Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Pace-maker current changes during intracellular pH transients in sheep cardiac Purkinje fibres

  • Excitable Tissues and Central Nervous Physiology
  • Published:
Pflügers Archiv Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

  1. 1.

    Intracellular acidosis, at constant extracellular pH, hyperpolarizes the resting potential and reduces the diastolic depolarization rate of cardiac Purkinje fibres. With alkaline pHi, the fibre depolarizes and spontaneous firing is observed.

  2. 2.

    Intracellular pH transients induced either by superfusion with Tyrode buffered with 5% CO2/23 mM HCO −3 or 16% CO2/61 mM HCO −3 , or with solutions containing weak undissociated acids, transiently shifted the half-maximum activation potentialE 0.5 of the pace-maker current. Similar transients were observed when NH4Cl was added and subsequently withdrawn from the solution.

  3. 3.

    Simultaneous pHi measurements demonstrate a close relation between the time course of the pHi andE 0.5 variations. Acid pHi shiftsE 0.5 to more negative and alkaline pHi's to less negative potentials.

  4. 4.

    These pace-maker current activation voltage shifts are interpreted as the direct consequence of fixed charges titration at the inside of the sarcolemma. Other effects, like the slowing-down and reduction of the pace-maker current by acid pHi, presumably result from other interactions of protons with the pace-maker channel.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Aickin, CC, Thomas RC (1977a) Microelectrode measurements of the intracellular pH and buffering power of mouse soleus muscle fibres. J Physiol (Lond) 267:791–810

    Google Scholar 

  2. Aickin CC, Thomas RC (1977b) An investigation of the ionic mechanism of intracellular pH regulation in mouse soleus muscle fibres. J Physiol (Lond) 273:295–316

    Google Scholar 

  3. Allen D, Orchard CH (1983) The effects of pH on intracellular calcium transients in mammalian cardiac muscle. J Physiol (Lond) 335:555–567

    Google Scholar 

  4. Bers DM, Ellis D (1982) Intracellular calcium and sodium activity in sheep heart Purkinje fibres. Effects of changes of external sodium and intracellular pH. Pflügers Arch 393:171–178

    Google Scholar 

  5. Boron WF (1983) Transport of H+ and ionic weak acids and bases. Membr Biol 72:1–16

    Google Scholar 

  6. Boron WF, De Weer P (1976) Intracellular pH transients in squid giant axons caused by CO2, NH3 and metabolic inhibitors. J Gen Physiol 67:91–112

    Google Scholar 

  7. Brown RH, Noble D (1978) Displacement of activation thresholds in cardiac muscle by protons and calcium. J Physiol (Lond) 282:333–343

    Google Scholar 

  8. Burton RF (1975) Ringer solutions and physiological salines. Bristol Wright-Scientechnica

    Google Scholar 

  9. Callewaert G, Carmeliet E, Vereecke J (1984 (1984) Single cardiac Purkinje cells: general electrophysiology and voltage-clamp analysis of the pace-maker current. J Physiol (Lond) 349:643–661

    Google Scholar 

  10. Carbone E, Testa PL, Wanke E (1981) Intracellular pH and ionic channels in the Loligo vulgaris giant axon. Biophys J 35:393–414

    Google Scholar 

  11. Cobbe SM, Poole-Wilson PA (1980) The time of onset and severity of acidosis in myocardial ischemia. J Mol Cel Cardiol 12:745–760

    Google Scholar 

  12. Cohen I, Noble D, Ohba M, Ojeda C (1979) Actions of salicylate ions on the electrical properties of sheep cardiac Purkinje fibres. J Physiol (Lond) 297:163–185

    Google Scholar 

  13. Cohen I, Falk RT, Mulrine NK (1983) Actions of barium and rubidium on membrane currents in canine Purkinje fibres. J Physiol (Lond) 338:589–612

    Google Scholar 

  14. Dani JA, Sanchez JA, Hille B (1983) Lyotropic actions: Na channel gating and Ca electrode response. J Gen Physiol 81:255–281

