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Reappraisal of the role of sodium ions in excitation-contraction coupling in frog twitch muscle

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Summary

Tetanic and twitch tension were recorded on isolated frog twitch fibres under experimental conditions modifying the influx of sodium ions. In current clamp conditions replacing Li+ for Na+ did not modify the electrical activity but drastically decreased the plateau of tetanic tension. In voltage clamp conditions replacing Li+ for Na+ did not modify the inward currents but induced a marked decrease of the plateau of the tetanic tension for depolarizations between the activation threshold and the reversal potential of sodium current. Under veratridine treatment, during tetanic depolarization, a slow inward sodium (or lithium) current developed. This induced a parallel increase of the tetanic tension which was much more pronounced in sodium than in lithium containing solution. The twitch tension obtained during short depolarization was increased by > 100% during veratridine treatment with a sizeable decrease (40%) of the delay between the end of depolarization and the beginning of tension. All these results could be reproduced in calcium-free solution. Our data confirm that the entry of sodium ions (and to a lesser extent of lithium ions) is able to modulate the release of calcium from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). We discuss these results in terms of a model where sodium ions entering the compartment between the tubular membrane and the SR junctional membrane carry counter charges through the SR K+ channels and help to maintain the SR Ca2+ release. This could occur in particular during a physiological tetanic contraction where the junctional compartment is probably filled with Na+ ions and depleted of K+ ions.

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  1. Laboratoire de Physiologie des Eléments Excitables (CNRS UA 180), Université Claude Bernard Lyon I, 43, boulevard du 11 Novembre 1918, 69622, Villeurbanne Cedex, France

    B. Allard & O. Rougier

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  1. B. Allard
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  2. O. Rougier
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Allard, B., Rougier, O. Reappraisal of the role of sodium ions in excitation-contraction coupling in frog twitch muscle. J Muscle Res Cell Motil 13, 117–125 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01738435

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01738435

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