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T J Colatsky

Publications and source records attributed to T J Colatsky.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Differential block of cardiac delayed rectifier current by class Ic antiarrhythmic drugs: evidence for open channel block and unblock.

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to compare the effects of the class Ic antiarrhythmic drugs flecainide, encainide, and recainam on the delayed rectifier current, IK. METHODS: Membrane currents were studied using the single suction pipette voltage clamp technique in freshly dissociated cat ventricular myocytes bathed in HEPES buffered physiological saline at 32 degrees C. RESULTS: Flecainide and encainide decreased IK with IC50 values of 2.1 microM and 6 microM, respectively. Recainam (100 microM) reduced IK by only 7 (SEM 3)% after 20-30 min exposure and by 19% after an 80 min exposure (IC50 > 400 microM). None of the compounds blocked the inward rectifier, IK1. Block of IK by flecainide and encainide increased with depolarisation following a voltage dependence similar to that describing channel activation. Flecainide and encainide also slowed the time course of the IK tail currents, consistent with drug dissociating from open channels. CONCLUSIONS: The observed voltage dependence for IK block by flecainide and encainide resembles the interaction reported between these agents and the excitatory sodium channel, ie, depolarisation enhances block while repolarisation leads to removal of block. The results further suggest that the electrophysiological profile of class Ic agents can have a markedly different ionic basis, ie, K+ channel block by flecainide and encainide is balanced by a potent block of sodium channels, while recainam appears to be a weak but relatively specific blocker of sodium channels only. These differences are not readily accommodated by the current Harrison-Vaughan-Williams classification scheme, and suggest the possibility that potentially important drug specific differences can exist within the same antiarrhythmic drug class.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Effects of WAY-123,398, a new class III antiarrhythmic agent, on cardiac refractoriness and ventricular fibrillation threshold in anesthetized dogs: a comparison with UK-68798, E-4031, and dl-sotalol.

Previous studies in isolated ventricular myocytes showed that WAY-123,398 is a selective blocker of the delayed rectifier K+ current (IK). In this report, we studied the electrophysiological and hemodynamic effects of WAY-123,398 in open-chest anesthetized dogs. WAY-123,398 prolonged atrial and ventricular refractoriness without affecting conduction; WAY-123,398 was as effective as UK-68798, E-4031, and dl-sotalol, but less potent than UK-68798 and E-4031. The increase in atrial refractoriness was approximately twice as large as the ventricular increase with all compounds. The hemodynamic effects of WAY-123,398 were similar to those of UK-68798; at the ED20 for increasing ventricular refractoriness, WAY-123,398 did not affect the mean arterial pressure and decreased the heart rate by 20%. In a different series of experiments, all four compounds produced large and comparable increases in the ventricular fibrillation threshold in anesthetized dogs; WAY-123,398 and UK-68798 induced defibrillation and restoration of sinus rhythm in two of six dogs each and E-4031 in one of six dogs. No episodes of drug-induced restoration to sinus rhythm were observed in dogs treated with sotalol or vehicle. In conclusion, WAY-123,398 is an effective Class III agent without Class I actions and with a favorable hemodynamic profile.

Anesthesia↗
PubMed1992

Modulation of the delayed rectifier, IK, by cadmium in cat ventricular myocytes.

The effects of cadmium on the delayed outward potassium current (IK) were investigated in isolated cat ventricular myocytes using the single suction pipette voltage-clamp technique. IK activation was examined using peak tail currents elicited after 750-ms voltage-clamp steps to selected membrane potentials from a holding potential of -40 mV. In the presence of Cd2+ (0.2 mM), peak tail currents increased from a control value of 85 +/- 12 to 125 +/- 18 pA (n = 4). Activation curves constructed from the average peak tail-current measurements in all experiments showed that Cd2+ shifted the voltage dependence of activation to more positive potentials by 16.4 +/- 2.0 mV and increased the slope factor of the activation curve from 6.1 +/- 0.2 to 6.9 +/- 0.2 mV. In the absence of Cd2+, increases in holding potential from -30 to -70 mV had no effect on the magnitude of the peak tail currents, suggesting that the Cd(2+)-induced increase was not the result of a voltage-dependent increase in the number of available K+ channels at the holding potential. Slow voltage ramps from -70 to +70 mV revealed that Cd2+ increased the outward current at membrane potentials positive to +20 mV and shifted the voltage range in which IK inwardly rectified to more positive potentials. The fully activated current-voltage relationship was also shifted to more positive potentials by Cd2+. Cd2+ did not alter channel selectivity for K+.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Potassium channel activators cromakalim and celikalim (WAY-120,491) fail to decrease myocardial infarct size in the anesthetized canine.

