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E Neher

Publications and source records attributed to E Neher.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Delay in vesicle fusion revealed by electrochemical monitoring of single secretory events in adrenal chromaffin cells.

In synapses, a rise in presynaptic intracellular calcium leads to secretory vesicle fusion in less than a millisecond, as indicated by the short delay from excitation to postsynaptic signal. In nonsynaptic secretory cells, studies at high time resolution have been limited by the lack of a detector as fast and sensitive as the postsynaptic membrane. Electrochemical methods may be sensitive enough to detect catecholamines released from single vesicles. Here, we show that under voltage-clamp conditions, stochastically occurring signals can be recorded from adrenal chromaffin cells using a carbon-fibre electrode as an electrochemical detector. These signals obey statistics characteristic for quantal release; however, in contrast to neuronal transmitter release, secretion occurs with a significant delay after short step depolarizations. Furthermore, we identify a pedestal or 'foot' at the onset of unitary events which may represent the slow leak of catecholamine molecules out of a narrow 'fusion pore' before the pore dilates for complete exocytosis.

Adrenal Medulla↗
PubMed1992

Correction for liquid junction potentials in patch clamp experiments.

This chapter describes corrections that have to be applied to measured membrane potentials in patch clamp experiments. Some of them [Eqs. (1)-(3)] are required regardless of the nature of the reference electrode (in the Ringer's solution bath) whenever the pipette-filling solution is different from the bath solution. They represent the liquid junction potentials that are present at the pipette tip before patch formation. In addition, corrections have to be applied when the bath solution is being changed during a measurement (i.e., after seal formation). In that case the following rules apply. (1) The new solution should never get into contact with the bare silver/silver chloride wire of the reference electrode. This requirement is best met by using a salt bridge. (2) The "best" salt bridge is a 3 M KCl bridge with an abrupt KCl-bath fluid boundary at its tip (see above). This bridge does not require any additional potential corrections, but it may lead to KCl poisoning of the bath or become contaminated by solutions used previously. (3) Local solution changes (microperfusion by puffer pipette, U tool or sewer pipe arrangements) as well as recessed KCl bridges require additional corrections, which (together with the simple liquid junction potential correction) are approximately given by Eqs. (6)-(8). It should be stressed that all equations given here represent approximate corrections, since liquid junction potentials are thermodynamically ill-defined. This is particularly relevant for Eqs. (6) and (7) where the sum of two liquid junction potentials appears.

Amplifiers, Electronic↗
PubMed1992

Neuronal Ca2+ signalling takes the local route.

The past year has seen several sets of experimental results demonstrate that fast, large and highly localized rises in intracellular Ca2+ concentration can occur in neurons. These results confirm previous theoretical predictions of acute spatial compartmentalization of Ca2+ signalling, and document a form of signalling that may occur whenever rapid and local signal processing is the goal. The dimensions involved present severe challenges for attempts to directly measure these signalling events.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Dihydropyridine-sensitive and omega-conotoxin-sensitive calcium channels in a mammalian neuroblastoma-glioma cell line.

1. Pharmacological and kinetic properties of high-voltage-activated (HVA) Ca2+ channel currents were studied using the whole-cell and perforated patch-clamp methods in a mouse neuroblastoma and rat glioma hybrid cell line, NG108-15, differentiated by dibutyryl cyclic AMP or by prostaglandin E1 and theophylline. 2. The HVA currents were separated into two components by use of two organic Ca2+ channel antagonists, omega-conotoxin GVIA (omega CgTX) and a dihydropyridine (DHP) compound, nifedipine. One current component, IDHP, was blocked by nifedipine (Kd = 8.2 nM) and was resistant to omega CgTX. Conversely, the other component, I omega CgTX, was irreversibly blocked by omega CgTX and was resistant to DHPs. Thus, IDHP could be studied in isolation by a short application of omega CgTX, while I omega CgTX could be studied in the presence of nifedipine. 3. The voltage for half-activation of IDHP was smaller than that of I omega CgTX by 13 mV. IDHP was activated at potentials that were subthreshold for voltage-dependent K+ currents of the cell, whereas I omega CgTX was not. 4. Time courses of activation and deactivation of IDHP were faster than those of I omega CgTX. 5. Voltage-dependent inactivation was small for both IDHP and I omega CgTX at any potential. 6. Ca(2+)-dependent inactivation of IDHP was faster and more prominent than that of I omega CgTX. The time course of the Ca(2+)-dependent inactivation of IDHP, but not I omega CgTX, was slowed as the membrane potential was made more positive between -20 and 30 mV, although amplitude of the current was increased. 7. Alkaline earth metal ions carried the two components of IHVA in the same order: Ba2+ greater than Sr2+ greater than Ca2+. 8. Metal ions blocked the two components of IHVA in the same order of potency: Gd3+ greater than La3+ greater than Cd2+ greater than Cu2+ greater than Mn2+ greater than Ni2+. 9. An alkylating agent, N-ethylmaleimide (NEM, 0.1 mM), selectively augmented IDHP by 30%. 10. During the course of cellular differentiation induced by dibutyryl cyclic AMP, IDHP appeared earlier than I omega CgTX. 11. These results indicate that two classes of Ca2+ channels contribute to the HVA currents of this cell line. The DHP-sensitive channel is more apt to generate Ca2+ spikes and Ca2+ plateau potentials than the omega CgTX-sensitive channel.

