[Ionic channels formed in the lipid bilayer membranes by aureofuscin, a polyene antibiotics]

A chamber filled with salt solution and separated into two compartments by a Teflon partition with a pore of 700 microns diameter was used to investigate the action of aureofuscin, a polyene antibiotics, on a planar lipid bilayer. The pore was covered with a bilayer formed by a N-decane solution of lecithin and cholesterol (20 mg/ml and 5 mg/ml). The electrical property and ionic permeability of the bilayer were studied by using voltage clamp method. Decrease of the bilayer resistance and the channel-like activity could be observed 20 min after the addition of aureofuscin (10-20 micrograms/ml) to one compartment. The existence of a transmembrane voltage and ionic gradient were not necessary for the channel-forming activity of aureofuscin. Discrete current steps were recorded at a concentration of 1.4 micrograms/ml aureofuscin, with a predominant unit conductance of 4-6 pS in a symmetric KCl, solution of 100 mmol/L. By using Goldmann-Hodgkin-Katz voltage equation the ionic selectivity of the channel formed by aureofuscin was estimated by the reversal potential measured in the asymmetrical solution system. The results showed that aureofuscin channels were more permeable to potassium ion than to chloride ion (PK/PCl approximately 5.2). These data may be used to explain the action of aureofuscin on neurotransmitter release and muscle membrane potential in addition to providing some explanation on its curing effect in clinical use.