Regulation of ClC-1 and KATP channels in action potential-firing fast-twitch muscle fibers.

Action potential (AP) excitation requires a transient dominance of depolarizing membrane currents over the repolarizing membrane currents that stabilize the resting membrane potential. Such stabilizing currents, in turn, depend on passive membrane conductance (G(m)), which in skeletal muscle fibers covers membrane conductances for K(+) (G(K)) and Cl(-) (G(Cl)). Myotonic disorders and studies with metabolically poisoned muscle have revealed capacities of G(K) and G(Cl) to inversely interfere with muscle excitability. However, whether regulation of G(K) and G(Cl) occur in AP-firing muscle under normal physiological conditions is unknown. This study establishes a technique that allows the determination of G(Cl) and G(K) with a temporal resolution of seconds in AP-firing muscle fibers. With this approach, we have identified and quantified a biphasic regulation of G(m) in active fast-twitch extensor digitorum longus fibers of the rat. Thus, at the onset of AP firing, a reduction in G(Cl) of approximately 70% caused G(m) to decline by approximately 55% in a manner that is well described by a single exponential function characterized by a time constant of approximately 200 APs (phase 1). When stimulation was continued beyond approximately 1,800 APs, synchronized elevations in G(K) ( approximately 14-fold) and G(Cl) ( approximately 3-fold) caused G(m) to rise sigmoidally to approximately 400% of its level before AP firing (phase 2). Phase 2 was often associated with a failure to excite APs. When AP firing was ceased during phase 2, G(m) recovered to its level before AP firing in approximately 1 min. Experiments with glibenclamide (K(ATP) channel inhibitor) and 9-anthracene carboxylic acid (ClC-1 Cl(-) channel inhibitor) revealed that the decreased G(m) during phase 1 reflected ClC-1 channel inhibition, whereas the massively elevated G(m) during phase 2 reflected synchronized openings of ClC-1 and K(ATP) channels. In conclusion, G(Cl) and G(K) are acutely regulated in AP-firing fast-twitch muscle fibers. Such regulation may contribute to the physiological control of excitability in active muscle.

Comparison of regulated passive membrane conductance in action potential-firing fast- and slow-twitch muscle.

In several pathological and experimental conditions, the passive membrane conductance of muscle fibers (G(m)) and their excitability are inversely related. Despite this capacity of G(m) to determine muscle excitability, its regulation in active muscle fibers is largely unexplored. In this issue, our previous study (Pedersen et al. 2009. J. Gen. Physiol. doi:10.1085/jgp.200910291) established a technique with which biphasic regulation of G(m) in action potential (AP)-firing fast-twitch fibers of rat extensor digitorum longus muscles was identified and characterized with temporal resolution of seconds. This showed that AP firing initially reduced G(m) via ClC-1 channel inhibition but after approximately 1,800 APs, G(m) rose substantially, causing AP excitation failure. This late increase of G(m) reflected activation of ClC-1 and K(ATP) channels. The present study has explored regulation of G(m) in AP-firing slow-twitch fibers of soleus muscle and compared it to G(m) dynamics in fast-twitch fibers. It further explored aspects of the cellular signaling that conveyed regulation of G(m) in AP-firing fibers. Thus, in both fiber types, AP firing first triggered protein kinase C (PKC)-dependent ClC-1 channel inhibition that reduced G(m) by approximately 50%. Experiments with dantrolene showed that AP-triggered SR Ca(2+) release activated this PKC-mediated ClC-1 channel inhibition that was associated with reduced rheobase current and improved function of depolarized muscles, indicating that the reduced G(m) enhanced muscle fiber excitability. In fast-twitch fibers, the late rise in G(m) was accelerated by glucose-free conditions, whereas it was postponed when intermittent resting periods were introduced during AP firing. Remarkably, elevation of G(m) was never encountered in AP-firing slow-twitch fibers, even after 15,000 APs. These observations implicate metabolic depression in the elevation of G(m) in AP-firing fast-twitch fibers. It is concluded that regulation of G(m) is a general phenomenon in AP-firing muscle, and that differences in G(m) regulation may contribute to the different phenotypes of fast- and slow-twitch muscle.