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Quantitative Analysis of Resting Membrane Electrogenesis in Insect (Diptera) Skeletal Muscle : II. Testing of A Model Involving Contributions from Potassium and Sodium Ions, and the Anomalous Effect of Reducing Extracellular Sodium

1988; The Company of Biologists; Volume: 136; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1242/jeb.136.1.433

1477-9145

Mustafa B.A. Djamgoz, Jill Dawson,

Seed Germination and Physiology

ABSTRACT A model of resting membrane electrogenesis in skeletal muscles of prepupal Calliphora erythrocephala was formulated. From experiments in which reversible effects of changing extracellular K+ and Na+ activities on the membrane potential (EM) were measured, three different values of a (the ratio of the partial permeabilities of the membrane to Na+ and K+) were derived, each from a different range of extracellular Na+ and K+ activities. Two independent tests were carried out to determine the most realistic value of a. Intracellular K+ and Na+ activities and EM values were measured in a population of cells, and the EM values predicted using the Goldman-Hodgkin-Katz equation for different values of a. The best fit for the data was obtained for α= 0·036. In ionic substitution experiments, in which passive movements of Cl− were prevented or minimized, the changes in EM around the resting level could be explained with a high degree of accuracy by assuming again that α = 0·036. However, tests of the model by investigation of direct effects of reducing extracellular Na+ concentration over a wide range of EM values gave an anomalous result. In low-Na+ Ringer, EM values became more positive than the respective resting levels. The anomalous effect of low-Na+ Ringer on EM did not involve a change in the K+ equilibrium potential. Instead, it was probably due to a reduction in the K+ permeability of the membrane. Possible mechanisms underlying this effect are discussed.