Reactivation processes of three inward current systems involved in the rising phase of the action potentials in embryonic chick hearts

Abstract

In embryonic chick hearts during development, there are three inward current systems which are involved in the rising phases of the action potentials (APs): fast INa, slow ICa, and tetrodotoxin-insensitive slow INa. To assess reactivation processes for these three types of inward current channels (fast Na+, slow Ca2+, and slow Na+ channels), diastolic recovery of [Formula: see text] was examined in embryonic chick hearts using a paired-pulse protocol. In all cases, the diastolic recoveries were approximated by single exponential functions. The time constants of recovery [Formula: see text] and T90% (the diastolic interval which allows 90% recovery of [Formula: see text] of the premature AP) were, respectively, 53.1 ± 5.2 and 61.5 ± 8.6 ms for the Na+-dependent fast AP (n = 10), 376.9 ± 49.3 and 659.2 ± 113.1 ms for the Ca2+-dependent slow AP (n = 10), and 40.7 ± 5.3 and 45.6 ± 12.0 ms for the Na+-dependent slow AP (n = 10). In the presence of lidocaine, the recovery kinetics also appeared to be single exponentials for diastolic intervals up to 500 ms (fast APs) or 250 ms (slow APs). The reactivation processes for the Na+-dependent fast and slow channels were significantly slowed by 100 μM lidocaine. In addition, in the presence of 100 μM lidocaine, [Formula: see text] was depressed in a frequency-dependent manner; the higher the stimulation frequency, the greater the depression. Hence, the fast Na+ channels and the slow Na+ channels had the following similarities: rapid reactivation, reactivation slowed by lidocaine, and frequency-dependent depression in the presence of lidocaine.