Sodium channels in cultured neuroblastoma cells grown in high glucose or L-fucose.

Patch clamp techniques were used to record whole cell and single channel Na+ currents from NB41A3 neuroblastoma cells grown in culture. Cells were grown for two weeks in control medium or medium supplemented with 30 mM D-glucose of 30 mM L-fucose. Cells exposed to glucose or L-fucose had smaller whole cell Na+ currents than cells grown in unsupplemented medium, consistent with earlier studies (Yorek, Stefani & Wachtel, 1994). Whole cell macroscopic currents showed no change in activation or inactivation kinetics. Single channel current properties and opening probability were also unchanged. The number of [3H]saxitoxin binding sites, and therefore the total number of Na+ channels, was not reduced in cells grown in glucose or L-fucose (Yorek et al., 1994). Therefore, we conclude that some of the channels must have been rendered nonfunctional by the conditioning media. The finding that single channel properties are not altered suggests that channels become nonfunctional in an all-or-none manner.