PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - R Gáspár, Jr AU - G Panyi AU - D L Ypey AU - Z Krasznai AU - G Vereb AU - C Pieri AU - S Damjanovich TI - Effects of bretylium tosylate on voltage-gated potassium channels in human T lymphocytes. DP - 1994 Oct 01 TA - Molecular Pharmacology PG - 762--766 VI - 46 IP - 4 4099 - http://molpharm.aspetjournals.org/content/46/4/762.short 4100 - http://molpharm.aspetjournals.org/content/46/4/762.full SO - Mol Pharmacol1994 Oct 01; 46 AB - Using the patch-clamp technique, we determined that bretylium tosylate, a quaternary ammonium compound possessing immunomodulating activity, decreased the whole-cell K+ current in human T lymphocytes, in a dose-dependent manner, in the 0.05-5 mM extracellular concentration range. Bretylium tosylate prolonged the recovery from inactivation and accelerated the inactivation and deactivation of the K+ current but did not influence the kinetics of activation or the voltage dependence of activation and steady state inactivation of the K+ conductance. The percentage of drug-induced block was independent of membrane potential. K+ channel block by bretylium tosylate was partially and slowly removable by washing with drug-free extracellular solution. Bovine serum albumin (10 mg/ml) in the bath lifted the drug-induced block almost instantaneously, although not completely. In control experiments bovine serum albumin increased the inactivation time constant of the K+ channels but left the peak K+ current amplitude unaffected. On the basis of the experimental evidence, a gating-dependent allosteric interaction is suggested for the mechanism of drug action. The effective dose range, time of exposure, and reversibility of bretylium tosylate-induced K+ channel block correlated well with the same parameters of the drug-induced inhibition of T lymphocyte activation. The reported effects of bretylium tosylate on T cell mitogenesis can be regarded partly as a consequence of its blocking effects on voltage-gated K+ channels.