Activation of K+ currents in cultured Schwann cells is controlled by extracellular pH

We analyzed the pH dependence of K+ currents recorded with the patch-clamp technique from cultured Schwann cells obtained from mouse dorsal root ganglia. Currents were activated at potentials more positive than -50 mV which was close to the resting membrane potential. Current amplitudes were affected by a change in extracellular pH (pHo), being increased at alkaline, and decreased at acidic pHo. The strongest effect of a pHo change was observed on currents activated close to the resting membrane potential suggesting a functional role for the pH sensitivity of K+ currents. Analysis of the time course of current activation at different pHo values led to the conclusion that the pH-sensitivity of K+ currents in Schwann cells is due to changes in surface charges shifting the potential sensed by the gating process of the channel. The reversal potential of the currents was not affected by a change in pHo. This observation and the finding that even a strong acidification to a pHo value of 5.0 did not lead to a blockade of the fully activated channel, indicate that the pH-sensitive charges are not located in the channel pore. Under the assumption that pHo changes in a peripheral nerve are associated with nerve activity as in the optic nerve, the pH-sensitive K+ channel in Schwann cells could serve to facilitate the spatial buffering of extracellular K+.