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Effect Of The General Anesthetic Halothane On The Activity Of The Transverse Tubule Ca2+-Activated K+ Channel, Troy Beeler, Kenneth Gable

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

The effect of the general anesthetic halothane on the activity of the rat skeletal muscle Ca²⁺-activated K⁺ channel in planar lipid bilayers was investigated. Halothane concentrations in the clinical range (1.0-0.2 mM) alter the regulation of the channel by both Ca²⁺ and membrane potential. At Ca²⁺ concentrations between 10 and 250 µM and membrane potentials between 0 and -30 mV, halothane significantly decreases the open state probability without changing the channel conductance. The results demonstrate that halothane can act directly on the Ca²⁺-activated K⁺ channel or its lipid environment to alter the …