Kinetics of 9-aminoacridine block of single Na channels

Octanol modulation of neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor single channels

BACKGROUND

We have previously shown that alcohols exert a dual action on neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (AChRs), with short-chain alcohols potentiating and long-chain alcohols inhibiting acetylcholine (ACh)-induced whole-cell currents. At the single-channel level, ethanol increased the channel open probability and prolonged the channel open time and burst duration. In this study, we examined the detailed mechanism of the inhibitory action of the long-chain alcohol n-octanol on the neuronal nicotinic AChR.

METHODS

Single-channel currents induced by application of 30 nm ACh were recorded with the patch-clamp technique from human embryonic kidney cells stably expressing the human alpha4beta2 AChR.

RESULTS

Several single-channel parameters were markedly changed by octanol. At least two conductance-state currents were induced by low concentrations of ACh, and octanol increased the proportion of the low-conductance-state current relative to the high-conductance-state current without changing the current amplitude. Major analyses of temporal properties of single-channel currents were performed on the high-conductance-state currents. Octanol decreased the burst duration and duration of openings within burst and prolonged the mean closed time. All of these changes contributed to the decrease in the open probability in a concentration-dependent manner.

CONCLUSIONS

Several aspects of octanol action on neuronal AChRs at the single-channel level are compatible with an atypical open channel block model reported with muscle nicotinic AChRs. The potentiating action of short-chain alcohols and the inhibitory action of long-chain alcohols on the neuronal nicotinic AChR are mediated through different mechanisms.

Permeation of large tetra-alkylammonium cations through mutant and wild-type voltage-gated sodium channels as revealed by relief of block at high voltage

Many large organic cations are potent blockers of K(+) channels and other cation-selective channels belonging to the P-region superfamily. However, the mechanism by which large hydrophobic cations enter and exit the narrow pores of these proteins is obscure. Previous work has shown that a conserved Lys residue in the DEKA locus of voltage-gated Na(+) channels is an important determinant of Na(+)/K(+) discrimination, exclusion of Ca(2+), and molecular sieving of organic cations. In this study, we sought to determine whether the Lys(III) residue of the DEKA locus interacts with internal tetra-alkylammonium cations (TAA(+)) that block Na(+) channels in a voltage-dependent fashion. We investigated block by a series of TAA(+) cations of the wild-type rat muscle Na(+) channel (DEKA) and two different mutants of the DEKA locus, DEAA and DERA, using whole-cell recording. TEA(+) and larger TAA(+) cations block both wild-type and DEAA channels. However, DEAA exhibits dramatic relief of block by large TAA(+) cations as revealed by a positive inflection in the macroscopic I-V curve at voltages greater than +140 mV. Paradoxically, relief of block at high positive voltage is observed for large (e.g., tetrapentylammonium) but not small (e.g., TEA(+)) symmetrical TAA(+) cations. The DEKA wild-type channel and the DERA mutant exhibit a similar relief-of-block phenomenon superimposed on background current rectification. The results indicate: (a) hydrophobic TAA(+) cations with a molecular diameter as large as 15 A can permeate Na(+) channels from inside to outside when driven by high positive voltage, and (b) the Lys(III) residue of the DEKA locus is an important determinant of inward rectification and internal block in Na(+) channels. From these observations, we suggest that hydrophobic interfaces between subunits, pseudosubunits, or packed helices of P-region channel proteins may function in facilitating blocker access to the pore, and may thus play an important role in the blocking and permeation behavior of large TAA(+) cations and potentially other kinds of local anesthetic molecules.

Antiarrhythmic drugs and cardiac ion channels: mechanisms of action

In this review a description and an analysis are given of the interaction of antiarrhythmic drugs with their molecular target, i.e. ion channels and receptors. Our approach is based on the concept of vulnerable parameter, i.e. the electrophysiological property which plays a crucial role in the genesis of arrhythmias. To prevent or stop the arrhythmia a drug should modify the vulnerable parameter by its action on channel or receptor targets. In the first part, general aspects of the interaction between drugs channel molecules are considered. Drug binding depends on the state of the channel: rested, activated pre-open, activated open, or inactivated state. The change in channel behaviour with state is presented in the framework of the modulated-receptor hypothesis. Not only inhibition but also stimulation can be the result of drug binding. In the second part a detailed and systematic description and an analysis are given of the interaction of drugs with specific channels (Na+, Ca2+, K+, "pacemaker") and non-channel receptors. Emphasis is given to the type of state-dependent block involved (rested, activated and inactivated state block) and the change in channel kinetics. These properties vary and determine the voltage- and frequency-dependence of the change in ionic current. Finally, the question is asked as to whether the available drugs by their action on channels and receptors modify the vulnerable parameter in the desired way to stop or prevent arrhythmias.