The cardioprotective effects of the K channel activator drugs celikalim (WAY-120,491) and cromakalim were studied in a canine model of myocardial infarction consisting of 90 min of ischemia and 5 h of reperfusion. Intracoronary infusion of cromakalim and celikalim at 0.2 microgram/kg/min beginning 10 min before occlusion of the left circumflex coronary artery and continuing throughout the duration of the reperfusion period appeared to exacerbate ischemic injury. Infarct size (percent of risk area) was 27.7 +/- 5.6% in vehicle control animals (n = 5), 40.3 +/- 6.2% for cromakalim (n = 5) and 55.7 +/- 6.4% (p less than 0.05 vs. vehicle) for celikalim-treated animals (n = 5). When these compounds were administered intravenously, using doses shown to increase total coronary flow in nonoccluded control animals, no exacerbation of ischemic injury was observed. Anatomic infarct size was 32.8 +/- 7.1% for vehicle animals (n = 5) and 32.6 +/- 13.3 and 30.9 +/- 9.8% for cromakalim- (n = 6) and celikalim-treated (n = 5) animals, respectively. Intravenous diltiazem decreased myocardial infarct size to 16.3 +/- 7.3% (n = 5) of area at risk (p = NS vs. vehicle). The anatomic area at risk was similar in all three treatment groups, and no significant differences in rate-pressure product were observed. Results of this study suggest that K-channel-activating drugs such as cromakalim and celikalim may not be effective agents in the acute therapeutic management of myocardial ischemic injury.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Electromechanical effects of the putative potassium channel activator celikalim (WAY-120,491) on feline atrial and ventricular muscle.

Celikalim (WAY-120,491) is a putative potassium channel activator that has been shown to lower blood pressure in animal models and humans. In the present study, we have examined the effects of celikalim on contractility and ionic currents in feline cardiac muscle. Celikalim was found to decrease contractility in electrically stimulated (2 Hz frequency) left atrial and right ventricular papillary muscle preparations with IC50 values of 0.95 +/- 0.12 microM (n = 6) and 0.29 +/- 0.07 microM (n = 5), respectively. Glyburide (1 microM) reversed the celikalim-induced negative inotropy (left atrial halves). Celikalim was also shown to activate a glyburide-sensitive current in voltage-clamped isolated ventricular myocytes that reversed close to the calculated value of the potassium equilibrium potential (n = 4 cells). In addition, celikalim was found to inhibit voltage-activated calcium current (L-type) in isolated ventricular myocytes (51 +/- 2% inhibition at 1 microM; n = 4 cells). We conclude that celikalim is a potassium channel activator and hypothesize that both the negative inotropy and the glyburide-sensitive current evoked by this drug are mediated by ATP-regulated potassium channels. Inhibition of voltage-activated calcium channels by celikalim may also contribute to the negative inotropy induced by this drug.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Comparative antithrombotic activities of the phosphodiesterase inhibitors pelrinone (AY-26,768), AY-31,390 and milrinone.

The phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitors AY-31,390, milrinone and pelrinone (AY-28,768) were analyzed in human platelet aggregatory systems and in a rabbit arteriovenous shunt model to delineate their activity. AY-31,390 showed a remarkably potent capacity to inhibit human antithrombotic platelet aggregation. AY-31,390 inhibited arachidonic acid, U46619, collagen, epinephrine (second phase) and adenosine diphosphate (second phase) induced platelet aggregation (PA) with IC50 values of 0.18, 0.21, 0.54, 0.43 and 0.20 microM, respectively. Milrinone, although less potent than AY-31,390, inhibited PA with IC50 values of 2.1, 2.0, 5.4, 3.7 and 4.1 microM and pelrinone's IC50 values were 2.8, 6.6, 13.3, 18.6 and 11.8 microM, respectively. Platelets which were incubated with AY-31,390, milrinone or pelrinone, washed with Hanks' balanced salt solution and then resuspended in platelet poor plasma, lost their inhibitory activity in collagen and arachidonic acid PA systems. These results suggested that AY-31,390, milrinone and pelrinone did not bind tightly to cAMP PDE. If human platelet-rich plasma was pretreated with adenosine deaminase, an enzyme that degrades adenosine, the inhibitory effect of milrinone and to a lesser extent pelrinone was reversed. AY-31,390 did not produce a loss of activity with adenosine deaminase in the arachidonic acid system and only a small loss in the collagen system. Adenosine did not appear to be a meaningful factor in AY-31,390's inhibitory activity. Pelrinone, milrinone to a greater extent, and AY-31,390 to the greatest extent were effective inhibitors of white thrombus formation in the in vivo rabbit arteriovenous shunt model. These PDE III inhibitors were potent deterrants of platelet aggregation and white thrombus formation; these agents would be expected to be efficacious therapeutic antithrombotics.

Adenosine Deaminase↗
PubMed1991

Potentiation of phosphodiesterase inhibitor antithrombotic activity with alpha-2 adrenergic blockade.

The antithrombotic activity of pelrinone, a phosphodiesterase III inhibitor was examined in a canine model of coronary thrombosis that uses electrical current to injure the coronary endothelium. Ninety percent of vehicle treated animals developed complete coronary occlusion and thrombus mass was 32.0 +/- 5.8 mg. In a group of animals treated with zomepirac, 10 mg/kg i.v., included as a positive control, thrombus mass was decreased to 10.3 +/- 3.3 mg and incidence of occlusion was reduced to 37.5%. Pelrinone, 5.0 mg/kg i.v. decreased the incidence of occlusion to 50%, thrombus mass to 21.3 +/- 8.3 mg and inhibited platelet aggregation to collagen, ADP and arachidonic acid by 80%, 54% and 87% of baseline, respectively. When yohimbine, an alpha 2-adrenergic antagonist, was co-administered (2.0 mg/kg at the beginning of the experiment +0.5 mg/kg halfway through the experiment) with the same dose of pelrinone, thrombus mass was decreased to 1.0 +/- 0.5 mg and none of the animals developed coronary occlusion. Yohimbine administration by itself at 2.0-3.0 mg/kg showed no evidence of antithrombotic activity (thrombus mass = 32.8 +/- 8.0 mg, incidence of occlusion = 100%). This dose of yohimbine inhibited significantly ADP-induced aggregation in the presence of epinephrine. These results demonstrate that, even though this dose of pelrinone elicited near maximal inhibition of platelet aggregation, the concurrent administration of an alpha 2-adrenergic antagonist was able to potentiate markedly the phosphodiesterase inhibitor antithrombotic activity.

Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists↗
PubMed1991

The effects of the putative potassium channel activator WAY-120,491 on 86Rb efflux from the rabbit aorta.

WAY-120,491 [(-)-(3S-trans)-2-[3,4-dihydro-3-hydroxy-2,2-dimethyl-6-(trifluoromet hox y)- 2H-1-benzopyran-4-yl]-2,3-dihydro-1H-isoindol-1-one] is a novel antihypertensive agent. We have investigated the effects of this compound on contractile force and 86Rb efflux, using the rabbit aorta, in order to assess its K channel activator properties. K channel blockers and ionic conditions thought to modulate specific K channel types have been used to provide insight into the K channel(s) affected by this compound. WAY-120,491 evoked relaxation of precontracted rabbit aortic rings and increased the rate of 86Rb efflux from strips of rabbit aorta; both effects occurring in a concentration-dependent manner. The WAY-120,491 (1 microM)-induced 86Rb efflux was inhibited by tetraethylammonium (IC50 = 0.38 mM), indicating that the increased efflux was mediated by K channels. Glyburide completely blocked the WAY-120,491 (1 microM)-evoked 86Rb efflux with 50% block occurring at a concentration of 0.48 microM. Glyburide also antagonized the WAY-120,491-induced relaxation of aortic rings. Omission of Ca from the solution bathing the aorta did not inhibit the WAY-120,491 induced 86Rb efflux but rather caused an augmentation of the response. It is concluded that WAY-120,491 may be classified as a K channel opener. Furthermore, the K channel upon which WAY-120,491 acts exhibits some characteristics normally associated with the ATP regulated K channel although the involvement of other K channel types has not been ruled out.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Block of delayed rectifier potassium current, IK, by flecainide and E-4031 in cat ventricular myocytes.

