ATP-SENSITIVE AND CA-ACTIVATED K-CHANNELS IN VERTEBRATE AXONS - NOVEL LINKS BETWEEN METABOLISM AND EXCITABILITY

Two types of metabolically regulated K channels have been identified for the first time in enzymatically demyelinated fibres of amphibian sciatic nerve using the patch-clamp technique. A maxi K channel with a single-channel conductance of 132 pS (105 mM K on both sides of the membrane, 15-degrees-C) is activated both by micromolar concentrations of internal Ca and by depolarization. A second type of K channel with a conductance of 44 pS is inhibited by intracellular adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 35-mu-M. It is blocked by submicromolar concentrations of external glibenclamide. Both channels are sensitive to external tetraethylammonium chloride (IC50 = 0.2 mM for the maxi K channel and 4.2 mM for the ATP-sensitive channel). They may be part of a complex feedback system regulating axonal excitability under various metabolic conditions.