Temperature dependence of voltage-gated H+ currents in human neutrophils, rat alveolar epithelial cells, and mammalian phagocytes

H+ currents in human neutrophils, rat alveolar epithelial cells, and several mammalian phagocyte cell lines were studied using whole-cell and excised-patch tight-seal voltage clamp techniques at temperatures between 6 and 42 degrees C. Effects of temperature on gating kinetics were distinguished from effects on the H+ current amplitude. The activation and deactivation of H+ currents were both highly temperature sensitive, with a Q10 of 6-9 (activation energy, Ea, approximately 30-38 kcal/mol), greater than for most other ion channels. The similarity of Ea for channel opening and closing suggests that the same step may be rate determining. In addition, when the turn-on of H+ currents with depolarization was fitted by a delay and single exponential, both the delay and the time constant (tauact) had similarly high Q10. These results could be explained if H+ channels were composed of several subunits, each of which undergoes a single rate-determining gating transition. H+ current gating in all mammalian cells studied had similarly strong temperature dependences. The H+ conductance increased markedly with temperature, with Q10 >/= 2 in whole-cell experiments. In excised patches where depletion would affect the measurement less, the Q10 was 2.8 at >20 degrees C and 5.3 at <20 degrees C. This temperature sensitivity is much greater than for most other ion channels and for H+ conduction in aqueous solution, but is in the range reported for H+ transport mechanisms other than channels; e.g., carriers and pumps. Evidently, under the conditions employed, the rate-determining step in H+ permeation occurs not in the diffusional approach but during permeation through the channel itself. The large Ea of permeation intrinsically limits the conductance of this channel, and appears inconsistent with the channel being a water-filled pore. At physiological temperature, H+ channels provide mammalian cells with an enormous capacity for proton extrusion.

Open-channel block by internally applied amines inhibits activation gate closure in batrachotoxin-activated sodium channels

We have studied the action of several pore-blocking amines on voltage-dependent activation gating of batrachotoxin(BTX)-activated sodium channels, from bovine heart and rat skeletal muscle, incorporated into planar lipid bilayers. Although structurally simpler, the compounds studied show general structural features and channel-inhibiting actions that resemble those of lidocaine. When applied to the cytoplasmic end of the channel, these compounds cause a rapid, voltage-dependent, open-channel block seen as a reduction in apparent single-channel amplitude (companion paper). Internal application of phenylpropanolamine, phenylethylamine, phenylmethylamine, and diethylamine, as well as causing open-channel block, reduces the probability of channel closure, producing a shift of the steady-state activation curve toward more hyperpolarizing potentials. These gating effects were observed for both cardiac and skeletal muscle channels and were not evoked by addition of equimolar N-Methyl-D-Glucamine, suggesting a specific interaction of the blockers with the channel rather than a surface charge effect. Kinetic analysis of phenylpropanolamine action on skeletal muscle channels indicated that phenylpropanolamine reduced the closed probability via two separate mechanisms. First, mean closed durations were slightly abbreviated in its presence. Second, and more important, the frequency of the gating closures was reduced. This action was correlated with the degree, and the voltage dependence, of open-channel block, suggesting that the activation gate cannot close while the pore is occluded by the blocker. Such a mechanism might underlie the previously reported immobilization of gating charge associated with local anesthetic block of unmodified sodium channels.

Chemically modified cardiac Na+ channels and their sensitivity to antiarrhythmics: is there a hidden drug receptor?

Elementary Na+ currents were recorded at 19 degrees C in inside-out patches from cultured neonatal rat cardiocytes. In analyzing the sensitivity of chemically modified Na+ channels to several class 1 antiarrhythmic drugs, the hypothesis was tested that removal of Na+ inactivation may be accompanied by a distinct responsiveness to these drugs, open channel blockade. Iodate-modified and trypsin-modified cardiac Na+ channels are noninactivating but strikingly differ from each other by their open state kinetics, a O1-O2 reaction (tau open(1) 1.4 +/- 0.3 msec; tau open(2) 5.4 +/- 1.1 msec; at -40 mV) in the former and a single open state (tau open 3.0 +/- 0.5 msec; at -40 mV) in the latter. Lidocaine (150 mumol/liter) like propafenone (10 mumol/liter), diprafenone (10 mumol/liter) and quinidine (20 mumol/liter) in cytoplasmic concentrations effective to depress NPo significantly can interact with both types of noninactivating Na+ channels to reduce the dwell time in the conducting configuration. Iodate-modified Na+ channels became drug sensitive during the O2 state. At -40 mV, for example, lidocaine reduced tau open(2) to 62 +/- 5% of the control without detectable changes in tau open(1). No evidence could be obtained that these inhibitory molecules would flicker-block the open Na+ pore. Drug-induced shortening of the open state, thus, is indicative for a distinct mode of drug action, namely interference with the gating process. Lidocaine proved less effective to reduce tau open(2) when compared with the action of diprafenone. Both drugs apparently interacted with individual association rate constants, a(lidocaine) was 0.64 x 10(6) mol-1 sec-1 and a(diprafenone) 13.6 x 10(6) mol-1 sec-1. Trypsin-modified Na+ channels also appear capable of discriminating among these antiarrhythmics, the ratio a(diprafenone)/a(lidocaine) even exceeded the value in iodate-modified Na+ channels. Obviously, this antiarrhythmic drug interaction with chemically modified Na+ channels is receptor mediated: drug occupation of such a hypothetical hidden receptor that is not available in normal Na+ channels may facilitate the exit from the open state.

