Summary
Cell pairs isolated from adult rat and guinea pig ventricles were used to study the electrical properties of the nexal membrane. Each cell of a pair was connected to a voltage-clamp system so as to enable whole-cell, tight-seal recording. The current-voltage relationship of the nexal membrane was found to be linear, revealing a resistance rn of 2–4 MΩ. rn was insensitive to the sarcolemmal membrane potential (range:−90 to +30 mV), and exerted no time-dependent gating behavior (range: 0.1 to 10 s). Lowering pHi yielded a small increase in rn. Vigorous elevations in [Ca2+]i gave rise to an increase in rn which was associated with a cell shortening. Uncoupling caused by aliphatic alcohols or halothane did not produce cell shortening. Cell pairs were also used to study action potential transfer.
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Weingart, R., Maurer, P. Cell-to-cell coupling studied in isolated ventricular cell pairs. Experientia 43, 1091–1094 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01956045
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01956045