    Google Scholar 

  15. Deitmer JW, Ellis D (1980) Interactions between the regulation of the intracellular pH and sodium activity of sheep cardiac Purkinje fibres. J Physiol (Lond) 304:471–488

    Google Scholar 

  16. De Hemptine A, Marrannes R, Vanheel B (1983) Influence of organic acids on intracellular pH. Am J Physiol 245:C178-C183

    Google Scholar 

  17. De Mello WC (1983) The influence of pH on the healing-over of mammalian cardiac muscle. J Physiol (Lond) 339:299–307

    Google Scholar 

  18. Di Francesco D (1981a) A new interpretation of the cardiac pace-maker current in calf Purkinje fibres. J Physiol (Lond) 314:359–376

    Google Scholar 

  19. Di Francesco D (1981b) A study of the ionic nature of the pace-maker current in calf Purkinje fibres. J Physiol (Lond) 314:377–393

    Google Scholar 

  20. Di Francesco D, McNaughton PA (1979) The effect of calcium on outward membrane currents in the cardiac Purkinje fibre. J Physiol (Lond) 289:333–347

    Google Scholar 

  21. Di Francesco D, Ohba M, Ojeda C (1979) Measurement and significance of the reversal potential for the pace-maker current (i k2 in sheep Purkinje fibres. J Physiol (Lond) 297:135–162

    Google Scholar 

  22. Ellis D, Thomas RC (1976a) Micro-electrode measurement of the intracellular pH of mammalian heart cells. Nature 262:224–225

    Google Scholar 

  23. Ellis D, Thomas RC (1976b) Direct measurement of the intracellular pH of iammalian cardiac muscle. J Physiol (Lond) 262:755–771

    Google Scholar 

  24. Eisner DA, Lederer WJ, Vaughan-Jones AJ (1981) The dependence of sodium pumping and tension on intracellular sodium activity in voltage-clamped sheep Purkinje fibres. J Physiol (Lond) 317:163–187

    Google Scholar 

  25. Eisner DA, Lederer WJ, Sheu SS (1983) The role of intracellular sodium activity in the anti-arrhytmic action of local anaesthetics in sheep Purkinje fibres. J Physiol (Lond) 340:239–257

    Google Scholar 

  26. Frankenhaeuser B, Hodgkin AL (1957) The action of calcium on the electrical properties of squid axons. J Physiol (Lond) 137:218–244

    Google Scholar 

  27. Gilbert DL, Ehrenstein G (1969) Effect of divalent cations on potassium conductance of squid axons: determinations of surface charge. Biophys J 9:447–464

    Google Scholar 

  28. Goldberg G, Yoram L (1983) Evidence for acetylcholine receptor blockade by intracelluar hydrogen ions in cultured chick myoballs. J Physiol (Lond) 343:429–437

    Google Scholar 

  29. Gutknecht J, Tosteson DC (1973) Diffusion of weak acids across lipid blayer membranes: effects of chemical reactions in the unstirred layers. Science 182:1258–1261

    Google Scholar 

  30. Hanke W, Miller C (1983) Single chloride channels from Torpedo electroplax. J Gen Physiol 82:25–45

    Google Scholar 

  31. Hart G (1983) The kinetics and temperature dependence of the pace-maker currenti f in sheep Purkinje fibres. J Physiol (Lond) 337:401–416

    Google Scholar 

  32. Hart G, Noble D, Shimoni Y (1980) Adrenaline shifts the voltage dependence of the Na and K components ofi f in sheep Purkinje fibres. J Physiol 308:34P

    Google Scholar 

  33. Hille B, Woodhull A, Shapiro BI (1975) Negative surface charge near sodium channels of nerve: divalent ions, monovalent ions, and pH. Phil Trans R Soc Lond B 270:301–318