Tacrine-induced increase in the release of spontaneous high quantal content events in Torpedo electric organ

1. The anticholinesterases, tacrine (100 microM) and physostigmine (60 microM) had different effects on the amplitude distribution and kinetics of miniature endplate currents (m.e.p.cs) recorded extracellularly from the electric organ of Torpedo marmorata. 2. Tacrine increased the ratio of giant miniatures (larger than 4 mV of amplitude) to more than 20% of recorded spontaneous events. In the presence of physostigmine such events represented only 4%. 3. Both tacrine and physostigmine increased the rise time and the decay phase of normal-sized m.e.p.cs when compared to control conditions. Both effects were significantly greater for tacrine. 4. We have tested the specificity of the tacrine effect on ectoenzyme activities associated with plasma membranes of these pure cholinergic nerve endings. Tacrine does not act unspecifically on every ectoenzyme, because it is not able to block the ectoapyrase activity even at a concentration 100 fold greater than that required to inhibit 94% of AChE. 5. We conclude that the differential effects of tacrine and physostigmine can be explained in terms of undetermined presynaptic actions of tacrine, while comparable effects of the two compounds can be explained through a shared anticholinesterase activity.

Tetrahydroaminoacridine blocks and prolongs NMDA receptor-mediated responses in a voltage-dependent manner

N-Methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-mediated currents were recorded from acutely isolated rat hippocampal neurones using patch-clamp and fast perfusion techniques. Tetrahydroaminoacridine blocked NMDA receptor currents in a concentration-dependent fashion with IC50 25 +/- 6 microM and slope factor 2 +/- 0.2 at a membrane potential -80 mV. The block was voltage-dependent being greater at a hyperpolarized potential. The NMDA responses blocked by tetrahydroaminoacridine at concentrations greater than 25 microM were followed by a transient inward current hump with a decay time constant of about 200 ms at -90 mV. The tetrahydroaminoacridine-induced NMDA tail current was voltage-dependent, blocked by magnesium and tetrahydroaminoacridine itself and was not affected by NMDA and glycine recognition site antagonists. Magnesium suppressed the tail current amplitude without changing its time course whereas the tetrahydroaminoacridine block was accompanied by a dramatic prolongation. It is suggested that tetrahydroaminoacridine prevents the closing of the blocked NMDA channels thus keeping them in the activated state after the removal of agonist. The observed properties of the tetrahydroaminoacridine block could be explained in terms of a sequential model of an open channel block.

Kinetics of interaction of disopyramide with the cardiac sodium channel: fast dissociation from open channels at normal rest potentials

Block of cardiac sodium channels is enhanced by repetitive depolarization. It is not clear whether the changes in drug binding result from a change in affinity that is dependent on voltage or on the actual state of the channel. This question was examined in rabbit ventricular myocytes by analyzing the kinetics of block of single sodium channel currents with normal gating kinetics or channels with inactivation and deactivation slowed by pyrethrin toxins. At -20 and -40 mV, disopyramide 100 microM blocked the unmodified channel. Mean open time decreased 45 and 34% at -20 and -40 mV during exposure to disopyramide. Exposure of cells to the pyrethrin toxins deltamethrin or fenvalrate caused at least a tenfold increase in mean open time, and prominent tail currents could be recorded at the normal resting potential. The association rate constant of disopyramide for the normal and modified channel at -20 mV was similar, approximately 10 x 10(6)/M/sec. During exposure to disopyramide, changes in open and closed times and in open channel noise at -80 and -100 mV are consistent with fast block and unblocking events at these potentials. This contrasts with the slow unbinding of drug from resting channels at similar potentials. We conclude that the sodium channel state is a critical determinant of drug binding and unbinding kinetics.

Pharmacology of the SV channel in the vacuolar membrane of Chenopodium rubrum suspension cells

Single channel performance and deactivation currents have been analyzed in the presence of cation channel blockers to reveal pharmacological properties of the slow-activating (SV) cation-selective ion channel in the vacuolar membrane (tonoplast) isolated from suspension cells of Chenopodium rubrum L. At a holding potential of -100 mV, the SV channel showed half-maximal inhibition with 20 mM tetraethylammonium (TEA), 7 microM 9-amino-acridine, 6 microM (+)-tubocurarine, 300 nM quinacrine, and 35 microM quinine, respectively. The SV channel is also blocked by charybdotoxin (20 nM at -80 mV) but not by apamine. 9-Amino-acridine, (+)-tubocurarine and quinacrine act in a voltage-dependent fashion, binding to the open channel and to different sites along the transmembrane voltage profile according to Woodhull (J. Gen. Physiol. 61:687-708, 1973). No binding site could be specified for charybdotoxin, which binds to the closed channel, and for quinine. Except for quinine, all tested blockers were effective only if added to the cytoplasmic side of the tonoplast. A structural relationship between the SV channel and Maxi-K channels in animal systems is inferred.

