MODIFICATIONS OF SODIUM-CHANNEL GATING IN MYXICOLA GIANT-AXONS BY DEUTERIUM-OXIDE, TEMPERATURE, AND INTERNAL CATIONS

In dialyzed Myxicola axons substitution of heavy water (D2O) externally and internally slows both sodium and potassium kinetics and decreases the maximum conductances. Furthermore, this effect is strongly temperature dependent, the magnitude of the slowing produced by D2O substitution decreasing with increasing temperature over the range 3–14 degrees C with a Q10 of approximately 0.71. The relatively small magnitude of the D2O effect, combined with its strong temperature dependence, suggests that the rate limiting process producing a conducting channel involves appreciable local changes in solvent structure. Maximum conductances in the presence of D2O were decreased by approximately 30%, while the voltage dependences of both gNa and gK were not appreciably changed. In contrast to the effects of heavy water substitution on the ionic currents, membrane asymmetry currents were not altered by D2O, suggesting that gating charge movement may preceed by several steps the final transformation of the Na+ channel to a conducting state. In Myxicola axons the effect of temperature alone on asymmetry current kinetics can be well described via a simple temporal expansion equivalent to a Q10 of 2.2, which is somewhat less than the Q10 of GNa activation. The integral of membrane asymmetry current, representing maximum charge movement, is however not appreciably altered by temperature. © 1979, The Biophysical Society. All rights reserved.