Skip to main content
NCBI home page
The Journal of General Physiology logoLink to The Journal of General Physiology
. 1968 Feb 1;51(2):177–198. doi: 10.1085/jgp.51.2.177

Interaction of DDT with the Components of Lobster Nerve Membrane Conductance

Toshio Narahashi 1, Hans G Haas 1
PMCID: PMC2201121  PMID: 5641634

Abstract

The falling phase of action potential of lobster giant axons is markedly prolonged by treatment with DDT, and a plateau phase appears as in cardiac action potentials. Repetitive afterdischarge is very often superimposed on the plateau. Voltage-clamp experiments with the axons treated with DDT and with DDT plus tetrodotoxin or saxitoxin have revealed the following: DDT markedly slows the turning-off process of peak transient current and suppresses the steady-state current. The falling phase of the peak transient current in the DDT-poisoned axon is no longer expressed by a single exponential function as in normal axons, but by two or more exponential functions with much longer time constants. The maximum peak transient conductance is not significantly affected by DDT. DDT did not induce a shift of the curve relating the peak transient conductance to membrane potential along the potential axis. The time to peak transient current and the time for the steady-state current to reach its half-maximum are prolonged by DDT to a small extent. The finding that, under the influence of DDT, the steady-state current starts flowing while the peak transient current is partially maintained supports the hypothesis of two operationally separate ion channels in the nerve membrane.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (1.1 MB).

Selected References

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

  1. ARMSTRONG C. M., BINSTOCK L. ANOMALOUS RECTIFICATION IN THE SQUID GIANT AXON INJECTED WITH TETRAETHYLAMMONIUM CHLORIDE. J Gen Physiol. 1965 May;48:859–872. doi: 10.1085/jgp.48.5.859. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Adelman W. J., Jr, Senft J. P. Voltage clamp studies on the effect of internal cesium ion on sodium and potassium currents in the squid giant axon. J Gen Physiol. 1966 Nov;50(2):279–293. doi: 10.1085/jgp.50.2.279. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. MOORE J. W., ULBRICHT W., TAKATA M. EFFECT OF ETHANOL ON THE SODIUM AND POTASSIUM CONDUCTANCES OF THE SQUID AXON MEMBRANE. J Gen Physiol. 1964 Nov;48:279–295. doi: 10.1085/jgp.48.2.279. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Moore J. W., Blaustein M. P., Anderson N. C., Narahashi T. Basis of tetrodotoxin's selectivity in blockage of squid axons. J Gen Physiol. 1967 May;50(5):1401–1411. doi: 10.1085/jgp.50.5.1401. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. NARAHASHI T., MOORE J. W., SCOTT W. R. TETRODOTOXIN BLOCKAGE OF SODIUM CONDUCTANCE INCREASE IN LOBSTER GIANT AXONS. J Gen Physiol. 1964 May;47:965–974. doi: 10.1085/jgp.47.5.965. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. NARAHASHI T., YAMASAKI T. Behaviors of membrane potential in the cockroach giant axons poisoned by DDT. J Cell Comp Physiol. 1960 Apr;55:131–142. doi: 10.1002/jcp.1030550204. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. NARAHASHI T., YAMASAKI T. Mechanism of increase in negative after-potential by dicophanum (DDT) in the giant axons of the cockroach. J Physiol. 1960 Jun;152:122–140. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1960.sp006475. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Nakamura Y., Nakajima S., Grundfest H. The action of tetrodotoxin on electrogenic components of squid giant axons. J Gen Physiol. 1965 Jul;48(6):975–996. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Narahashi T., Anderson N. C. Mechanism of excitation block by the insecticide allethrin applied externally and internally to squid giant axons. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 1967 May;10(3):529–547. doi: 10.1016/0041-008x(67)90092-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Narahashi T., Anderson N. C., Moore J. W. Comparison of tetrodotoxin and procaine in internally perfused squid giant axons. J Gen Physiol. 1967 May;50(5):1413–1428. doi: 10.1085/jgp.50.5.1413. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Narahashi T., Anderson N. C., Moore J. W. Tetrodotoxin does not block excitation from inside the nerve membrane. Science. 1966 Aug 12;153(3737):765–767. doi: 10.1126/science.153.3737.765. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Narahashi T., Haas H. G. DDT: interaction with nerve membrane conductance changes. Science. 1967 Sep 22;157(3795):1438–1440. doi: 10.1126/science.157.3795.1438. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Narahashi T., Haas H. G., Therrien E. F. Saxitoxin and tetrodotoxin: comparison of nerve blocking mechanism. Science. 1967 Sep 22;157(3795):1441–1442. doi: 10.1126/science.157.3795.1441. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. O'BRIEN R. D., MATSUMURA F. DDT: A NEW HYPOTHESIS OF ITS MODE OF ACTION. Science. 1964 Oct 30;146(3644):657–658. doi: 10.1126/science.146.3644.657. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. PICKARD W. F., LETTVIN J. Y., MOORE J. W., TAKATA M., POOLER J., BERNSTEIN T. CAESUM IONS DO NOT PASS THE MEMBRANE OF THE GIANT AXON. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1964 Nov;52:1177–1183. doi: 10.1073/pnas.52.5.1177. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. SHANES A. M. Electrical phenomena in nerve; crab nerve. J Gen Physiol. 1949 Sep;33(1):75–102. doi: 10.1085/jgp.33.1.75. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. TASAKI I., HAGIWAR A. S. Demonstration of two stable potential states in the squid giant axon under tetraethylammonium chloride. J Gen Physiol. 1957 Jul 20;40(6):859–885. doi: 10.1085/jgp.40.6.859. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Takata M., Moore J. W., Kao C. Y., Fuhrman F. A. Blockage of sodium conductance increase in lobster giant axon by tarichatoxin (tetrodotoxin). J Gen Physiol. 1966 May;49(5):977–988. doi: 10.1085/jgp.49.5.977. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of General Physiology are provided here courtesy of The Rockefeller University Press

RESOURCES