Postnatal changes in T-type calcium current density in rat atrial myocytes.

1. Postnatal changes in Ca2+ current were studied in voltage clamped atrial myocytes isolated from Sprague-Dawley rats. T- and L-type Ca2+ currents were identified using standard electrophysiological and pharmacological techniques. Cells were studied from seven groups of male and six groups of female rats ranging in age from 3 to 14 weeks. 2. The density of atrial T-type Ca2+ current showed significant variation during postnatal development, with a maximum density reached at 4.5-5 weeks. At this age, T-current density was 1.44 +/- 0.11 pA/pF (n = 23) for cells isolated from male and 1.25 +/- 0.09 pA/pF (n = 25) for cells isolated from female animals in bathing solutions containing 2 mM-Ca2+. T-current density in atrial cells isolated from younger animals (3.5 weeks postnatal) averaged 1.22 +/- 0.06 (n = 18) and 1.00 +/- 0.05 pA/pF (n = 22) or 85 and 80% of the maximum seen at 4.5-5 weeks for male and female rats, respectively. For rats older than 13 weeks, the average T-current density in atrial cells was 0.50 +/- 0.03 (n = 18) and 0.51 +/- 0.02 pA/pF (n = 35) or 35 and 41% of the maximum seen at 4.5-5 weeks for male and female rats, respectively. 3. In contrast to the T-type current, the density of atrial L-type Ca2+ current remained unchanged in rats from 3 to 14 weeks old. L-type current averaged 8.2 +/- 0.2 (n = 134) in male and 7.9 +/- 0.2 pA/pF (n = 102) in female rats. 4. Fluctuation analysis was used to estimate single T-channel current levels in 4.5- and 7.5-week-old male rats. While the T-current density differed by 70% at these two postnatal ages, no significant difference (P > 0.2) in single channel current was found. Single channel current was 0.12 +/- 0.01 pA (n = 9) for cells from 4.5-week-old and 0.13 +/- 0.01 pA (n = 7) for cells from 7.5-week-old rats. Currents were stimulated by test pulses from -80 to -30 mV at 5 mM-Ca2+. 5. No postnatal changes were seen in either the kinetics of activation or inactivation of macroscopic T-current.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)