Ion channel activity in lobster skeletal muscle membrane

Ion channel activity in the sarcolemmal membrane of muscle fibers is critical for regulating the excitability, and therefore the contractility, of muscle. To begin the characterization of the biophysical properties of the sarcolemmal membrane of lobster exoskeletal muscle fibers, recordings were made from excised patches of membrane from enzymatically induced muscle fiber blebs. Blebs formed as evaginations of the muscle sarcolemmal membrane and were sufficiently free of extracellular debris to allow the formation of gigaohm seals. Under simple experimental conditions using bi-ionic symmetrical recording solutions and maintained holding potentials, a variety of single channel types with conductances in the range 32-380 pS were detected. Two of these ion channel species are described in detail, both are cation channels selective for potassium. They can be distinguished from each other on the basis of their single-channel conductance and gating properties. The results suggest that current flows through a large number of ion channels that open spontaneously in bleb membranes in the absence of exogenous metabolites or hormones.