Journal of Neuroscience, Vol 6, 1349-1357, Copyright © 1986 by Society for Neuroscience
Presynaptic calcium channels in rat cortical synaptosomes: fast- kinetics of phasic calcium influx, channel inactivation, and relationship to nitrendipine receptors
JB Suszkiw, ME O'Leary, MM Murawsky and T Wang
Fast-mixing and rapid-filtration techniques were used to analyze the
kinetics of potassium-depolarization-dependent (delta K+ = 47.5 mM) influx
of 45Ca into synaptosomes, in the time range from 50 msec to 5 sec. The
results are consistent with the presence in synaptosomes of a homogeneous
population of voltage-sensitive Ca channels. With 1 mM Cao in the medium,
the delta K+-dependent Ca influx has a single- exponential time course with
the half-life, t1/2 approximately 0.5-0.7 sec. Ca influx, measured between
0.1 and 10 mM Cao, shows half- saturation (KCa) at 1.5 mM Cao and has the
limiting value (JCamax) of 5.9 nmol/sec/mg protein, or a current of
approximately 0.06 pA/micron2 surface area. The estimated density of
functional Ca channels is 0.6-6 micron-2. Voltage- and time-dependent
inactivation of Ca channels was measured in synaptosomes predepolarized in
52.5 mM Ko+ with Ca omitted from the medium. Channel inactivation is a
single-exponential process with a half-life of t1/2 approximately 2.3 sec.
Channel recovery in 5 mM Ko+ media is likewise a single-exponential process
with a half-life of t1/2 approximately 4.3 sec. The slower rate of
voltage-dependent channel inactivation than of decay of Ca influx suggests
that Ca entry into synaptosomes terminates by a mechanism that depends on
Ca influx itself. Synaptosomes contain 200 fmol/mg protein, or
approximately 6 micron-2 high-affinity (KD = 0.12 nM) 3H-nitrendipine
binding sites; however, nitrendipine at concentrations greater than 10(4) X
KD is without effect on the phasic influx of Ca measured at 215 msec with
either 1.0 or 0.1 mM Cao. This suggests that Ca channels characterized in
this study belong to a class of dihydropyridine-insensitive channels.