Membrane properties of smooth muscle cells in pulmonary arteries of the rat.

Electrical properties of the membrane of smooth muscle cells in the rat main pulmonary artery (MPA) and a small pulmonary artery (SPA) were compared. MPA and SPA differed in several important respects, suggesting characteristic quantitative and qualitative differences in membrane properties. 1) Resting membrane potentials were similar in both (MPA 52.2 +/- 1.3 mV; SPA 51.5 +/- 1.7 mV). The cells displayed no spontaneous electrical activity. The muscle layers in both MPA and SPA showed cablelike properties; a graded local response to outward current pulses was observed, but no action potentials were evoked. 2) Tetraethylammonium chloride (TEA, 1-5 mM) depolarized, increased membrane resistance, and suppressed rectification in MPA. TEA strongly depolarized SPA and contraction ensued. 3) The maximum membrane depolarization produced by a 10-fold increase in extracellular [K+] was 48 mV in MPA and 47 mV in SPA. In K+-free solution gradual depolarization was observed in SPA, but the membrane potential in MPA was not modified. Restoration of K+-containing solution produced equivalent hyperpolarization in both tissues, indicating a similar degree of stimulation of electrogenic Na+-K+ pumping. 4) A Na+-deficient solution did not affect the membrane potential in MPA but depolarized SPA.