3-Pyridinecarboxylic acid, 1,4-dihydro-2,6-dimethy↗
PubMed1992

Volume-sensitive chloride conductance in bovine chromaffin cell membrane.

1. Bovine chromaffin cells were inflated by pressure applied through a pipette or swollen during intracellular perfusion with hypertonic solutions. Effects of such procedures on electrical properties of the membrane were studied by a combination of the tight-seal whole-cell patch-clamp technique and Fura-2 fluorescence measurements of free intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i). 2. Application of air pressure (about +5 cmH2O or 490 Pa) through the patch pipette caused an increase in the cell volume and concomitant development of an inwardly directed transient current at the holding potential of -60 mV. The current gradually increased to a peak value and subsequently decayed almost to its initial level within 5-10 min. A short pulse of pressure (5-10 s) was sufficient to elicit the whole sequence of events. 3. Intracellular free Ca2+ ion concentration, [Ca2+]i, steeply increased at the beginning of the pressure pulse to about 0.2 microM and either stayed at this level or decayed back to the more usual value of approximately 0.1 microM. 4. Similar changes in the transmembrane current and [Ca2+]i were observed during intracellular perfusion of cells with hypertonic solutions (30-50 mosM difference relative to the bath solution) or during extracellular application of hypotonic solution. 5. Swelling of non-perfused cells by extracellular application of hyposmotic solution caused the appearance of inward currents in cell-attached membrane patches held at a fixed potential -30 mV relative to the cell's resting potential. The kinetics of the current resembled those of the whole-cell current. 6. Intracellular introduction of guanosine triphosphate (GTP, 300 microM) significantly prolonged the duration (from 62 +/- 10 s, n = 5, to 98 +/- 8 s, n = 4, when measured at the level of half-amplitude), while introduction of the non-hydrolysable analogue of guanosine diphosphate (GDP), guanosine 5'-O-(2-thiodiphosphate) (GDP beta S, 300 microM), decreased the maximal rate of increase (from 11.4 +/- 2.6 pA/s, n = 6, to 3.2 +/- 2.1 pA/s, n = 10) of the current activated by pressure. 7. Lowering of the intracellular free Ca2+ ion concentration by introduction of 10 mM-EGTA did not significantly affect the current amplitude or time course. However, a rapid increase in the [Ca2+]i to micromolar levels (by activation of the voltage-operated calcium channels during membrane depolarization) could terminate development of the current activated by pressure and cause its fast decay to zero-current level.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

4,4'-Diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-Disulfonic Acid↗
PubMed1992

Calcium requirements for secretion in bovine chromaffin cells.

1. Measurements of membrane capacitance and intracellular Ca2+ concentration, [Ca2+]i, were used to examine the Ca2+ dependence of secretion in single adrenal chromaffin cells. 2. Intracellular dialysis of Ca2+, through a patch pipette, promoted secretion; the rate of secretion increased monotonically as [Ca2+]i was elevated, while the total amount of secretion reached a maximum at 1.5 microM-Ca2+ and declined at high [Ca2+]i. 3. Release of Ca2+ from internal stores, using bradykinin or ionomycin, transiently elevated [Ca2+]i and the rate of secretion. 4. Considering responses to both Ca2+ dialysis and release from internal stores, it appears that the rate of secretion increases over a range of [Ca2+]i levels above 0.2 microM and saturates at concentrations greater than 10 microM, if at all. Secretion appears to have a Hill coefficient for Ca2+ of about 2. At [Ca2+]i greater than 1-2 microM, prolonged elevation of [Ca2+]i, via dialysis, produced lower rates of secretion than transient elevation of [Ca2+]i caused by release from internal stores. This may have been caused by a depletion of readily releasable chromaffin granules during prolonged elevation of [Ca2+]i. 5. Brief depolarizing pulses produced transient rises in both [Ca2+]i and the rate of secretion. The ability of these pulses to evoke secretion 'washed out' during prolonged intracellular dialysis, due to both reduced Ca2+ influx and a diminished ability of the cell to secrete in response to a given Ca2+ load. 6. The kinetics of the secretory response depended upon the size of the depolarization-induced Ca2+ load; small rises in [Ca2+]i increased membrane capacitance only during the depolarization, while larger rises in [Ca2+]i produced increases both during and following the depolarization. The secretory responses that outlasted the depolarization appeared to be due to persistent elevation of [Ca2+]i. Secretory responses were sometimes followed by a slower decline in membrane capacitance, probably due to endocytosis of membrane. 7. Comparison of the rates of secretion measured during depolarization to those produced by Ca2+ dialysis or release from internal stores suggests that [Ca2+]i at secretory sites can exceed 10 microM during depolarization. The spatially averaged measurements of [Ca2+]i indicate much smaller levels of [Ca2+]i; thus, there must be pronounced spatial gradients of [Ca2+]i during depolarization.