Prejunctional actions of tacrine on autonomic neuroeffector transmission in rabbit isolated pulmonary artery and rat isolated atria

1. This study investigated the effects of tacrine (1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-9-aminoacridine) on the resting and stimulation-induced (SI) release of radioactive substances from isolated preparations of rat atria and rabbit pulmonary artery in which the noradrenergic transmitter stores had been labelled with [3H]-noradrenaline, and from rat atrial preparations in which cholinergic transmitter stores had been labelled with [3H]-acetylcholine. In addition, the effect of tacrine on the uptake of [3H]-noradrenaline by noradrenergic nerves in rat atria was determined. 2. Tacrine produced concentration-dependent increases in the resting efflux of radioactivity from both the [3H]-noradrenaline-loaded artery and atrial preparations. Blockade of neuronal amine transport with desipramine reduced the release of radioactivity evoked by tacrine from atria but not that evoked from artery preparations. Inhibition of monoamine oxidase by pargyline pretreatment markedly reduced the tacrine-evoked release of radioactivity in both atrial and artery preparations. 3. The radioactivity released from [3H]-noradrenaline-labelled rat atrial preparations by 30 mumol/L tacrine consisted entirely of the deaminated metabolite [3H]-DOPEG. The evoked release of [3H]-DOPEG from atria was reduced by approximately 50% by desipramine (1 mumol/L). When atrial monoamine oxidase had been inhibited by pargyline treatment in vivo and in vitro, 30 mumol/L tacrine evoked the release of [3H]-noradrenaline instead of [3H]-DOPEG. However, the amounts of [3H]-noradrenaline released by tacrine when monoamine oxidase was inhibited were only about 25% of the amounts of [3H]-DOPEG released in untreated atria. 4. Tacrine, in concentrations of 1 and 10 mumol/L, enhanced the release of radioactivity evoked by field stimulation of [3H]-noradrenaline-loaded rabbit pulmonary artery preparations. This effect was unaltered by desipramine or pretreatment with pargyline. However, in artery preparations pretreated with pargyline, a high concentration of tacrine (100 mumol/L) markedly reduced SI efflux. In contrast to the findings with artery preparations, tacrine (1-30 mumol/L) did not alter SI efflux in rat atrial preparations. 5. It is concluded that tacrine displaces noradrenaline from intraneuronal transmitter stores of sympathetically-innervated tissues, and that the displaced amine is totally metabolized by monoamine oxidase before leaving the nerve terminals. When deamination of neuronal cytoplasmic noradrenaline is prevented, only a portion of the noradrenaline displaced from storage vesicles passes to the extracellular space. It is likely that the transfer of cytoplasmic noradrenaline out of the terminals is limited by the activity of the amine transport mechanism.

Differential response of DPI-modified cardiac Na+ channels to antiarrhythmic drugs: no flicker blockade by lidocaine

Elementary Na+ currents were recorded in cell-attached patches from short-time cultured neonatal cardiocytes in order to test the hypothesis whether the open state of DPI-modified, noninactivating cardiac Na+ channels is basically sensitive to blocking drug molecules such as antiarrhythmics. Lidocaine (300 mumol/liter) effectively reduced the open probability of cardiac Na+ channels and, at a stimulation rate of 1 Hz, depressed the reconstructed macroscopic peak INa to 40 +/- 3.5% of the predrug value. The same drug concentration failed to influence DPI-modified Na+ channels. Their open state proved almost insensitive to lidocaine. tau open decreased only slightly to 85 +/- 2%. Still more importantly, the number of transitions between the conducting and a nonconducting configuration did not increase. At -40 mV, lidocaine may interfere with the open state with an association rate constant of 1.3 x 10(5) mol-1 sec-1 which is about two orders of magnitude smaller than the rate constant obtained with propafenone or prajmalium. Moreover, propafenone (10-20 mumol/liter) or prajmalium (30 mumol/liter) led to a tremendous increase in the number of transitions between the open and a nonconducting configuration. Lidocaine also failed to evoke a fast flicker blockade with reaction kinetics in the microsecond range. It is concluded that DPI-modified cardiac Na+ channels discriminate between lidocaine and other antiarrhythmic drugs. As a tentative explanation, this might be indicative for multiple binding sites for those drugs in cardiac Na+ channels.

Mechanisms of the tetrahydroaminoacridine effect on action potential and ion currents in myelinated axons

9-Amino-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroacridine (THA) in the range of 10-300 microM was shown to prolong the action potential in myelinated nerve fibres of Xenopus laevis. Voltage-clamp experiments showed that THA, besides reducing the Na+ and the K+ current, modified the Na+ current inactivation and the K+ current activation. The effects were frequency dependent. Quantitative models were developed and used in computer simulations of the THA effect on the action potential. The computations showed that the observed effects on the ion currents were sufficient to explain the observed prolongation of the action potential. The models further suggest that THA binds to Na+ channels in an open state and from the axoplasmic side while it binds to K+ channels in a closed state. The findings suggest an explanation to some aspects of the clinical effects of THA on Alzheimer patients.

