Intramembranous charge movement in frog cut twitch fibers mounted in a double vaseline-gap chamber.

Intramembranous charge movement was measured in cut twitch fibers mounted in a double Vaseline-gap chamber with either a tetraethylammonium chloride (TEA.Cl) or a TEA2.SO4 solution (13-14 degrees C) in the central pool. Charge vs. voltage data were fitted by a single two-state Boltzmann distribution function. The average values of V (the voltage at which steady-state charge is equally distributed between the two Boltzmann states), k (the voltage dependence factor), and qmax/cm (the maximum charge divided by the linear capacitance, both per unit length of fiber) were V = -53.3 mV (SEM, 1.1 mV), k = 6.3 mV (SEM, 0.3 mV), qmax/cm = 18.0 nC/microF (SEM, 1.1 nC/microF) in the TEA.Cl solution; and V = -35.1 mV (SEM, 1.8 mV), k = 10.5 mV (SEM, 0.9 mV), qmax/cm = 36.3 nC/microF (SEM, 3.2 nC/microF) in the TEA2.SO4 solution. These values of k are smaller than those previously reported for cut twitch fibers and are as small as those reported for intact fibers. If a correction is made for the contributions of currents from under the Vaseline seals, V = -51.2 mV (SEM, 1.1 mV), k = 7.2 mV (SEM, 0.4 mV), qmax/cm = 22.9 nC/microF (SEM, 1.4 nC/microF) in the TEA.Cl solution; and V = -34.0 mV (SEM, 1.9 mV), k = 10.1 mV (SEM, 1.1 mV), qmax/cm = 38.8 nC/microF (SEM, 3.2 nC/microF) in the TEA2.SO4 solution. With this correction, however, the fit of the theoretical curve to the data is poor. A good fit with this correction can be obtained with a sum of two Boltzmann distribution functions. The first has average values V = -33.0 mV (SEM, 2.8 mV), k = 11.0 mV (SEM, 0.5 mV), qmax/cm = 10.6 nC/microF (SEM, 1.0 nC/microF) in the TEA.Cl solution; and V = -20.0 mV (SEM, 3.3 mV), k = 17.0 mV (SEM, 2.0 mV), qmax/cm = 36.4 nC/microF (SEM, 2.3 nC/microF) in the TEA2.SO4 solution. The second has average values V = -56.5 mV (SEM, 1.3 mV), k = 2.9 mV (SEM, 0.4 mV), qmax/cm = 13.2 nC/microF (SEM, 1.0 nC/microF) in the TEA.Cl solution; and V = -41.6 mV (SEM, 1.4 mV), k = 2.5 mV (SEM, 0.8 mV), qmax/cm = 11.8 nC/microF (SEM, 1.7 nC/microF) in the TEA2.SO4 solution. When a fiber is depolarized to near V of the second Boltzmann function, a slowly developing "hump" appears in the ON-segment of the current record.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)