title: Characteristics of single Na+ channels of adult human skeletal muscle.
abstract: The patch-clamp technique was used to study Na+ channels of human skeletal muscle. Preparations were from biopsies of quadriceps muscle from adults who were not suffering from neuromuscular diseases. Activity of Na+ channels was recorded from inside-out patches when the membrane potential was stepped from a holding potential of -110 mV to potential above a threshold of about -65 mV. Single channel activity increased within minutes after hyperpolarizing the patch due to recovery from ultra-slow inactivation. Up to ten Na+ channels were active in individual patches. Macroscopic currents were reconstructed by averaging single channel currents. The time-to-peak current declined from 1.6 ms at -60 mV to 0.5 ms at + 10 mV. The currents decayed mono-exponentially with time constants between 12.1 ms at -60 mV and 0.4 ms at + 10 mV (21 C). The conductance of single Na+ channels was 1.65 pS and the mean open time was voltage-dependent. At -50 mV, the mean open time was 0.4 ms, while positive to -10 mV it increased to values above 1 ms. In the threshold potential range, the number of openings per depolarizing pulse was larger than the number of channels under the patch-clamp pipette, indicating reopening of Na+ channels at this potential. Openings could be observed only rarely 10 ms after onset of depolarization and the macroscopic current produced by late openings was less than 0.1% of the peak current. Human skeletal muscle is thus suitable for investigation with the patch-clamp technique and the determination of properties of Na+ channels with this technique could be the basis for an assessment of possible defects of these channels in diseased muscle.
authors.affiliation: Physiologisches Institut der Technischen Universität München, Federal Republic of Germany.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Franke
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hatt
mesh_terms: D001706:Biopsy; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D009132:Muscles / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D015222:Sodium Channels / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D015222:Sodium Channels