Responsiveness of cardiac Na+ channels to antiarrhythmic drugs: the role of inactivation

Elementary Na+ currents were recorded at 9 degrees C in inside-out patches from cultured neonatal rat heart myocytes. In characterizing the sensitivity of cooled, slowly inactivating cardiac Na+ channels to several antiarrhythmic drugs including propafenone, lidocaine and quinidine, the study aimed to define the role of Na+ inactivation for open channel blockade. In concentrations (1-10 mumol/liter) effective to depress NPo significantly, propafenone completely failed to influence the open state of slowly inactivating Na+ channels. With 1 mumol/liter, tau open (at -45 mV) in cooled, (-)-DPI-modified, noninactivating Na+ channels proved to be drug resistant and could not be flicker-blocked by 10 mumol/liter propafenone. The same drug concentration induced in (-)-DPI-modified Na+ channels a discrete block with association and dissociation rate constants of 16.1 +/- 5.3 x 10(6) mol-1 sec-1 and 675 +/- 25 sec-1, respectively. Quinidine, known to have a considerable affinity for activated Na+ channels, in lower concentrations (5 mumol/liter) left tau open unchanged or reduced, in higher concentrations (10 mumol/liter) tau open only slightly to 81% of the predrug value whereas NPo declined to 30%, but repetitive blocking events during the conducting state could never be observed. Basically the same drug resistance of the open state was seen in cardiac Na+ channels whose open-state kinetics had been modulated by the cytoplasmic presence of F- ions. But in this case, propafenone reduced reopening and selectively abolished a long-lasting open state. This drug action is unlikely related to the inhibitory effect on NPo since hyperpolarization and the accompanying block attenuation did not restore the channel kinetics. It is concluded that cardiac Na+ channels cannot be flicker-blocked by antiarrhythmic drugs unless Na+ inactivation is removed.

The inactivation of sodium channels in the node of Ranvier and its chemical modification

The many experimental studies reported demonstrate the complexity of what is termed inactivation, the decrease of current flow through sodium channels at maintained depolarization. Even at the normal resting potential of, say, -70 mV for a frog node of Ranvier, ca. 20% of the channels are closed and inactivated, i.e., incapable of passing current on a sudden depolarization, in contrast to the remaining 80% of closed but resting channels. The term inactivation has thus evolved from bulk current ("macroscopic") phenomena and is applied to channels although its single-channel ("microscopic") basis is not entirely clear and may even vary among preparations. It is conceivable that the macroscopic phenomenon may have more than a single microscopic cause; this point will probably not be settled until a physical description of the conformational states of the channel macromolecule becomes available. At any rate, channel transition into an inactivated closed state can be easily affected by numerous reagents of highly diverse chemical nature and, most likely, different primary sites of action as already suggested by the sidedness of effective application, e.g., iodate and endopeptidases to the inside, polypeptide toxins to the outside. But also the search for a common denominator, a secondary target of all these treatments, has not been very successful as demonstrated by the experiments with group-specific reagents. Since modification of inactivation is often accompanied by shifts in the voltage dependence of gating parameters, a target could be the "voltage sensor" of the channel, charged and/or dipolar components of the channel macromolecule that, by being moved in the electric field, somehow induce gating and whose movement is measured as gating current (e.g, Hille, 1984). The fraction of open channels as a function of membrane potential, F(E), may serve as an indicator. It may be simply shifted (to more negative potentials) as by veratridine (Leibowitz et al., 1987) or flattened (reduction of gating charge?) and shifted (in the positive direction) as by Anemonia sulcata toxin II (Ulbricht and Schmidtmayer, 1981) or chloramine-T (Drews, 1987). On the other hand, the steady-state inactivation curve is shifted to more negative potentials by the toxin (Ulbricht and Schmidtmayer, 1981), but to more positive potentials by chloramine-T (Wang, 1984a; Schmidtmayer, 1985). Obviously, modifiers may affect activation and inactivation quite differently, a result that touches on the question as to what extent inactivation derives its potential dependence from activation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Blockade of cardiac sodium channels by lidocaine. Single-channel analysis

The mechanism of interaction of lidocaine with cardiac sodium channels during use-dependent block is not well defined. We examined the blockade of single cardiac sodium channels by lidocaine and its hydrophobic derivative RAD-242 in rabbit ventricular myocytes. Experiments were performed in cell-attached and inside-out patches. Use-dependent block was assessed with trains of ten 200-msec pulses with interpulse intervals of 500 msec and test potentials of -60 to -40 mV. Single-channel kinetics sometimes showed time-dependent change in the absence of drug. During exposure to 80 microM lidocaine, use-dependent block during the trains was associated with a decrease in the average number of openings per step. At -60 mV, mean open time was not significantly changed (control, 1.4 +/- 0.6 msec; lidocaine, 1.2 +/- 0.3 msec, p greater than 0.05). Greater block developed during trains of 200-msec pulses compared with trains of 20-msec pulses at the same interpulse interval at test potentials during which openings were uncommon later than 20 msec (-50 and -40 mV). Prolonged bursts of channels showing slow-gating kinetics were observed both in control and the presence of 80 microM lidocaine. However, lidocaine may decrease the late sodium current by altering the kinetics of slow gating. The hydrophobic lidocaine derivative RAD-242, which has a 10-fold greater lipid solubility than lidocaine, decreased the peak averaged current during pulse train stimulation by 60% without a change in the mean open time. Our results suggest that the major effect of lidocaine during use-dependent block involves the interaction with a nonconducting state of the sodium channel followed by a failure to open during subsequent depolarization.

