title: Sodium channel inactivation from resting states in guinea-pig ventricular myocytes.
abstract: 1. Unitary Na+ channel currents were recorded from isolated guinea-pig ventricular myocytes using the cell-attached patch-clamp technique with high [Na+] in the pipette to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio. 2. The probability that the channel enters the inactivated state (I) directly from resting states (C) was investigated over a wide range of membrane potentials. 3. At membrane potentials of -60 mV or more positive, Markov chain theory was used to estimate the probability of C----I from histograms of the number of channel openings per depolarizing period. Holding potentials at least as negative as -136 were required to ensure that all channels resided in C prior to depolarization. 4. At membrane potentials negative to -60 mV, a two-pulse protocol was employed to determine the probability of C----I from the fraction of blank sweeps during the pre-pulse with correction for missed events. 5. The probability of C----I was found to be steeply voltage dependent at negative potentials, falling from 0.87 +/- 0.03 (mean +/- S.D.) at -91 mV to 0.42 +/- 0.01 at -76 mV. At potentials positive to -60 mV, this probability was less steeply voltage dependent and decayed to near zero at 0 mV. 6. Under physiological conditions, C----I transitions may produce appreciable Na+ channel inactivation at diastolic potentials. At potentials above the action potential threshold, inactivation is much more likely to occur from the open state.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205.
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lawrence
authors.forename: D T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Yue
authors.forename: W C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Rose
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Marban
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials; D000818:Animals; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000166:cytology; D008390:Markov Chains; D008564:Membrane Potentials; D011336:Probability; D015222:Sodium Channels / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D015222:Sodium Channels