title: Modulation of the T-type cardiac Ca channel by changes in proton concentration.
abstract: Single-channel measurements and whole-cell experiments with the two suction electrode, voltage clamp technique were used to investigate the effects of external and internal proton concentrations on T-type Ca channels in heart muscle cells of the guinea pig. As in the L-type Ca channel, an increase in the external proton concentration decreases T-type currents, while external alkalinization enlarges the currents. In contrast to the L-type Ca channel, however, a change in the internal proton concentration does not modulate T-type Ca currents. The T-type Ca channel is much more sensitive to variations in pHo than the L-type Ca channel. By the combination of single-channel and whole-cell experiments we can conclude that the observed changes in macroscopic currents are due to (a) changes in the single-channel conductance and in the probability of the T-type Ca channel being open, and (b) the titration of the negative surface charges in the neighborhood of the T-type Ca channel with shifts of both the activation and inactivation processes of the channel. The pHo-induced changes in the maximal conductance (gmax) of the T-type Ca channel show an apparent pKa in the range of 7.1-7.5, while the titration of the negative surface charges near the channel shows an apparent pKa of 7.1 with a concomitant surface potential of -24.6 mV at 5.4 mM [Ca]o. These pKa values, less acid than the pKa values found for the pHo-induced, L-type Ca channel modulation, might imply a physiological importance of this novel type of channel modulation.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Physiology, KU Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tytgat
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nilius
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Carmeliet
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials; D000818:Animals; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000378:metabolism*; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism*; D011522:Protons
chemical_list: D015220:Calcium Channels; D011522:Protons