Modelling frequency- and voltage-dependent effects of a class I antiarrhythmic drug (nicainoprol) on Vmax of the cardiac action potential from guinea-pig papillary muscle

Frequency- and voltage-dependent effects of a class I antiarrhythmic agent (nicainoprol) on the maximal upstroke velocity (Vmax) of the action potential of guinea-pig papillary muscle are compared with the effects predicted by a kinetic model of frequency- and voltage-dependent block of fast sodium channels. The model is based on the guarded-receptor hypothesis, which assumes a constant affinity binding site with the drug access to and egress from the binding site being controlled by the channel conformational state. At normal resting membrane potential (RMP approximately -86 mV) nicainoprol (3.3 x 10(-6) mol/l and 10(-5) mol/l) causes no Vmax-reduction after a resting period (i.e. no resting block) but a frequency-dependent decrease of Vmax (frequency-dependent block), which saturates at above 2.0 Hz. Both, resting and frequency-dependent block strongly depend on the RMP in a way that the frequency-dependent block decreases with depolarizing RMP while the resting block increases. Development of and recovery from frequency-dependent block is faster at depolarized RMP. These results can be interpreted in terms of the guarded-receptor hypothesis with nicainoprol preferentially binding to inactivated sodium channels. All its effects on Vmax can be fully described by only three model parameters: a binding rate coefficient (kB = 8.49 x 10(3) mol-1.1.s-1), an unbinding rate coefficient (k-B = 6.24 x 10(-2).S-1), and a parameter with the meaning of an electrical location of the binding site (about 35% on the way through the membrane field from the extracellular surface).

On the mechanism of drug-induced blockade of Na+ currents: interaction of antiarrhythmic compounds with DPI-modified single cardiac Na+ channels

In patch-clamped membranes from neonatal rat cardiocytes, elementary Na+ currents were recorded at 19 degrees C for study of the inhibitory influence of several antiarrhythmic drugs including lidocaine, diprafenone, propafenone, and prajmalium on DPI-modified cardiac Na+ channels. Diprafenone (20 mumol/l) and lidocaine (300 mumol/l) induced a voltage- and time-dependent block of reconstructed macroscopic sodium current (INa). The drugs depressed the sustained, noninactivating INa component (which reflects the number and open probability of DPI-modified Na+ channels) effectively, in a voltage- and time-dependent fashion. Once opened, DPI-modified Na+ channels are highly drug-sensitive. Antiarrhythmic drugs (propafenone, diprafenone, and, to a lesser extent, lidocaine) provoke a flicker block, that is, the long-lasting openings are chopped into a large number of short and grouped openings. This indicates rapid transitions between a drug-associated, blocked state and a drug-free, conducting state. The latter has a unitary conductance of 12 pS, very similar to the control value in the absence of antiarrhythmic drugs. The decrease in open time of drug-treated DPI-modified Na+ channels is concentration-dependent. Hill coefficients for propafenone of about 1.0 and for prajmalium of about 0.7 were calculated. A blocking rate constant of 6.1 x 10(7) mol-1sec-1 for propafenone, but of 1.5 x 10(7) mol-1sec-1 for prajmalium was obtained at -30 mV. The unblocking rate constant for propafenone was, also at -30 mV, about twice as large as the unblocking rate constant for prajmalium. The open channel block kinetics are essentially voltage-dependent. The affinity of the channel-associated drug receptor increases on membrane depolarization. The blocking rate constant was inversely related to the number of Na+ ions moving through the open channel. It is concluded that the manifestation of this voltage- and Na+-dependent flicker block is intimately related to removal of fast Na+ inactivation.

Switching between two types of bursting activity of single ca-activated k channels in dissociated neurons

Abstract Single channel recordings of Ca(2+)-activated K(+) currents were made from dissociated cockroach neurons by means of the gigaohm-seal patch-clamp technique. Bursts of single channel openings were composed of two distinct classes: the 'long-open burst' contained groups of long, rectangular, pulse-like openings with durations of 3.5 to 1.2 ms (depending on membrane potential), whereas the 'flickering burst' consisted of clusters of brief openings with an average duration of 0.4 ms (voltage-independent) separated by short closings with a duration of about 1.0 ms. The long-open burst and the flickering burst appeared to reflect distinct states of a single Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channel because direct transitions between these two types of burst were often detected. We present a kinetic scheme for the gating activation pathway of a neuronal Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channel, based on these findings.

