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Giant excised cardiac sarcolemmal membrane patches: sodium and sodium-calcium exchange currents

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  • Heart, Circulation, Respiration and Blood; Environmental and Exercise Physiology
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Summary

A tightly-sealed cardiac sarcolemmal patch preparation of large diameter (10–16 μm with 5–25 GΩ seals) has been developed to study regulation of selected electrogenic mechanisms. Formation of a large readily accessible membrane surface area is achieved by incubating freshly isolated myocytes in a high KCl/zero calcium solution, which promotes separation of sarcolemma from myofilaments. The formation of large-diameter, high resistance seals is facilitated by depositing a neutral hydrocarbon film on electrode tips. Sodium currents in excised patches are stable for patch life-times of 15–40 min with peak current densities of 120 to 350 μA/cm2. Outward sodium-calcium exchange current is identified by its specific dependence on external calcium and internal sodium, inhibition by cobalt and dichlorobenzamil, and activation by <0.1μM internal free, calcium. Maximum exchange current density is >20 μA/cm2.

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Supported by a Grant-in-Aid and an Established Investigatorship of the American Heart Association.

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Hilgemann, D.W. Giant excised cardiac sarcolemmal membrane patches: sodium and sodium-calcium exchange currents. Pflügers Arch 415, 247–249 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00370601

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00370601

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