The ACh-induced whole-cell currents in sheep parotid secretory cells. Do BK channels really carry the ACh-evoked whole-cell K+ current?

As in other salivary glands, the secretory cells of the sheep parotid have a resting K+ conductance that is dominated by BK channels, which are activated by acetylcholine (ACh) and are blocked by tetraethylammonium (TEA). Nevertheless, perfusion studies indicate that TEA does not inhibit ACh-evoked fluid secretion or K+ efflux from intact sheep parotid glands. In the present study, we have used whole-cell patch clamp techniques to show that ACh activates K+ and Cl- conductances in sheep parotid secretory cells by increasing intracellular free Ca2+, and we have compared the blocker sensitivity of the ACh-evoked whole-cell K+ current to the previously reported blocker sensitivity of the BK channels seen in these cells. The ACh-induced whole-cell K+ current was not blocked by TEA (10 mmol/l) or verapamil (100 mumol/l), both of which block the resting K+ conductance and inhibit BK channels in these cells. Quinine (1 mmol/l) and quinidine (1 mmol/l), although only weak blockers of the resting K+ conductance, inhibited the ACh-evoked current at 0 mV (K+ current), by 68% and 78%, respectively. 4-Aminopyridine (10 mmol/l) partially inhibited the ACh-induced K+ current and caused it to fluctuate. It also caused the resting membrane currents to fluctuate, possibly by altering cytosolic free Ca2+. Ba2+ (100 mumol/l), a blocker of the inwardly rectifying K+ conductance in sheep parotid cells, had no effect on the ACh-induced K+ current. We conclude that the ACh-induced K+ conductance in sheep parotid cells is pharmacologically distinct from both the outwardly rectifying (BK) K+ conductance and the inwardly rectifying K+ conductance seen in unstimulated cells. Given that in vitro perfusion and K+ efflux studies on other salivary glands in which BK channels dominate the resting conductance (e.g., the rat mandibular, rat parotid and mouse mandibular glands) have revealed an insensitivity to TEA, suggesting that BK channels do not carry the ACh-evoked K+ current, we propose that BK channels do not contribute substantially to the K+ current evoked by ACh in the secretory cells of most salivary glands.