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INSERM U-241, Université de Paris-Sud, Orsay, France.

1. Ca2+ currents were measured in single cells isolated from frog ventricle using the whole-cell patch clamp technique and a perfused pipette. K+ currents were blocked with intracellular (120 mM) and extracellular (20 mM) Cs+. 2. A single type of Ca2+ current (ICa) was found in these cells. The current activated at voltages positive to -30 mV, exhibited a symmetrical current-voltage relationship with a peak at 0 mV, and was slowly inactivating with Ba2+ as charge carrier. 3. Large variations in ICa amplitude were observed from cell to cell (ICa at 0 mV = 293.1 +/- 283.3 pA; N = 152). These variations were not due simply to differences in cell membrane area, which was estimated by cell membrane capacitance (Cm), because the density of Ca2+ current (dICa = ICa/Cm) also varied significantly from cell to cell (1.3-28 pA/pF at 0 mV; mean +/- S.D. = 4.49 +/- 3.96; N = 152). 4. The inactivation curve of ICa was a complex function of membrane potential. 200 ms pre-pulses to voltages between -60 and +20 mV progressively inactivated ICa elicited by a subsequent test pulse with half-maximal inactivation occurring for pre-pulses to approximately -40 mV. With pre-pulses positive to +20 mV, ICa elicited by the test pulse became progressively larger. The degree of inactivation induced by a 200 ms depolarization to potentials more positive than +20 mV varied significantly from cell to cell, while no such variations were observed in the negative range of membrane potentials. 5. The time course of reactivation (i.e. removal from inactivation) of ICa at -80 mV often exhibited an overshoot. The amplitude of the overshoot varied between 100% (i.e. no overshoot) and approximately 180% in eighty-one cells. 6. The degree of inactivation at positive potentials (+100 mV) and the amplitude of the overshoot were strongly correlated with the Ca2+ current density. The overshoot was more pronounced, the reactivation was faster, and the inactivation at positive potentials was less in cells with lower ICa density. 7. Increasing the stimulation frequency from 0.125 to 2 Hz induced a positive staircase of ICa in cells with ICa density less than 2 pA/pF and a negative staircase in cells with ICa density greater than 3 pA/pF. 8. Perfusing the patch pipette with 5 mM-BAPTA instead of EGTA reduced the amplitude of the overshoot and slightly slowed the inactivation kinetics. Replacing extracellular Ca2+ ions by Ba2+ ions completely suppressed the overshoot.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

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