Biphasic Time Course of Inactivation of Potassium Contractures in Single Twitch Muscle Fibers of the Frog

The time course of the inhibition of peak tension (inactivation) of potassium contracture induced by conditioning depolarization with 10, 15, 20 and 30 mM K+ was examined, using single twitch fibers from the frog semitendinosus muscle. The time-dependence curve of the inactivation was biphasic, consisting of the first phase and the second phase. The first phase was characterized as follows: 1) the time course and the extent depend on the degree of conditioning depolarization; 2) the inactivation proceeds exponentially and finally reaches a steady level; and 3) the rate is markedly increased by lowering Ca2+ in the external medium. It could be considered that the first phase of the inactivation is an analogical phenomenon with the inactivation of sodium conductance in a squid giant axon. The second phase of the inactivation induced by conditioning with 20 and 30 mM K+ reached its full inactivation independently of the degree of conditioning depolarization. On the basis of these results, the terms inactivation 1 and inactivation 2 were given to the first phase and second phase, respectively, of the time-dependence curve of the inactivation of potassium contracture.