Tetrodotoxin blockade on canine cardiac L-type Ca²⁺ channels depends on pH and redox potential

Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is believed to be one of the most selective inhibitors of voltage-gated fast Na⁺ channels in excitable tissues. Recently, however, TTX has been shown to block L-type Ca²⁺ current (I(Ca)) in canine cardiac cells. In the present study, the TTX-sensitivity of I(Ca) was studied in isolated canine ventricular myocytes as a function of (1) channel phosphorylation, (2) extracellular pH and (3) the redox potential of the bathing medium using the whole cell voltage clamp technique. Fifty-five micromoles of TTX (IC₅₀ value obtained under physiological conditions) caused 60% ± 2% inhibition of I(Ca) in acidic (pH = 6.4), while only a 26% ± 2% block in alkaline (pH = 8.4) milieu. Similarly, the same concentration of TTX induced 62% ± 6% suppression of ICa in a reductant milieu (containing glutathione + ascorbic acid + dithiothreitol, 1 mM each), in contrast to the 31% ± 3% blockade obtained in the presence of a strong oxidant (100 μM H₂O₂). Phosphorylation of the channel protein (induced by 3 μM forskolin) failed to modify the inhibiting potency of TTX; an IC₅₀ value of 50 ± 4 μM was found in forskolin. The results are in a good accordance with the predictions of our model, indicating that TTX binds, in fact, to the selectivity filter of cardiac L-type Ca channels.