title: A voltage-dependent transient K(+) current in rat dental pulp cells.
abstract: We characterized a voltage-dependent transient K(+) current in dental pulp fibroblasts on dental pulp slice preparations by using a nystatin perforated-patch recording configuration. The mean resting membrane potential of dental pulp fibroblasts was -53 mV. Depolarizing voltage steps to +60 mV from a holding potential of -80 mV evoked transient outward currents that are activated rapidly and subsequently inactivated during pulses. The activation threshold of the transient outward current was -40 mV. The reversal potential of the current closely followed the K(+) equilibrium potential, indicating that the current was selective for K(+). The steady-state inactivation of the peak outward K(+) currents described by a Boltzmann function with half-inactivation occurred at -47 mV. The K(+) current exhibited rapid activation, and the time to peak amplitude of the current was dependent on the membrane potentials. The inactivation process of the current was well fitted with a single exponential function, and the current exhibited slow inactivating kinetics (the time constants of decay ranged from 353 ms at -20 mV to 217 ms at +60 mV). The K(+) current was sensitive to intracellular Cs(+) and to extracellular 4-aminopyridine in a concentration-dependent manner, but it was not sensitive to tetraethylammonium, mast cell degranulating peptide, and dendrotoxin-I. The blood depressing substance-I failed to block the K(+) current. These results indicated that dental pulp fibroblasts expressed a slow-inactivating transient K(+) current.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Tokyo Dental College, Chiba, 261-8502 Japan. yshibuka@tdc.ac.jp
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shibukawa
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suzuki
mesh_terms: D015761:4-Aminopyridine / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D003782:Dental Pulp / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004546:Elapid Venoms; D004594:Electrophysiology; D005260:Female; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D009804:Odontoblasts / Q000502:physiology; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D015221:Potassium Channels / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D019789:Tetraethylammonium / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D004546:Elapid Venoms; D015221:Potassium Channels; C108582:dendrotoxin I; D019789:Tetraethylammonium; D015761:4-Aminopyridine