Block of the delayed rectifier potassium current, IK, by the class IC antiarrhythmic agent, flecainide, and by the novel selective class III antiarrhythmic agent, E-4031, were compared in isolated cat ventricular myocytes using the single suction-pipette, voltage-clamp technique. Flecainide (10 microM) markedly reduced IK elicited on depolarization steps to plateau voltages (+10 mV) and nearly completely blocked the "tail currents" elicited on repolarization to -40 mV (93 +/- 4% block at +40 mV, n = 3). E-4031 (1 microM) produced similar effects (96 +/- 3% block at +40 mV, n = 3). Slow voltage ramps from -100 to +40 mV confirmed inward rectifying properties of IK and showed that flecainide and E-4031 have no effects on the background potassium current, IK1. Thus, the results demonstrate that block of IK is a common feature of flecainide and E-4031. IK block by E-4031 most likely underlies the drug's potent class III antiarrhythmic properties. On the other hand, flecainide block of IK during an action potential would tend to prolong repolarization, but this effect may be obscured by concomitant block of plateau Na+ channels to produce little or no change in action potential duration, consistent with its class IC classification.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Channel specificity in antiarrhythmic drug action. Mechanism of potassium channel block and its role in suppressing and aggravating cardiac arrhythmias.

Although work on class III antiarrhythmics remains at an early stage, these agents still appear to possess greater efficacy and less proarrhythmia than conventional class I agents in those experimental arrhythmia models considered to be most representative of the clinical situation. Although prolongation of repolarization carries with its own tendency for pause-dependent arrhythmogenesis (i.e., torsade de pointes), available data suggest that this may be a function of nonspecificity in potassium channel block rather than a general characteristic of class III activity. The availability of new and more selective blockers of specific cardiac potassium channels under development as class III agents have already helped to clarify basic questions about the ionic mechanism of repolarization in the heart, and one hopes that a growing clinical data base will eventually determine the relative safety and efficacy of these agents in preventing symptomatic and life-threatening arrhythmias.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Electrical properties of canine subendocardial Purkinje fibers surviving in 1-day-old experimental myocardial infarction.

The passive electrical properties of subendocardial Purkinje fibers surviving in infarcted regions of canine ventricle 24 hours after coronary ligation were studied by using microelectrode techniques and cable theory. In normal hearts, cells within the subendocardial Purkinje fiber strands were found to be well coupled to each other but electrically isolated from neighboring myocardium. Voltage response to intracellular current injection was consistent with one-dimensional cable behavior and yielded estimates of passive electrical properties in general agreement with previous work on free-running Purkinje strands (membrane length constant, 1.2 +/- 0.1 mm; membrane time constant, 7.3 +/- 0.8 msec; input resistance, 67.4 +/- 7.4 K omega; membrane resistance, 8.2 +/- 0.7 K omega.cm; axial resistance, 0.52 +/- 0.06 M omega/cm; membrane capacitance, 960 +/- 102 nF/cm) (n = 21). On the day after coronary ligation, subendocardial Purkinje fiber action potentials were prolonged and slightly depolarized. Significant increases were measured in input resistance (+40.5%), membrane resistance (+43.9%), and axial resistance (+47.5%), whereas membrane capacitance was found to be significantly decreased (-24.3%) (n = 19). Conduction velocity, membrane length constant, membrane time constant, and the time constant and capacitance for the foot of the action potential remained unchanged. These results are consistent with electrical uncoupling between adjacent cells, which will increase internal resistivity, accompanied by changes in cellular phospholipid content, which can increase membrane resistance and alter membrane capacitance. Alternatively, the results can be explained by a simple model in which the apparent electrical structure is altered by changes in electrical coupling alone, with specific electrical properties remaining constant. Although the mechanisms underlying the observed changes remain uncertain, the present study indicates that myocardial infarction is associated with alterations in the passive electrical structure of surviving subendocardial Purkinje fibers, which, together with changes in action potential configuration, may provide a substrate for the generation of ventricular arrhythmias 24 hours after coronary ligation.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1988

Cardiac electrophysiology of the antiarrhythmic agent recainam (Wy-42,362) in anesthetized dogs: relation to plasma and myocardial concentrations.

