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Characterization of single pacemaker channels in cardiac sino-atrial node cells

Abstract

Normal pacemaking in the mammalian heart is driven by spontaneously active cells located in the sino-atrial (SA) node. The rate of firing of these cells and the modulation of this rate by catecholamines are controlled by if, an inward Na- and K-current that turns on at voltages more negative than −40 mV1–9. The ‘pacemaker’ current if is also present in other types of cell where its ability to produce and modulate a depolarizing process may be useful10. For example, in vertebrate photoreceptors if drives the depolarization that terminates the light-induced hyperpolarization11. Currents similar to if are also found in hippocampal neurones and DRG neurones12,13. The present report shows for the first time that the opening of single if-channels of low conductance (1 pS) can be resolved using a modification of the patch-clamp technique14 on isolated SA-node cells. Modulation of if by adrenaline is shown to be mediated by an increase in the probability of channel opening, whereas the single-channel amplitude remains unchanged.

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DiFrancesco, D. Characterization of single pacemaker channels in cardiac sino-atrial node cells. Nature 324, 470–473 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/324470a0

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