Effect of scopolamine and HP 029, a cholinesterase inhibitor, on long-term potentiation in hippocampal slices of the guinea pig

The effect of scopolamine and a cholinesterase inhibitor on long-term potentiation (LTP) of population spikes was studied in a guinea pig hippocampal slice preparation. After brief application of each drug (10 min), LTP in CA1 and CA3 was induced by tetanus stimulation delivered to commissural/associational fibers and mossy fibers, respectively. Scopolamine at concentration of 10 microM had no effect on LTP in CA1 but significantly suppressed LTP in CA3. The cholinesterase inhibitor, 9-amino-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroacridine-1-ol maleate (HP 029) at concentration of 10 microM significantly enhanced LTP both in CA1 and CA3. These results suggest that the cholinergic system is involved in producing LTP in CA3. Another mechanism of the effect of HP 029 on LTP in CA1 is discussed.

TEA prevents inactivation while blocking open K+ channels in human T lymphocytes

The whole-cell recording mode of the patch-clamp technique was used to study the effect of external tetraethylammonium ([TEA+]o) on the inactivating, voltage-dependent K+ channels of human T lymphocytes. TEA+ reduced the peak amplitude and slowed the time course of the K+ current decay during a depolarizing pulse, resulting in a crossover of the current records in the presence and absence of TEA+. In solutions with different [TEA+]o both the peak K+ current amplitude, lKpeak, and the time constant of the decay of the K+ current, tau d, were reduced in a dose-dependent manner, both with apparent binding constants, KD, of 12 mM. The integral of K+ current during a prolonged depolarizing pulse was unaltered in solutions with different [TEA+]o. The concentration dependence of [TEA+]o on lKpeak, tau d, and the unchanged current integral can be explained with a kinetic scheme in which open channels blocked by TEA+ cannot inactivate.

Inhibitory effects of diprafenone stereoenantiomers on cardiac Na+ channels

The potency of (-)- and (+)-diprafenone to depress the Vmax of Na+-dependent action potentials and to block single cardiac Na+ channels was analyzed in microelectrode experiments with guinea pig papillary muscles and in patch clamp experiments with DPI-modified Na+ channels using neonatal cardiocytes. Within 20-30 min, both optical enantiomers caused a Vmax depression which occurred predominantly as a phasic blockade at a low dosage (10 mumol/l). (-)- and (+)-diprafenone were equally effective in evoking a tonic and phasic depression of Vmax. Exposing the cytoplasmic side of inside-out patches to 10 mumol/l of (-)- or (+)-diprafenone evoked a flicker block of DPI-modified Na+ channels within 1-2 s. Kinetic analysis of the latter revealed a KD value for the blocking action of 6.3 X 10(-5) mol for the (-) enantiomer and 7.1 X 10(-5) mol for the (+) enantiomer. Nevertheless, larger association and dissociation rate constants were obtained with (+)-diprafenone than with (-)-diprafenone. This indicates that there are stereoselective reaction kinetics in blocking open modified Na+ channels.

The role of divalent cations in the N-methyl-D-aspartate responses of mouse central neurones in culture

1. Single-channel currents activated by N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) agonists were analysed in the presence of various extracellular concentrations of divalent cations in outside-out patches from mouse neurones in primary culture. 2. In nominally Mg2+-free solutions the opening and closing of the channels leads to rectangular current pulses, the mean duration of which varies little with membrane potential. After addition of Mg2+, the single-channel currents recorded at negative potentials appear in bursts of short openings separated by brief closures. 3. The duration of the short openings decreases with increasing Mg2+ concentration, while the duration of the short closures is independent of the Mg2+ concentration. Depolarization increases the duration of the short openings and decreases the duration of the short closures. 4. The dependence of the burst structure on the Mg2+ concentration and on membrane potential is compatible to a first approximation with a model in which Mg2+ ions enter the open channel and block it by binding at a deep site. A better approximation requires, however, additional assumptions such as Mg2+ permeation and/or interactions between Ca2+ and Mg2+. 5. Increasing the extracellular Ca2+ concentration from 1 to 100 mM produces three effects on the currents flowing through NMDA channels. It shifts the reversal potential towards a positive value (+30 mV); it reduces the outward current flowing through the NMDA channels at very positive potentials; it reduces the inward current flowing at negative potentials. 6. The interpretation of the effects of Ca2+ appears to require three hypotheses: that Ca2+ permeates the NMDA channel, that there exists a significant surface potential at the entrance of the NMDA channel in physiological solutions and that both Ca2+ and monovalent cations bind to the channel, binding being stronger in the case of Ca2+ ions. 7. While Co2+ and, to a lesser extent, Mn2+ mimic the effects of Mg2+ on the NMDA channel, Ca2+, Ba2+ and Cd2+ do not. The distinction between Mg2+-like and Ca2+-like divalent cations corresponds to a difference in the speed of exchange of the water molecules surrounding the cations in solutions. Thus, it is possible that permeation occurs for all the divalent cations, but is slower for those which are slowly dehydrated.