    Google Scholar 

  34. Isenberg G (1977a) Cardiac Purkinje fibres. Resting, action and pace-maker potential under the influence of [Ca2+]i as modified by intracellular injection technique. Pflügers Arch 371:51–59

    Google Scholar 

  35. Isenberg G (1977b) Cardiac Purkinje fibres. [Ca2+]i controls the potassium permeability via the conductance componentsg k1 andg k2. Pflügers Arch 371:77–85

    Google Scholar 

  36. Kass RS, Tsien RW (1975) Multiple effects of calcium antagonists on plateau currents in cardiac Purkinje fibers. J Gen Physiol 66:169–192

    Google Scholar 

  37. Kenyon JL, Gibbons WR (1977) Effects of low-chloride solutions on action potentials of sheep cardiac Purkinje fibers. J Gen Physiol 70:635–660

    Google Scholar 

  38. Kurachi Y (1982) The effects of intracellular protons on the electrical activity of single ventricular cells. Pflügers Arch 394:264–270

    Google Scholar 

  39. Lea TJ (1983) CO2/HCO −3 induced Ca2+ release from frog sacroplasmic reticulum and the effects of weak bases. J Physiol (Lond) 334:39–40P

    Google Scholar 

  40. Lea TJ, Ashley CC (1981) Carbon dioxide or bicarbonate ions release Ca from internal stores in crustacean myofibrillar bundles. J Membr Biol 61:115–125

    Google Scholar 

  41. Loewenstein WR (1981) Junctional intercellular communication: the cell-to-cell membrane channel. Physiol Rev 61:829–913

    Google Scholar 

  42. McLaughlin SGA, Dilger JP (1980) Trasport of protons across membranes by weak acids. Physiol Rev 60:825–863

    Google Scholar 

  43. Marrannes R, de Hemptine A, Leusen I (1981) pH aspects of transient changes in conduction velocity in isolated heart fibers after partial replacement of chloride with organic anions. Pflügers Arch 389:199–209

    Google Scholar 

  44. Matsuda H, Noma A, Kurachi Y, Irisawa H (1982) Transient depolarization and spontaneous voltage fluctuations in isolated single cell from guinea-pig ventricles. Calcium-mediated membrane potential fluctuations. Circ Res 51:142–151

    Google Scholar 

  45. Meech RW, Thomas RC (1977) The effect of calcium injection on the intracellular sodium and pH of snail. neurones. J Physiol (Lond) 265:867–879

    Google Scholar 

  46. Miller C, White MM (1980) A voltage dependent chloride channel from Torpedo electroplax membrane. Ann NY Acad Sci 341:534–551

    Google Scholar 

  47. Moody WJ (1980) Appearance of calcium action potentials in crayfish slow muscle fibres under conditions of low intracellular pH. J Physiol (Lond) 302:335–346

    Google Scholar 

  48. Moody WJ, Hagiwara S (1982) Block of inward rectification by intracellular H+ in immature oocytes of the starfish Mediaster aequalis. J Gen Physiol 79:115–130

    Google Scholar 

  49. Noble D (1974) Cardiac action potentials and pace-maker activity. In: Linden RJ (ed) Recent advances in physiology, pp 1–50

  50. Noble D, Tsien RW (1968) The kinetics and rectifier properties of the slow potassium current in cardiac Purkinje fibers. J Physiol (Lond) 195:185–214

    Google Scholar 

  51. Nuccitelli R, Deamer DW (1982) Intracellular pH: its measurement, regulation and utilization in cellular functions. Alan R Liss, Inc, New York

    Google Scholar 

  52. Obaid AL, Socolar SJ, Rose B (1983) Cell-to-cell channels with two independently regulated gates in series: analyses of junctional conductance modulation by membrane potential, calcium and pH. J Membr Biol 73:69–89

    Google Scholar 

  53. Poole-Wilson PA (1978) Measurement of myocardial intracellular pH in pathological states. J Mol Cell Cardiol 10:511–526

