The effects of several chelating agents on excitation and conduction in frog sciatic nerve

✍ Scribed by Jenerick, Howard P.

• Publisher: Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
• Year: 1957
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 734 KB
• Volume: 49
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0095-9898
• DOI: 10.1002/jcp.1030490202

✦ Synopsis

THREE FIQURES

Certain compounds used in inorganic analysis form metalchelates. Some of these compounds exert a powerful binding action on heavy metals and provide a useful tool for the biologist as well as the analyst. If these agents interfere with a biological process, one may hypothesize that a metal is involved.

The possibility that heavy metal-activated reactions are required for nerve excitation and conduction was tested with several chelating agents. The effects resembled those caused either by several conventional inhibitors of carbohydrate metabolism or by procaine, a local anesthetic. There were no clear-cut signs that trace metals participate directly in the processes which were studied. However, there were certain anomalies caused by one compound (cupferron) that indicate the problem may still be open.

MET H 0 D S Sciatic nerves were dissected from Ravza pipiens. These were used immediately or after an overnight soaking in Ringer's fluid at 4°C. No significant differences were noted as a result of this, except that freshly prepared nerves showed a slow increase of threshold during the first few hours. The desired compounds were dissolved in a Ringer's fluid of the 171