title: The actions of 3,4-diaminopyridine in bullfrog sympathetic ganglia.
abstract: The effects of 3,4-diaminopyridine (3,4-DAP) on isolated sympathetic ganglia were studied by means of intracellular and extracellular recording techniques. 3,4-DAP in micromolar concentrations caused a single orthodromic stimulus to generate a brief burst of repetitive postganglionic discharges. Such stimulus-bound repetition (SBR) appeared to represent a presynaptic action of 3,4-DAP, as no repetitive firing could be evoked by antidromic or direct stimulation of ganglion cells. 3,4-DAP also increased the latency to the onset of the synaptic potential at concentrations paralleling those responsible for SBR. The actions of 3,4-DAP on synaptic transmission extended over a 10,000-fold concentration range, beginning with synaptic facilitation at micromolar concentrations (1-500 microM), and proceeding to depressant effects at millimolar concentrations (0.5-10 mM). The postganglionic repetitive discharges (SBR) induced by 3,4-DAP could be selectively suppressed by D-tubocurarine (D-Tc) or tetraethylammonium (TEA), at concentrations of these antagonists below those required to block transmission. 3,4-DAP had significant anti-curare effects, producing a four-fold shift of the D-Tc concentration-effect curve for transmission block. In contrast, 3,4-DAP neither antagonized nor enhanced the transmission block produced by TEA. These results are incompatible with traditional concepts of ganglionic blockade by D-Tc and TEA, and suggest the possibility of presynaptic sites of action in ganglion block.
mesh_terms: D015761:4-Aminopyridine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D000077770:Amifampridine; D000631:Aminopyridines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001370:Axonal Transport; D005728:Ganglia, Sympathetic / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D008839:Microelectrodes; D011892:Rana catesbeiana; D013569:Synapses / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D019789:Tetraethylammonium; D013757:Tetraethylammonium Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology; D014403:Tubocurarine / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000631:Aminopyridines; D013757:Tetraethylammonium Compounds; D019789:Tetraethylammonium; D015761:4-Aminopyridine; D000077770:Amifampridine; D014403:Tubocurarine