Patch clamp technique and biophysical study of membrane channels

The present work describes the patch clamp technique, which first allowed the recording of single channel currents in biological membranes. In particular, it describes procedures for preparation and applications of the four different patch clamp configurations. Briefly, the cell-attached configuration is widely used for investigating channel modulation by transmitters acting via second messengers. The cell-free configurations (inside-out and outside-out), complementary to one another with respect to the orientation of the membrane surface, are particularly indicated for the study of the biophysics (kinetics, conductivity, selectivity, mechanism of permeation and block) of ionic channels. Finally, the whole-cell configuration which, because of the remarkable feature that it allows voltage clamp of very small cells, has given access to a number of physiologically important preparations never studied before.

Dynamics of strychnine block of single sodium channels in bovine chromaffin cells

The kinetics of strychnine block of single Na channels in bovine chromaffin cells were studied using the gigohm seal, patch-clamp technique, under the condition in which the Na current inactivation had been eliminated by treatment with N-bromoacetamide (NBA). Strychnine, applied to the cytoplasmic face of Na channels at concentrations ranging from 25 to 100 microM, caused repetitive rapid transitions (flickering) between open and blocked states within single openings of Na channels, without affecting the amplitude of the single-channel current. Average currents in the presence of strychnine accompanied 'hooked' tail currents upon repolarization. The histograms for blocked times and the histograms for open times could be fitted with a single-exponential function. The mean open time (to) became shorter as the drug concentration was increased, while the mean blocked time (tb) was concentration independent. The association (blocking) rate constant, k, calculated from the slope of the curve relating the reciprocal mean open time to strychnine concentration was 7.6 X 10(6) M-1 S-1 at -40 mV in a typical experiment. to-1 and tb-1 had opposite voltage dependences: tb-1 became larger as the membrane was hyperpolarized whereas to-1 became smaller. The voltage dependence suggests that a first-order blocking site is located 35% of the way through the membrane electric field from the cytoplasmic surface. An increase in the external Na+ concentration greatly decreased to-1 without affecting tb-1. The voltage dependence of both to-1 and tb-1 did not change when the external Na concentration was changed. It is suggested that the strychnine block of single Na channels is not 'current-dependent'. All of the features of strychnine block of single Na channels are compatible with the sequential model, in which strychnine molecules block open Na channels, and the blocked channels could not close until strychnine molecules had left the blocking site in the channels.

Blocking mechanisms of batrachotoxin-activated Na channels in artificial bilayers

The effects of various pharmacological agents that block single batrachotoxin-activated Na channels from rat muscle can be described in terms of three modes of action that correspond to at least three different binding sites. Guanidinium toxins such as tetrodotoxin, saxitoxin, and a novel polypeptide, mu-conotoxin GIIIA, act only from the extra-cellular side and induce discrete blocked states that correspond to residence times of individual toxin molecules. Such toxins apparently do not deeply penetrate the channel pore since the voltage dependence of block is insensitive to toxin charge and block is not relieved by internal Na+. Many nonspecific organic cations, including charged anesthetics, exhibit a voltage-dependent block that is enhanced by depolarization when present on the inside of the channel. This site is probably within the pore, but binding to this site is weak, as indicated by fast blockade that often appears as lowered channel conductance. A separate class of neutral and tertiary amine anesthetics such as benzocaine and procaine induce discrete closed states when added to either side of the membrane. This blocking effect can be explained by preferential binding to closed states of the channel and appears to be due to a modulation of channel gating.

Na channel activation gate modulates slow recovery from use-dependent block by local anesthetics in squid giant axons

The time course of recovery from use-dependent block of sodium channels caused by local anesthetics was studied in squid axons. In the presence of lidocaine or its quaternary derivatives, QX-222 and QX-314, or 9-aminoacridine (9-AA), recovery from use-dependent block occurred in two phases: a fast phase and a slow phase. Only the fast phase was observed in the presence of benzocaine. The fast phase had a time constant of several milliseconds and resembled recovery from the fast Na inactivation in the absence of drug. Depending on the drug present, the magnitude of the time constant of the slow phase varied (for example at -80 mV): lidocaine, 270 ms; QX-222, 4.4 s; QX-314, 17 s; and 9-AA, 14 s. The two phases differed in the voltage dependence of recovery time constants. When the membrane was hyperpolarized, the recovery time constant for the fast phase was decreased, whereas that for the slow phase was increased for QX-compounds and 9-AA or unchanged for lidocaine. The fast phase is interpreted as representing the unblocked channels recovering from the fast Na inactivation, and the slow phase as representing the bound and blocked channels recovering from the use-dependent block accumulated by repetitive depolarizing pulse. The voltage dependence of time constants for the slow recovery is consistent with the m-gate trapping hypothesis. According to this hypothesis, the drug molecule is trapped by the activation gate (the m-gate) of the channel. The cationic form of drug molecule leaves the channel through the hydrophilic pathway, when the channel is open. However, lidocaine, after losing its proton, may leave the closed channel rapidly through the hydrophobic pathway.