The present study was undertaken to characterize the cardiac electrophysiologic effects of the investigational class I antiarrhythmic agent recainam (Wy-42,362) on the canine heart in situ, and to determine the possible relationship between these effects and the concentration of drug in plasma and myocardium. Cardiac conduction times and refractory periods were measured at a paced cycle length of 300 ms in open-chest anesthetized dogs by recording atrial, ventricular, and His bundle electrograms. Recainam was infused intravenously (as a loading + maintenance dose) at either (a) 7.5 mg/kg/20 min + 5 mg/kg/60 min (low-dose group) or (b) 15 mg/kg/20 min + 10 mg/kg/60 min (high-dose group). Samples of plasma and ventricular myocardium were removed at selected times for subsequent analysis. At the end of the maintenance infusion, low-dose recainam produced a plasma concentration of 4.1 +/- 0.5 micrograms/ml and significantly increased atrial conduction time only. Plasma levels with high-dose recainam reached 9.4 +/- 3.5 micrograms/ml at end infusion, and produced significant increases in all measured electrophysiologic parameters except ventricular refractory period. Myocardial levels of recainam were undetectable in the low-dose group, but increased linearly with plasma concentration in the high-dose group with a myocardium/plasma ratio of nearly 1:1. Changes in ventricular conduction time, H-V interval, atrial and ventricular refractory periods, and Wenckebach cycle length correlated significantly with recainam concentration in plasma. In addition, drug levels in the ventricle correlated with the observed changes in both ventricular conduction time and ventricular refractory period. The data suggest that recainam plasma levels may serve as a useful guide in monitoring electrophysiologic response to this agent.

Anesthesia↗
PubMed1987

Cellular electrophysiology of the new antiarrhythmic agent recainam (Wy-42,362) in canine cardiac Purkinje fibers.

Recainam, [N-2,6-dimethylphenyl-N'-3-(1-methylethyl-amino)propylurea] hydrochloride (Wy-42,362), is a new class I antiarrhythmic agent that has been shown to be very effective in suppressing premature ventricular contractions in humans. To clarify the mechanism of antiarrhythmic action, the electrophysiologic effects of recainam were examined in canine cardiac Purkinje fibers using standard microelectrode techniques. Recainam at 3-100 microM (1-30 micrograms/ml) produced concentration-dependent decreases in action potential duration (APD), membrane responsiveness, and maximal upstroke velocity (Vmax). The reduction in Vmax was strongly modulated by the frequency of stimulation--i.e., Vmax block was use dependent. The rate of development of use-dependent block produced by recainam was much slower than typically seen with lidocaine, but comparable with that of the class Ia agents disopyramide and procainamide. However, unlike agents of the Ia subclass, recainam did not prolong APD at any concentration or cycle length tested. In summary, recainam appears to possess a novel cardiac cellular electrophysiologic profile, in that it shares characteristics with all three current class I antiarrhythmic subclasses.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1986

Efficacy of the antidepressant iprindole against experimental arrhythmias.

The antiarrhythmic activity of iprindole was compared to that of imipramine in a variety of experimental arrhythmia models. Iprindole at 20 mg/kg i.v. showed efficacy in reverting ouabain- and aconitine-induced arrhythmias in pentobarbital anesthetized dogs, and at 15-30 mg/kg i.v. reduced the severity of the ventricular arrhythmias following acute coronary artery occlusion in anesthetized pigs. Imipramine (5-10 mg/kg i.v.) was also effective in reverting ouabain- and aconitine-induced arrhythmias, but appeared to exacerbate arrhythmias during coronary occlusion. In microelectrode experiments on isolated dog Purkinje fibers, iprindole reduced maximal upstroke velocity (Vmax) and action potential duration (characteristics of Class Ib antiarrhythmic agents) at concentrations greater than 1 microgram/ml. Significant decreases in Vmax occurred at lower iprindole concentrations when membrane potential was reduced by increasing external potassium from 4 to 10 mM, suggesting that electrical activity in depolarized cells may be selectively suppressed by iprindole. The present data indicate that iprindole may exert beneficial therapeutic effects in the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias, mediated, at least in part, through a Class I mechanism of action.

