Ionic conductance changes in voltage clamped crayfish axons at low pH

Giant axons from the crayfish have been voltage clamped with an axial wire system. General characterististics of observed ionic currents under normal conditions are similar to those measured in other giant axons and in nodes of Ranvier. As the pH of the external bath is lowered below 7, a marked, reversible slowing of potassium currents is seen with little effect on sodium currents. The steady-state potassium conductance-voltage curve is shifted along the voltage axis in a manner consistent with the development of a hyperpolarizing surface charge. Results suggest that this potential shift accounts for part, though not all, of the observed increase in tau(n). From the behavior of the kinetics of the delayed current with external pH these alterations in potassium conductance are attributed to the titration of a histidine imidazole residue of a membrane protein. Chemical modification of histidine by carbethoxylation at pH 6 slows and strongly depresses potassium currents. The results suggest that in addition to the introduction of electrostatic forces, possibly resulting from a hyperpolarizing surface charge, protonation of a histidine group at low pH also alters the nonelectrostatic chemical interactions determining the ease with which potassium gates open and close. The evidence indicates that the modified histidine residue is closely associated with the membrane components involved in the control of potassium conductance.