title: Effects of K+ channel blockers on inwardly and outwardly rectifying whole-cell K+ currents in sheep parotid secretory cells.
abstract: We have used whole-cell patch-clamp techniques to examine the sensitivities of the inwardly and the outwardly rectifying K+ currents in sheep parotid cells to K+ channel blockers. Extracellular tetraethylammonium (ID50 approximately 200 mu mol/liter), quinine (ID50 approximately 100 mu mol/liter), verapamil (ID50 approximately 30 mumol/liter) and charybdotoxin (ID50 < 0.1 mu mol/liter) reduced the outwardly rectifying current but had no effect on the inwardly rectifying current. Quinidine inhibited the outwardly rectifying current (ID50 approximately 200 mu mol/liter) and, at a concentration of 1 mmol/liter, reduced the inwardly rectifying current by 35%. Extracellular Ba2+ inhibited both the inwardly and outwardly rectifying K+ currents but the inwardly rectifying K+ current was more sensitive to it (ID50 approximately 1 mu mol/liter) than was the outwardly rectifying K+ current (ID50 approximately 2 mmol/liter). Extracellular Cs+ reduced the inwardly rectifying K+ current (ID50 approximately 100 mu mol/liter) without affecting the outwardly rectifying current; 4-aminopyridine (1 or 10 mmol/liter), lidocaine (0.1 or 1 mmol/liter) and flecainide (0.01 or 0.1 mmol/liter) affected neither current. In excised outside-out patches, the addition to the bath of quinine (100 mu mol/liter), quinidine (100 mu mol/liter), verapamil (100 mu mol/liter) or charybdotoxin (100 nmol/liter) inhibited Ca(2+)- and voltage-sensitive 250 pS K+ channels (BK channels), but 4-aminopyridine (1 mmol/liter) and lidocaine (0.1 mmol/liter) did not. The pattern of blocker sensitivities is thus consistent with the hypothesis that BK channels are responsible for the outwardly rectifying whole-cell current seen in resting sheep parotid cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Sydney, N.S.W., Australia.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: D I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Cook
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001464:Barium / Q000494:pharmacology; D002586:Cesium / Q000494:pharmacology; D018999:Charybdotoxin; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008012:Lidocaine / Q000494:pharmacology; D008564:Membrane Potentials; D010306:Parotid Gland / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D011188:Potassium / Q000378:metabolism*; D015221:Potassium Channels / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D011802:Quinidine / Q000494:pharmacology; D011803:Quinine / Q000494:pharmacology; D012604:Scorpion Venoms / Q000494:pharmacology; D012756:Sheep; D019789:Tetraethylammonium; D013757:Tetraethylammonium Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology; D014700:Verapamil / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D015221:Potassium Channels; D012604:Scorpion Venoms; D013757:Tetraethylammonium Compounds; D018999:Charybdotoxin; D002586:Cesium; D001464:Barium; D019789:Tetraethylammonium; D008012:Lidocaine; D011803:Quinine; D014700:Verapamil; D011802:Quinidine; D011188:Potassium