Aconitine↗
PubMed1981

Tetrodotoxin block of sodium channels in rabbit Purkinje fibers. Interactions between toxin binding and channel gating.

Tetrodotoxin (TTX) block of cardiac sodium channels was studied in rabbit Purkinje fibers using a two-microelectrode voltage clamp to measure sodium current. INa decreases with TTX as if one toxin molecule blocks one channel with a dissociation constant KD approximately equal to 1 microM. KD remains unchanged when INa is partially inactivated by steady depolarization. Thus, TTX binding and channel inactivation are independent at equilibrium. Interactions between toxin binding and gating were revealed, however, by kinetic behavior that depends on rates of equilibration. For example, frequent suprathreshold pulses produce extra use-dependent block beyond the tonic block seen with widely spaced stimuli. Such lingering aftereffects of depolarization were characterized by double-pulse experiments. The extra block decays slowly enough (tau approximately equal to 5 s) to be easily separated from normal recovery from inactivation (tau less than 0.2 s at 18 degrees C). The amount of extra block increases to a saturating level with conditioning depolarizations that produce inactivation without detectable activation. Stronger depolarizations that clearly open channels give the same final level of extra block, but its development includes a fast phase whose voltage- and time-dependence resemble channel activation. Thus, TTX block and channel gating are not independent, as believed for nerve. Kinetically, TTX resembles local anesthetics, but its affinity remains unchanged during maintained depolarization. On this last point, comparison of our INa results and earlier upstroke velocity (Vmax) measurements illustrates how much these approaches can differ.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Voltage clamp measurements of sodium channel properties in rabbit cardiac Purkinje fibres.

1. Voltage clamp studies of the excitatory sodium current, INa, were carried out in rabbit cardiac Purkinje fibres using th two-micro-electrode technique. Previous work has shown the rabbit Purkinje fibre to have relatively simple morphology (Sommer & Johnson, 1968) and electrical structure (Colatsky & Tsien, 1979a) compared to other cardiac preparations. 2. Non-uniformities in membrane potential were kept small by reducing the size of INa to less than 50 microA/cm2 of total membrane surface area through prepulse inactivation or removal of external sodium, Nao. Temporal resolution was improved by cooling to 10-26 degrees C. These adjustments did not greatly alter the measured properties of the sodium channel. 3. Under these conditions, sodium currents were recorded satisfying a number of criteria for adequate voltage control. Direct measurement of longitudinal non-uniformity using a second voltage electrode showed only small deviations at the time of peak current. 4. The properties of the sodium channel were examined using conventional protocols. Both peak sodium permeability, PNa, and steady-state sodium inactivation, h infinity, showed a sigmoidal dependence on membrane potential. PNa rose steeply with small depolarizations, increasing roughly e-fold per 3.2 mV, and reaching half-maximal activation at -30 +/- 2 mV. The h infinity -V curve had a midpoint of -74.9 +/- 2 mV and a reciprocal slope of 4.56 +/- 0.13 mV at temperatures of 10-19.5 degrees C, and showed a dependence on temperature, shifting to more negative potentials with cooling (approximately 3 mV/10 degrees C). Recovery of INa from inactivation in double pulse experiments followed a single exponential time course with time constants of 108-200 msec at 19 degrees C for holding potentials near -80 mV. No attempt was made to describe the activation kinetics because of uncertainties about the early time course of the current. 5. These data predict a maximum duration for INa of less than 1-2 msec and a maximum peak current density of about 500 microA/cm2 under physiological conditions, i.e. 37 degrees C and 150 mM-Nao. This current magnitude is sufficient to discharge the membrane capacitance at rates comparable to those measured experimentally (311 +/- 27 V/sec, Colatsky & Tsien, 1979a). 6. The limitations of the method are discussed. The major problem is the longitudinal cable delay which limits the speed of voltage control. This makes it difficult to separate the activation of INa from the decay of the capacity transient for potentials positive to -15 mV. 7. It is concluded that the approach described is valid for measurements of sodium currents in the potential range where action potentials are initiated, making it possible to study cardiac sodium channels in an adult mammalian preparation which is free of enzymatic treatment.

Animals↗