The Na+-K+ pump in neuropile glial cells of the medicinal leech

The membrane potential of neuropile glial (NG) cells in the central nervous system of the medicinal leech and the K+ concentration in extracellular spaces (ECS) of the neuropile were measured under various experimental conditions to determine properties of a glial Na+-K+ pump. The ganglia were exposed to K+-free saline thereby loading the NG cells with intracellular Na+. Their membranes hyperpolarized transiently when the K+-free solution was replaced by a bathing medium with normal (= 4 mM) K+ concentration. The hyperpolarization increased in amplitude with time of exposure to K+ -free solution and could be abolished by ouabain or by replacing Na+ with Li+. The transient membrane hyperpolarization could not be attributed to K+ depletion in the ECS of the neuropile or to changes in membrane input conductance. In a (bathing) medium containing 5 X 10(-4) M ouabain, the K+ concentration in the ECS increased transiently, and the NG cell membrane depolarized rapidly. This short-term depolarization (duration 2-3 min) was followed by a second long-term depolarization (duration 15 min) of the NG cell membrane, which reached a steady-state 20 min after ouabain application. In a bathing medium with elevated external K+ concentrations, the amplitude of the membrane depolarization was enhanced by ouabain. This depolarizing ouabain effect was a result of K+ accumulation in the ECS. We conclude that the Na+-K+ pump does not contribute directly to the resting membrane potential of NG cells and is not directly involved in K+ homeostasis at the cellular level.