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H Chagneux

Publications and source records attributed to H Chagneux.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

Encoding properties induced by a persistent voltage-gated muscarinic sodium current in rabbit sympathetic neurones.

1. A time- and voltage-dependent Na(+)-selective current termed INa,M is activated by muscarinic agonists or splanchnic nerve stimulation in sympathetic neurones of rabbit coeliac and superior mesenteric ganglia. The firing patterns induced by INa,M were investigated in patch-clamped neurones within intact ganglia, and compared with those generated by a neuronal model including INa,M. 2. INa,M was characterized by voltage-dependent low threshold activation and high-threshold inactivation functions. The overlapping functions produced a persistent U-shaped current between -100 and -20 mV, which peaked at the cell resting potential. The activation and inactivation kinetics were fitted to single exponentials with time constants of approximately 100 and 400 ms, respectively. 3. Activating INa,M with muscarinic agonists or nerve stimulation depolarized and fired the neurones. The depolarization was paralleled by an apparent increase in input membrane resistance. The model showed that this paradox resulted from the turning off of INa,M during resistance tests, which also accounted for the all-or-none slow hyperpolarizing responses to current pulses. 4. INa,M gave the neurones an N-shaped I-V relationship capable of producing complex firing patterns. Under given conditions, carbachol-treated neurones could either fire regularly or remain silent at approximately -80 mV, i.e. they displayed bistability. Transitions from one state to the other were triggered with short current pulses. The transitions resulted from the turning on and off of INa,M. 5. Firing reduced INa,M, an effect abolished by blocking Ca2+ channels or adding BAPTA (40 mM) to the pipette. The Ca(2+)-related negative regulation of INa,M may have mediated endogenous bursting activity. Burst firing was generated by the model upon introducing Ca2+ regulation of INa,M. 6. The results demonstrate that INa,M gives prevertebral sympathetic neurones a wide repertoire of firing patterns: pacemaker-like properties, bistability and burst firing capability. They suggest that the INa,M-related encoding properties may provide sympathetic neurotransmission with new potentialities.

Animals↗

Single-channel and whole-cell recordings from on-neurone glial cells in Helix pomatia ganglia.

A procedure is described for performing patch-clamp recordings on satellite glial cells kept in place within the nervous ganglia in the mollusc Helix. Glial cell properties were deduced from whole-cell and cell-attached recordings. The glial membrane was found to contain densely packed inwardly rectifying K+ channels. Activation of the neurones, under either current-clamp or voltage-clamp conditions, depolarized the glial cell layer wrapped around the neurones and induced a delayed persistent increase in the K+ channel opening probability. These results suggest that the glial channels opened in response to a signal emanating from the active neurones. This preparation provides a useful means of detecting and analysing neurone-glial interactions at the cell and unitary channel levels.

Animals↗

Ca2(+)-activated K+ current involvement in neuronal function revealed by in situ single-channel analysis in Helix neurones.

1. The properties of single calcium-activated potassium channels (or C-channels) were studied in cell-attached patches using the patch-clamp technique. Experiments were performed on identified Ca2(+)-dependent U cells in juvenile specimens (1-2 months old) of Helix aspersa. 2. The criteria used to identify C-channels were based on comparison between macroscopic C-currents and currents reconstructed from unitary recordings. Both currents had a slow activation rate at large positive potentials which turned into fast activation after large Ca2+ entries. Both currents were blocked by intracellularly injected EGTA. 3. The unitary conductance in normal (5 mM) or reduced (0.5 mM) [K+]o ranged from 24 to 65 pS (mean +/- S.D., 48 +/- 13; n = 64). With 85-110 mM [K+]o, which is approximately equal to the internal [K+], the conductance was 64 pS and the reversal potential was approximately 0 mV. 4. C-channels in U cells were distributed in clusters of three to ten channels (mean 5.05 channels in seventy-five patches). Calcium channels were present in patches containing clustered C-channels. C-channels within clusters behaved independently. 5. With patch electrode containing 8 mM-calcium, C-channels opened transiently upon patch depolarization. Reopenings in quiescent depolarized patches were induced by whole-cell spikes triggered by current pulses applied to an intracellular electrode. Apparent inactivation of C-channels in depolarized patches was in fact due to a decrease in [Ca2+]i resulting from inactivation of Ca2+ channels. 6. Calcium-free saline solutions in the patch electrodes prevented C-channels from opening upon patch depolarization. Entry of calcium through the surrounding membrane induced delayed openings in the patch. Peak opening probability Po occurred 330 +/- 30 ms after a brief Ca2+ entry with a lag period of 50-80 ms. With patch electrodes filled with Ca2(+)-containing saline solutions and under conditions which maximized C-channel opening, peak Po was reached in 20-50 ms. The same value was observed for the whole-cell C-current. 7. The peak Po at a given patch potential and in response to a whole-cell spike was not altered by a previous long-lasting patch depolarization, or by producing several successive Ca2+ entries. Thus, C-channels did not appear to be inactivated by depolarization or increase in [Ca2+]i. 8. C-channels were found to be relatively highly voltage dependent, with an e-fold increase in Po per 14.9 mV increase in potential.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Action Potentials↗

Voltage-dependent opening of single calcium-activated potassium channels in Helix neurons.

Single Ca-activated K channels (C channels) were identified in cell-attached patches in Helix neurons. The respective effects of membrane potential and calcium on the opening probability Po were separated by using Ca-free filled patch electrodes. C channels were found to be highly voltage-dependent, with an e-fold increase in Po per 15 mV increase in potential. The location of the Po(V) curve on the voltage axis was dependent on the intracellular Ca concentration. These data indicate that C channels provide the cell with a powerful repolarizing mechanism.

Animals↗

Decrease in magnetic anisotropy of external segments of the retinal rods after a total photolysis.

The magnetic anisotropy of a polymembrane cell, such as the external segment of the frog retinal rod, is defined as the difference between the axial magnetic susceptibility (chiar), chia - chir = deltachi of the segment. After the total photolysis of the rhodopsin in situ, deltachi decreases a significantly by 20%. This decrease in magnetic anisotrophy should involve a subtle molecular disorder, mostly due to an alteration of the rhodopsin molecule.

Animals↗