Adrenal Glands↗
PubMed1992

Calcium gradients and buffers in bovine chromaffin cells.

1. Digital imaging and photometry were used in conjunction with the fluorescent Ca2+ indicator, Fura-2, to examine intracellular Ca2+ signals produced by depolarization of single adrenal chromaffin cells. 2. Depolarization with a patch pipette produced radial gradients of Ca2+ within the cell, with Ca2+ concentration highest in the vicinity of the plasma membrane. These gradients dissipated within a few hundred milliseconds when the voltage-gated Ca2+ channels were closed. 3. Dialysis of Fura-2 into the chromaffin cell caused concentration-dependent changes in the depolarization-induced Ca2+ signal, decreasing its magnitude and slowing its recovery time course. These changes were used to estimate the properties of the endogenous cytoplasmic Ca2+ buffer with which Fura-2 competes for Ca2+. 4. The spatially averaged Fura-2 signal was well described by a model assuming fast competition between Fura-2 and an endogenous buffer on a millisecond time scale. Retrieval of calcium by pumps and slow buffers occurs on a seconds-long time scale. No temporal changes indicative of buffers with intermediate kinetics could be detected. 5. Two independent estimates of the capacity of the fast endogenous Ca2+ buffer suggest that 98-99% of the Ca2+ entering the cell normally is taken up by this buffer. This buffer appears to be immobile, because it does not wash out of the cell during dialysis. It has a low affinity for Ca2+ ions, because it does not saturate with 1 microM-Ca2+ inside the cell. 6. The low capacity, affinity and mobility of the endogenous Ca2+ buffer makes it possible for relatively small amounts of exogenous Ca2+ buffers, such as Fura-2, to exert a significant influence on the characteristics of the Ca2+ concentration signal as measured by fluorescence ratios. On the other hand, even at moderate Fura-2 concentrations (0.4 mM) Fura-2 will dominate over the endogenous buffers. Under these conditions radiometric Ca2+ concentration signals are largely attenuated, but absolute fluorescence changes (at 390 nm) accurately reflect calcium fluxes.

Adrenal Glands↗
PubMed1992

Ca(2+)-activated K+ channels modulate muscarinic secretion in cat chromaffin cells.

1. This study was aimed at testing the hypothesis that Ca(2+)-dependent K+ channels regulate the release of catecholamines mediated by muscarinic stimulation of cat adrenal chromaffin cells. Two parameters were measured: the secretory response to brief pulses of methacholine (100 microM for 10 s) in intact cat adrenal glands perfused at a high rate with oxygenated Krebs solution; and the changes in cytosolic Ca2+ concentrations, [Ca2+]i, produced by puff applications of methacholine pulses (also 100 microM for 10 s) in isolated single cat adrenal chromaffin cells loaded with Fura-2. 2. A pulse of methacholine released 805 +/- 164 ng of catecholamines (mean of thirty-two pulses). d-Tubocurarine (DTC) increased the secretory response in a concentration-dependent manner. The maximum increase (around 1000 ng catecholamines over control values) was reached at 100 microM-DTC and the EC50 was around 10 microM. 3. The secretory responses to methacholine alone, or to the combination of methacholine plus DTC, were strongly dependent on the extracellular Ca2+ concentration, [Ca2+]o. Thus Ca2+o removal from the perfusing solution for 5-10 min abolished catecholamine release. 4. At 0.1 microM, isradipine (an L-type Ca2+ channel blocker) inhibited by 71% the secretory response to DTC plus methacholine. At 1 microM, Bay K 8644 (an L-type Ca2+ channel activator) increased 2-fold the secretory response to DTC plus methacholine (2746 ng of catecholamines). 5. Apamin (1 microM) increased 3.5-fold the secretory response to methacholine pulses (from 500 to 1800 ng of catecholamines). 6. Methacholine pulses enhanced [Ca2+]i from the resting level of 100 nM to a peak of 1000 nM which quickly declined to basal level. DTC (100 microM) enhanced by 20% the [Ca2+]i peak and substantially prolonged its duration. 7. Apamin (1 microM) increased by 60% the [Ca2+]i peak evoked by methacholine, and delayed the initiation of decline of the [Ca2+]i peak. 8. These results are compatible with the idea that muscarinic stimulation depolarizes the cat adrenal chromaffin cell through an unidentified mechanism. Depolarization is probably counteracted by activation of Ca2+i-dependent K+ channels. Therefore, inhibition of these channels enhances depolarization and firing of action potentials which activate voltage-dependent L-type Ca2+ channels to increase further the Ca2+i signal and the secretory response. Thus Ca2+i-dependent K+ channels, probably of the small-conductance type (SK), seem to be involved in the modulation of muscarinic-evoked catecholamine release responses in cat adrenal chromaffin cells.

