Expression of single calcium channels in Xenopus oocytes after injection of mRNA from rat heart.

Oocytes of Xenopus laevis, after microinjection with mRNA from rat heart, display typical high-threshold calcium (Ca) whole cell currents. To prepare to study structure-function relationships of the cardiac Ca channel molecule, we examined the fidelity of expression of biophysical and pharmacological properties at the molecular level. Cell-attached gigaseal recordings in five K-depolarized oocytes injected with adult rat heart mRNA showed single channel Ba currents with mean amplitude 1.3-1.5 pA at 0 mV, slope conductance 18-25 pS, and extrapolated reversal potential 57-68 mV. Openings were predominantly brief (mean 1.2 ms) but longer openings (mean 9 ms) were greatly enhanced in 10(-6) M BAY-K 8644, increasing the ensemble average current at 0 mV by more than fivefold. These features are typical of high-threshold cardiac Ca channels. In two patches from one injected oocyte, we saw multiple Ca channel conductances, as recently observed in other preparations. We conclude that X. laevis oocytes injected with adult rat heart mRNA produce high-threshold cardiac Ca channels with molecular properties identical to native cells.