    Google Scholar 

  54. Reber WR, Weingart R (1982) Ungulate cardiac Purkinje fibres: the influence of intracellular pH on the electrical cell-to-cell coupling. J Physiol (Lond) 328:87–104

    Google Scholar 

  55. Roos A, Boron WF (1981) Intracellular pH. Physiol Rev 61:296–434

    Google Scholar 

  56. Sharp AP, Thomas RC (1981) The effects of chloride substitution on intracellular pH in crab muscle. J Physiol (Lond) 312:71–80

    Google Scholar 

  57. Shrager P (1974) Ionic conductance changes in voltage clamped crayfish axons at low pH. J Gen Physiol 64:666–690

    Google Scholar 

  58. Spitzer KW, Hogan PM (1979) The effects and bicarbonate on action potential repolarization in canine cardiac Purkinje fibres. J Gen Physiol 73:199–218

    Google Scholar 

  59. Thomas RC (1974) Intracellular pH of snail neurones measured with a new pH-sensitive glas microelectrode. J Physiol (Lond) 238:159–180

    Google Scholar 

  60. Thomas RC (1976) The effect of carbon dioxide on the intracellular pH and buffering power of snail neurones. J Physiol (Lond) 255:715–735

    Google Scholar 

  61. Thomas RC (1978) Ion-sensitive intracellular microelectrodes. How to make them and use them. Academic Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  62. Tsien RW (1974a) Effects of epinephrine on the pacemaker potassium current of cardiac Purkinje fibers. J Gen Physiol 64:293–319

    Google Scholar 

  63. Tsien RW (1974b) Mode of action of chronotropic agents in cardiac Purkinje fibers. J Gen Physiol 64:320–342

    Google Scholar 

  64. Van Bogaert PP (1980) Modification of cardiac pacemaker currents by intracellular pH changes. Proc Int Un Physiol Sci Intern Congress Budapest 1980, vol XIV, p 762

    Google Scholar 

  65. Van Bogaert PP (1983) Time course of pacemaker current changes during intracellular pH transients. Arch Int Physiol Biochem 91:60–61

    Google Scholar 

  66. Van Bogaert PP, Snyders DJ (1979) Intracellular pH transient induced by chloride substitution in cardiac Purkinje fibres. Arch Int Physiol Biochem 87:341–342

    Google Scholar 

  67. Van Bogaert PP, Snyders DJ (1982) Effects of 4-Aminopyridine on inward rectifying and pacemaker currents of cardiac Purkinje fibres. Pflügers Arch 394:230–238

    Google Scholar 

  68. Van Bogaert PP, Vereecke JS, Carmeliet EE (1978) The effect of raised pH on pacemaker activity and ionic currents in cardiac Purkinje fibres. Pflügers Arch 375:45–52

    Google Scholar 

  69. Vaughan-Jones RD (1979a) Non-pasive chloride distribution in mammalian heart muscle: micro-electrode measurement of the intracellular chloride activity. J Physiol (Lond) 295:83–109

    Google Scholar 

  70. Vaughan-Jones RD (1979b) Regulation of chloride in quiescent sheep-heart Purkinje fibers studied using intracellular chloride and pH-sensitive micro-electrodes. J Physiol 295:111–137

    Google Scholar 

  71. Vaughan-Jones RD, Lederer WJ, Eisner DA (1983) Ca2+ ions affect intracellular pH in mammalian cardiac muscle. Nature 301:522–524

    Google Scholar 

  72. Wanke E, Carbone E, Testa PL (1980) The sodium channel and intracellular H+ blockage in squid axon. Nature 287:62–63

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Physiology, University of Antwerp (RUCA), Department of Physiology, Groenenborgerlaan, 171, B-2020, Antwerp, Belgium

    P. P. Van Bogaert

Authors
  1. P. P. Van Bogaert
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Van Bogaert, P.P. Pace-maker current changes during intracellular pH transients in sheep cardiac Purkinje fibres. Pflugers Arch. 404, 29–40 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00581487

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00581487

Key words

Search

Navigation