3-Pyridinecarboxylic acid, 1,4-dihydro-2,6-dimethy↗
PubMed1991

Pertussis-toxin-sensitive inhibition by (-) baclofen of Ca signals in bovine chromaffin cells.

Ca signals in bovine adrenal chromaffin cells were studied both in Fura-2/AM-loaded intact cells, and in voltage-clamped cells under whole-cell patch-clamp conditions. The effects of gamma-aminobutyric acid b subtype (GABAb) receptor activation on K(+)-depolarization-induced signals and on voltage-activated Ca2+ currents were investigated. Both GABA (20 microM) plus bicuculline (20 microM) and (-)baclofen (20-100 microM), effectively inhibited the Ca signal in intact cells. The effects caused by baclofen continued to develop during the time interval between two successive stimuli. The restoration of the Ca signal during washout of baclofen was also delayed and continued in some experiments for 10-20 min. The inhibitory effect of baclofen on the Ca signal was eliminated by pre-treatment of the cells with pertussis toxin (PTX, 1 micrograms/ml, for 4-6 h at 37 degrees C). Baclofen (50 microM) inhibited Ca2+ current in whole-cell mode by at most 20%. The effect developed quickly and was reversible. Infusion into the cells of a non-hydrolyzable analogue of guanosine 5'-triphosphate GTP gamma S (100 microM), led to complete inhibition of the Ca2+ conductance and of voltage-evoked intracellular Ca ([CA]i) transients within 2 min. In paired cells intracellularly perfused with GTP gamma S-free solution, the Ca2+ current amplitude decreased by only about 30% for 5-6 min. It is concluded that bovine chromaffin cells have functional GABAb receptors the activation of which, mediated by a PTX-sensitive GTP-binding protein, inhibits the evoked increase in cytosolic free Ca2+.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Novel chloride conductance in the membrane of bovine chromaffin cells activated by intracellular GTP gamma S.

1. The effects of introducing the non-hydrolysable GTP analogue guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) (GTP gamma S) into perfused bovine chromaffin cells were studied by a combination of the tight-seal whole-cell patch-clamp technique and Fura-2 fluorescence [Ca2+]i measurements. 2. GTP gamma S (5-300 microM) induced a slowly developing transient current (inwardly directed at the holding potential -60 to -70 mV) and [Ca2+]i oscillations. The current activated with a 10-50 s delay after the start of whole-cell dialysis, peaked at 70-120 s and decayed almost to its initial level during the next 150-300 s. Calcium oscillations were observed within the first 100-150 s of cell perfusion. 3. GTP competitively lowered the probability of current activation by GTP gamma S. At low GTP gamma S/GTP ratio (5 and 300 microM, respectively) activation of the current was observed only rarely. 4. The activation of the current was accompanied by an increase in conductance but not by changes in the current reversal potential. The changes in the conductance did not depend on the membrane potential; no time-dependent relaxation of the current was induced by steps in the membrane voltage. 5. The current reversal potential was close to the Cl- equilibrium potential; changes in the extracellular Cl- concentration induced corresponding changes in the current amplitude and shifted its reversal potential. The permeability to larger anions--aspartate, glutamate and isethionate--was about one-tenth of that for chloride. 6. Single-channel conductance, estimated from the ratio of the mean current and its variance, was about 1-2 pS. 7. The current could be reversibly blocked by 4,4'-diisothiocyanatostilbene-2,2'-disulphonate (DIDS, 10 microM), chlorpromazine (5 microM) and tolbutamide (0.5-5 mM). 8. It is suggested that the GTP gamma S-induced increase in the permeability to Cl- ions is due to a G protein-mediated production of an as yet unidentified second messenger.

4,4'-Diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-Disulfonic Acid↗
PubMed1991

Ion influx as a transduction signal in mast cells.

Stimulation of mast cells leads to a transient increase in the concentration of free intracellular calcium, which, in a fraction of cells, is followed by a plateau of elevated calcium. The early part of this signal is due to release of calcium from intracellular stores. It is not important for secretion. The late plateau phase, if present, greatly accelerates secretion. It is mediated by two influx pathways, one of which can be identified as a nonspecific cationic channel.

Animals↗