Summary. Ionic channels responsible for excitation of plasmalemma and tonoplast of fresh-water Nitellopsis obtusa were studied using the voltage-clamp technique. Voltage was clamped on each separate membrane. Chloride channels were inhibited with ethacrynic acid. 1. Along with anion (chloride) channels the cation channels have been revealed in the membranes. The corresponding channels are similar in both types of membranes. 2. The cation channels are controlled by membrane voltage being activated under membrane depolarization. The channels possess activation-inactivation kinetics. For N. obtusa characteristic times of activation and inactivation are 0.1 and 0.5 sec, respectively. 3. Conductance of cation channels depends on the type of cation and the orders of conductivity decrease are the following: Rb + >K § >Cs + >Na + >Li + and Ba 2 § > Sr 2 + > Ca 2 + > Mg 2 +. Ratio of conductance for bivalent ions to that of monovalent ones decreases with the increase of normal concentrations. When the external medium contains both mono-and bivalent cations in comparable concentrations, the current is mainly determined by the latter. In natural environment of the algae such conditions are realized for Ca 2+ ions which create the bulk of the inward current through cation channels under cell excitation. That is why we term these channels "calcium" ones. 4. Ca 2 + ions entering the cytoplasm through the calcium channels located in both membranes activate the chloride channels. Ba 2+ and Mg 2+ also activate the chloride channels but to a lesser extent than Ca; § does. Characteristic inactivation time of these channels in N. obtusa is about 1 to 2 sec.
Determination of pore size of the cell wall of Chara corallina has been made by using the polyethylene glycol (PEG) series as the hydrophilic probing molecules. In these experiments, the polydispersity of commercial preparation of PEGs was allowed for. The mass share (gamma(p)) of polyethylene glycol preparation fractions penetrating through the pores was determined using a cellular 'ghost', i.e. fragments of internodal cell walls filled with a 25% solution of non-penetrating PEG 6000 and tied up at the ends. In water, such a 'ghost' developed a hydrostatic pressure close to the cell turgor which persisted for several days. The determination of gamma(p), for polydisperse polyethylene glycols with different average molecular mass (M) was calculated from the degree of pressure restoration after water was replaced by a 5-10% polymer solution. Pressure was recorded using a dynamometer, which measures, in the quasi-isometric mode, the force necessary for the partial compression of the 'ghost' in its small fragment. By utilizing the data on the distribution of PEG 1000, 1450, 2000, and 3350 fractions over molecular mass (M), it was found that gamma(p), for these polyethylene glycols corresponded to the upper limit of ML=800-1100 D (hydrodynamic radius of molecules, r(h)=0.85-1.05 nm). Thus, the effective diameter of the pores in the cell wall of Chara did not exceed 2.1 nm.
The voltage-clamp technique was used to study Ca(2+) and Cl(-) transient currents in the plasmalemma of tonoplast-free and intact Chara corallina cells. In tonoplast-free cells [perfused medium with ethylene glycol bis(2-aminoethyl ether)tetraacetic acid] long-term inward and outward currents through Ca channels consisted of two components: with and without time-dependent inactivation. The voltage dependence of the Ca channel activation ratio was found to be sigmoid-shaped, with about -140-mV activation threshold, reaching a plateau at V>50 mV. As the voltage increased, the characteristic activation time decreased from approximately 10(3) ms in the threshold region to approximately 10 ms in the positive region. The positive pulse-activated channels can then be completely deactivated, which is recorded by the Ca(2+) tail currents, at below-threshold negative voltages with millisecond-range time constants. This tail current is used for fast and brief Ca(2+) injection into tonoplast-free and intact cells, to activate the chloride channels by Ca(2+) . When cells are perfused with EDTA-containing medium in the presence of excess Mg(2+), this method of injection allows the free submembrane Ca(2+) concentration, [Ca(2+)](c), to be raised rapidly to several tens of micromoles per liter. Then a chloride component is recorded in the inward tail current, with the amplitude proportional to [see text]. When Ca(2+) is thus injected into an intact cell, it induces an inward current in the voltage-clamped plasmalemma, having activation-inactivation kinetics qualitatively resembling that in EDTA-perfused cells, but a considerably higher amplitude and duration (approximately 10 A m(-2) and tau(inact)~0.5 s at -200 mV). Analysis of our data and theoretical considerations indicate that the [Ca(2+)](c) rise during cell excitation is caused mainly by Ca(2+) entry through plasmalemma Ca channels rather than by Ca(2+) release from intracellular stores.
Effects of D2O were studied on internodal cells of the freshwater alga Nitellopsis obtusa under plasmalemma perfusion (tonoplast-free cells) with voltage clamp, and on Ca2+ channels isolated from the alga and reconstituted in bilayer lipid membranes (BLM). External application of artificial pond water (APW) with D2O as the solvent to the perfused plasmalemma preparation led to an abrupt drop of membrane resistance (Rm = 0.12 +/- 0.03 k omega.cm2), thus preventing further voltage clamping. APW with 25% D2O caused a two-step reduction of Rm: first, down to 2.0 +/- 0.8 k omega.cm2, and then further to 200 omega.cm2, in 2 min. It was shown that in the first stage, Ca2+ channels are activated, and then, Ca2+ ions entering through them activate the Cl- channels. The Ca2+ channels are activated irreversibly. If 100 mM CsCl was substituted for 200 mM sucrose (introduced for iso-osmoticity), no effect of D2O on Rm was observed. Intracellular H2O/D2O substitution also did not change Rm. In experiments on single Ca2+ channels in BLM H2O/D2O substitution in a solution containing 100 mM KCl (trans side) produced no effect on channel activity, while in 10 mM KCl, at negative voltage, the open channel probability sharply increased. This effect was irreversible. The single channel conductance was not altered after the H2O/D2O substitution. The discussion of the possible mechanism of D2O action on Ca2+ and Cl- channels was based on an osmotic-like stress effect and the phenomenon of higher D-bond energy compared to the H-bond.
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