Adenosine triphosphate-activated inward current in isolated smooth muscle cells from rat vas deferens

The electrophysiological effect of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) on the enzymatically dispersed smooth muscle cells from rat vas deferens was investigated. ATP always induced depolarization accompanied with a reduction in membrane resistance. In a whole cell voltage clamp experiment, an inward current was recorded when the cell was exposed to ATP-containing solution. The ATP-induced current disappeared within 2 min even in the continuous presence of ATP, which may indicate that the cells were desensitized to this compound. The ATP-induced current was also recorded in the cells superfused with 10(-5) M nicardipine or in the Cs-loaded cells, eliminating the possible involvement of voltage-gated Ca and K current. During cell-attached patch clamp, an elementary current having a mean conductance of 20 pS was observed when the intrapipette solution was changed to ATP-containing solution. The estimated zero current potentials of the ATP-activated macroscopic current and elementary current were about 0 mV. These results suggest that ATP exerts its transmitter-like action by activating ion channels in smooth muscles.