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Electrophysiology of phagocytic membranes: Induction of slow membrane hyperpolarizations in macrophages and macrophage polykaryons by intracellular calcium injection

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Summary

Some electrophysiological characteristics of macrophages and macrophage polykaryons of foreign body granuloma have been investigated. Cells were obtained from implants of small coverslips in the subcutaneous tissue or in the peritoneal cavity of rats and mice. Transmembrane potentials ranged from −5 to −40 mV. Input resistances ranged from 5 to 120 MΩ, being significantly higher in mice polykaryons. Approximately 10% of the cells exhibited spontaneous slow membrane hyperpolarizations (SH) indistinguishable from those observed in macrophages. SH responses were invariably evoked by iontophoretic injection of calcium ions into the cytoplasm of mice macrophages or macrophage polykaryons. The amplitude of these responses increased with the amount of current carried by calcium ions into the cells. The maximum amplitude of the calcium-induced SH responses is a linear function of the logarithm of [K+] 0 (from 3 to 40mm). The slope of the regression line is 43 mV for a 10-fold increase in [K+] 0 . Substituting sodium chloride by sodium isethionate or by choline chloride does not interfere with the occurrence of SH. The assumption that the SH is solely a consequence of an increase in the membrane conductance to K+ was used to calculate the potassium equilibrium potential (E K). TheE K value is also a linear function of the logarithm of [K+] 0 (from 3 to 40mm). The slope of the regression line is 46 mV for a 10-fold increase in [K+] 0 . These results constitute evidence of the calcium dependence of K+ permeability during SH both in macrophages and macrophage polykaryons. Macrophage polykaryons are a more convenient model than macrophages for the study of the mechanisms underlying the SH responses and their possible physiological implications.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Biofísica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Ilha do Fundão, 21.941, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Pedro M. Persechini (Fellow of the National Research Council (CNPq), Elizabeth G. Araujo (Fellow of the National Research Council (CNPq) & Gilberto M. Oliveira-Castro (Career Investigator of the National Research Council (CNPq)

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  1. Pedro M. Persechini
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  2. Elizabeth G. Araujo
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  3. Gilberto M. Oliveira-Castro
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Persechini, P.M., Araujo, E.G. & Oliveira-Castro, G.M. Electrophysiology of phagocytic membranes: Induction of slow membrane hyperpolarizations in macrophages and macrophage polykaryons by intracellular calcium injection. J. Membrain Biol. 61, 81–90 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02007634

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02007634

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