Skip to main content
NCBI home page
The Journal of Physiology logoLink to The Journal of Physiology
. 1983 Mar;336:345–357. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1983.sp014585

Electrical coupling between ventricular paired cells isolated from guinea-pig heart.

M Kameyama
PMCID: PMC1198973  PMID: 6875911

Abstract

Guinea-pig hearts were digested enzymatically, resulting in aggregates of cells, cell pairs and single cells. Pairs of cells were chosen for measurement of coupling resistance (rj). Current was injected into one cell of a cell pair. The ratio of the resulting voltage change of the other cell to that of the injected cell was more than 0.8 in most cells (tight electrical coupling) or near 0 in a few cells (functional isolation). rj was affected neither by the transjunctional current, nor by the membrane potential itself. On the other hand, either a reduction of external Na+ concentration (15-60 mM), or an application of ouabain or strophanthidin (10(-5) M) produced a significant increase in rj. It is concluded that low-resistance cell-to-cell junctions are functionally preserved in pairs of dissociated ventricular cells, that the junctional membrane shows no detectable rectification and that intracellular Ca2+ reduces the junctional conductance.

Full text

PDF
345

Images in this article

353Fig. 7
on p.353
356-2Plate 1
on p.356-2

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. BARR L., DEWEY M. M., BERGER W. PROPAGATION OF ACTION POTENTIALS AND THE STRUCTURE OF THE NEXUS IN CARDIAC MUSCLE. J Gen Physiol. 1965 May;48:797–823. doi: 10.1085/jgp.48.5.797. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bennett M. V. Physiology of electrotonic junctions. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1966 Jul 14;137(2):509–539. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1966.tb50178.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Dahl G., Isenberg G. Decoupling of heart muscle cells: correlation with increased cytoplasmic calcium activity and with changes of nexus ultrastructure. J Membr Biol. 1980 Mar 31;53(1):63–75. doi: 10.1007/BF01871173. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. De Mello W. C. Effect of intracellular injection of calcium and strontium on cell communication in heart. J Physiol. 1975 Sep;250(2):231–245. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1975.sp011051. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Detwiler P. B., Hodgkin A. L. Electrical coupling between cones in turtle retina. J Physiol. 1979 Jun;291:75–100. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1979.sp012801. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Délèze J. The recovery of resting potential and input resistance in sheep heart injured by knife or laser. J Physiol. 1970 Jul;208(3):547–562. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1970.sp009136. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. FURSHPAN E. J., POTTER D. D. Transmission at the giant motor synapses of the crayfish. J Physiol. 1959 Mar 3;145(2):289–325. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1959.sp006143. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Heppner D. B., Plonsey R. Simulation of electrical interaction of cardiac cells. Biophys J. 1970 Nov;10(11):1057–1075. doi: 10.1016/S0006-3495(70)86352-4. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Isenberg G., Klöckner U. Glycocalyx is not required for show inward calcium current in isolated rat heart myocytes. Nature. 1980 Mar 27;284(5754):358–360. doi: 10.1038/284358a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Kamiyama A., Matsuda K. Electrophysiological properties of the canine ventricular fiber. Jpn J Physiol. 1966 Aug 15;16(4):407–420. doi: 10.2170/jjphysiol.16.407. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Lamb T. D., Simon E. J. The relation between intercellular coupling and electrical noise in turtle photoreceptors. J Physiol. 1976 Dec;263(2):257–286. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1976.sp011631. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Lee K. S., Weeks T. A., Kao R. L., Akaike N., Brown A. M. Sodium current in single heart muscle cells. Nature. 1979 Mar 15;278(5701):269–271. doi: 10.1038/278269a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Loewenstein W. R. Junctional intercellular communication: the cell-to-cell membrane channel. Physiol Rev. 1981 Oct;61(4):829–913. doi: 10.1152/physrev.1981.61.4.829. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Loewenstein W. R. Permeability of membrane junctions. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1966 Jul 14;137(2):441–472. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1966.tb50175.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Mullins L. J. The generation of electric currents in cardiac fibers by Na/Ca exchange. Am J Physiol. 1979 Mar;236(3):C103–C110. doi: 10.1152/ajpcell.1979.236.3.C103. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Nishiye H. The mechanism of Ca2+ action on the healing-over process in mammalian cardiac muscles: a kinetic analysis. Jpn J Physiol. 1977;27(4):451–466. doi: 10.2170/jjphysiol.27.451. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Page E., Shibata Y. Permeable junctions between cardiac cells. Annu Rev Physiol. 1981;43:431–441. doi: 10.1146/annurev.ph.43.030181.002243. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Powell T., Terrar D. A., Twist V. W. Electrical properties of individual cells isolated from adult rat ventricular myocardium. J Physiol. 1980 May;302:131–153. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1980.sp013234. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Rose B., Loewenstein W. R. Calcium ion distribution in cytoplasm visualised by aequorin: diffusion in cytosol restricted by energized sequestering. Science. 1975 Dec 19;190(4220):1204–1206. doi: 10.1126/science.1198106. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Sakamoto Y. Membrane characteristics of the canine papillary muscle fiber. J Gen Physiol. 1969 Dec;54(6):765–781. doi: 10.1085/jgp.54.6.765. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Spira A. W. The nexus in the intercalated disc of the canine heart: quantitative data for an estimation of its resistance. J Ultrastruct Res. 1971 Mar;34(5):409–425. doi: 10.1016/s0022-5320(71)80055-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Taniguchi J., Kokubun S., Noma A., Irisawa H. Spontaneously active cells isolated from the sino-atrial and atrio-ventricular nodes of the rabbit heart. Jpn J Physiol. 1981;31(4):547–558. doi: 10.2170/jjphysiol.31.547. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. WATANABE A., GRUNDFEST H. Impulse propagation at the septal and commissural junctions of crayfish lateral giant axons. J Gen Physiol. 1961 Nov;45:267–308. doi: 10.1085/jgp.45.2.267. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. WEIDMANN S. The electrical constants of Purkinje fibres. J Physiol. 1952 Nov;118(3):348–360. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1952.sp004799. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Weidmann S. Electrical constants of trabecular muscle from mammalian heart. J Physiol. 1970 Nov;210(4):1041–1054. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1970.sp009256. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Weidmann S. Electrical coupling between myocardial cells. Prog Brain Res. 1969;31:275–281. doi: 10.1016/S0079-6123(08)63246-X. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Weidmann S. The diffusion of radiopotassium across intercalated disks of mammalian cardiac muscle. J Physiol. 1966 Nov;187(2):323–342. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1966.sp008092. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Weingart R. The actions of ouabain on intercellular coupling and conduction velocity in mammalian ventricular muscle. J Physiol. 1977 Jan;264(2):341–365. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1977.sp011672. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Wilson W. A., Goldner M. M. Voltage clamping with a single microelectrode. J Neurobiol. 1975 Jul;6(4):411–422. doi: 10.1002/neu.480060406. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Woodbury J. W., Crill W. E. The potential in the gap between two abutting cardiac muscle cells. A closed solution. Biophys J. 1970 Nov;10(11):1076–1083. doi: 10.1016/S0006-3495(70)86353-6. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of Physiology are provided here courtesy of The Physiological Society

RESOURCES