Summary
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1.
Voltage clamp experiments on single myelinated nerve fibres ofXenopus were done in Ringer solutions, in which the normal Ca concentration (2 mM) was substituted by 10 mM Ca2+, 0.1 mM La3+ or 0.5 mM La3+.
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2.
The activation and the inactivation curves of the Na permeability were shifted by 11 and 8 mV in positive direction on the potential axis by an e-fold increase in concentration of either Ca2+ or La3+.
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3.
These shifts were plotted versus the logarithm of the Ca or La concentration and could be fitted by straight lines under the assumption that 1 mM La3+ is equivalent to 55 mM Ca2+.
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4.
The activation curve of the K permeability was shifted 6 or 14 mV by an e-fold change in Ca or La concentration.
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5.
In high Ca and in the La solutions the maximum Na and K permeability and the leakage conductance were reduced.
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6.
Ringer solution with 0.1 mM Tb3+ exerted an even stronger effect than 0.1 mM La3+.
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7.
It is assumed that the observed shifts reflect a change in membrane surface potential due to electrostatic screening by the cations of the external solution. On this basis a negative fixed charge density of approximately 1/70 Å2 is calculated for the vicinity of the Na channel; a lower density appears to apply near the K channel.
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8.
As some of the La effects cannot be interpreted in terms of screening or binding and are different from the Ca effects, La seems to be a potent Ca substituent with some specific effects in addition.
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Vogel, W. Calcium and lanthanum effects at the nodal membrane. Pflugers Arch. 350, 25–39 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00586736
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00586736