(1) Whole-cell and single channel recording techniques have been applied to smooth muscle cells isolated from guinea-pig taenia coli to examine whether multiple types of Ca channels exist. (2) Whole-cell recordings under physiological Ca concentration (1.8 mM) revealed two current components with fast and slow inactivating kinetics. The fast inactivating component was present when cells were held at very negative potentials (-80 mV). It was insensitive to the dihydropyridine (DHP) derivative, nifedipine. In contrast, the slow inactivating component was present at less negative holding potentials. It was blocked by nifedipine. (3) The two current components were found to have closely similar voltage dependencies for activation. (4) These results suggest that the fast inactivating decay of the Ca current was mediated not only by the entry of Ca into the cell but also by a voltage-dependent process via a different type of Ca channel with fast inactivating kinetics. (5) Recordings from cell-attached membrane patches with 100 mM external Ba clearly showed the existence of multiple types of Ca channels with different conductances. (6) The large conductance channels (30 pS) activated at more positive potentials (0 mV) and their averaged current decayed much more slowly. The DHP Ca antagonist, nifedipine, inhibited the large conductance channels increasing the proportion of blank sweeps and reducing the averaged current. On the other hand, the DHP Ca-agonist, BayK 8644, increased the average current by increasing the mean open-times of the large conductance channels. The presence of micromolar Cd in the patch pipettes produced a flickering block of the large conductance channels.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Whole-cell and single Ca channel currents were recorded in smooth muscle cells isolated from guinea-pig taenia coli to examine whether multiple types of Ca channels exist. Two different types of voltage-dependent Ca channels with different conductances and inactivation kinetics were identified from cell-attached patch clamp recordings using 50 mM Ba in the patch pipettes. One type of channel, with a large conductance of 25 pS, had a threshold of activation near -40 mV and the mean current reconstructed by averaging individual current responses inactivated slowly. A second type of channel, with a small conductance of 12 pS, had a similar threshold value to that of the 25 pS channel, but the averaged current inactivated rapidly. The steady state inactivation of the 12 pS channel was complete at a holding potential of -40 mV. We concluded that both channel types represent fast and slow inactivating voltage-dependent Ca channels which have been found in many excitable cells.

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