Gating current experiments on frog nodes of Ranvier treated with Centruroides sculpturatus toxins or aconitine

(1) Gating currents were recorded from frog nodes of Ranvier treated either with toxins III or IV from the venom of the scorpion Centruroides sculpturatus or with the alkaloid toxin aconitine. (2) Toxins III or IV from Centruroides sculpturatus (which drastically reduce the sodium permeability PNa and slightly shift its voltage dependence in the depolarizing direction) caused a small depolarizing shift of the relation between charge (Qon) and membrane potential (E) without affecting the maximum charge Qon max. (3) On nodes treated with toxins III or IV from Centruroides sculpturatus, a depolarizing conditioning pulse (which transiently shifts the descending branch of the INa(E) curve by up to 60 mV in the hyperpolarizing direction) shifted the midpoint potential (Emid) of the Qon(E) curve by -17 mV and slightly increased the slope of the curve; it also decreased Qon max markedly but had little effect on Qon measured with small depolarizing pulses. By contrast, massive treatment with aconitine (which irreversibly shifts sodium activation in the hyperpolarizing direction) irreversibly shifted the midpoint potential of the Qon(E) curve from -28.5 to -69 mV and significantly increased Qon and Qoff measured with small depolarizing pulses; concomitantly, the voltage dependence of the on time constant of the charge movement [tau on(E)] was shifted by -44 mV. (4) The sodium current INa was exponential both in nodes treated with toxins III or IV of Centruroides sculpturatus and subjected to a depolarizing conditioning pulse and in aconitine-treated nodes; in the latter, INa started after a delay of 30-40 microseconds. The time constant of the sodium current. tau on Na, was larger than the time constant of the charge movement, tau on Q; the ratio tau on Q/tau on Na was 0.61 and 0.73 in the experiments with Centruroides sculpturatus toxins and aconitine, respectively. (5) The off time constant of the sodium current (tau off Na) was slightly increased in nodes treated with Centruroides sculpturatus toxins and subjected to a depolarizing conditioning pulse, whereas it was markedly increased in aconitine-treated nodes. With the former treatment, the off time constant of the charge movement (tau off Q) was unaffected but with aconitine treatment it was considerably increased although it remained smaller than tau off Na. Consequently, the ratio tau off Q/tau off Na (which is greater than or equal to 1 in untreated nodes) became smaller than one, reaching values as low as 0.58 and 0.44 in the experiments with Centruroides sculpturatus toxins and aconitine, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)