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Department of Biomedical Sciences, Marischal College, University of Aberdeen, UK.

1. Dissociated Xenopus neurites turn cathodally in small applied electric fields. Increasing the external polycation concentration alters the direction and extent of field-induced orientation. A decrease in membrane surface charge may underlie these effects. 2. Lyotropic anions increase membrane surface charge and we have examined the effect of perchlorate (ClO4-), thiocyanate (SCN-) and sulphate (SO4(2-)) on galvanic nerve orientation. 3. Perchlorate and SCN- had no effect on field-induced cathodal turning, whereas incubation with SO4(2-) was inhibitory. In addition to its effects on surface charge, SO4(2-) increases production of the second messengers diacylglycerol and inositol trisphosphate. Interestingly, lithium (Li+), a blocker of polyphosphoinositide metabolism, had a similar effect to SO4(2-) on field-induced neurite orientation. 4. We conclude that increasing surface charge with lyotropic anions neither enhances galvanotropic orientation nor underlies the inhibitory effects of SO4(2-) and suggest that modulation of galvanotropism by SO4(2-) occurs owing to changes in the inositolphospholipid second messenger system.