title: Non-selective cation conductance in a Xenopus renal epithelial line.
abstract: The currents activated in single cells of an epithelial cell line from renal tubules of Xenopus laevis, were studied, using a whole-cell voltage-clamp technique. After the patched membrane was broken for the whole-cell recording, the currents developed transiently, reaching a peak in 20 min, in cells held under voltage-clamp. The currents did not show voltage- and time-dependent gating behavior at membrane potentials between -100 and +100 mV. The current-voltage relationships showed strong outward rectification. The ratio of the absolute amplitude of the current at a potential of +60 mV to that at -60 mV was 24.4 +/- 3.6. The reversal potentials of the currents under various ionic conditions imply that the membrane conductance was preferentially permeable to cations but that it had a finite permeability to anions. The cation conductance was non-selective for monovalent cations and also permeable to Ca2+, with a permeability sequence (relative to Na+); Na+: K+: Cs+: Li+: Ca2+ = 1.0: 1.3: 1.4: 1.0: 0.7. These results suggest that in A6 cells, the non-selective cation conductance activated after the rupture of the patch membrane, may play an important role in epithelial transport of fluid and electrolyte and that its Ca2+ permeability could be involved in some physiological signal transduction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Neurosurgery, Kobe University School of Medicine.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tamaki
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Okada
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002414:Cations, Monovalent / Q000378:metabolism*; D002460:Cell Line; D002463:Cell Membrane Permeability; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D017136:Ion Transport; D007684:Kidney Tubules / Q000378:metabolism*; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D013045:Species Specificity; D019459:Urothelium / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D014982:Xenopus laevis
chemical_list: D002414:Cations, Monovalent