a m p a l s l i c e . B r a i n R e s . 2 4 6 , 7 7 - 8 7 .

T O K I M A S A , T . , C H E R U B I N I , E . & N O R T H , R . A . ( 1 9 8 3 ) . N i c o t i n i c d e p o l a r i z a t i o n a c t i v a t e s c a l c i u m -

d e p e n d e n t g K i n m y e n t e r i c n e u r o n e s . B r a i n R e s . 2 6 3 , 5 7 - 6 2 .

W E I G H T , F . F . & V O T A V A , J . ( 1 9 7 0 ) . S l o w s y n a p t i c e x c i t a t i o n i n s y m p a t h e t i c g a n g l i o n c e l l s :e v i d e n c e f o r s y n a p t i c i n a c t i v a t i o n o f p o t a s s i u m c o n d u c t a n c e . S c i e n c e , N . Y . 1 7 0 , 7 5 5 - 7 5 8 .

W I L L I A M S , J . T . , K A T A Y A M A , Y . & N O R T H , R . A . ( 1 9 7 9 ) . T h e a c t i o n s o f n e u r o t e n s i n on s i n g l em y e n t e r i c neurones. E u r . J . P h a r m a c o l . 5 9 , 1 8 1 - 1 8 6 .

W O O D , J . D . & M A Y E R , C . J . ( 1 9 7 9 ) . S e r o t o n e r g i c a c t i v a t i o n o f t o n i c - t y p e e n t e r i c n e u r o n s i ng u i n e a - p i g s m a l l b o w e l l . J . N e u r o p h y s i o l . 4 2 , 5 8 2 - 5 9 3 .

2 6 6

) by guest on October 27 2010jp physoc orgDownloaded from J Physiol (