Recovery of membrane potentials from diamide-induced depolarization in frog lens fibers

Measurement of membrane potentials in isolated frog lens fibers was made by means of intracellular microelectrode techniques. The membrane potentials of lens fibers were depolarized to various degrees after exposure to diamide, an -SH inhibitor. When the degree of diamide-induced depolarization was less than 20 mV, the membrane potentials almost fully recovered to the control level within 12 h after immersion in a Ringer's solution containing dithiothreitol (DTT), a -SH protector. A similar tendency was also recognized in some lenses (57%) whose depolarization was 30 mV. When the degree of depolarization was 40 mV, the membrane potentials further depolarized in all cases tested in spite of treatment with DTT. From this study, it is considered that frog lens fibers could not recover their function if the damage was so severe as to produce a membrane depolarization of more 40 mV. Determination of ionic concentrations in lens fibers revealed a highly significant correlation between the degree of diamide-induced depolarization and changes in concentration ratio of Na+/K+.