Ca2+ chelating agents like BAPTA and EDTA directly block swelling-activated Cl- channels independent of their Ca2+ binding properties, which is critical for interpreting experimental data.
Requires careful controls when using BAPTA/EDTA in electrophysiology; leaves open their specificity as Ca2+ buffers in cardiac models.
Ca(2+) chelating agents are widely used in biological research for Ca(2+) buffering. Here we report that BAPTA, EDTA and HEDTA produce fast, reversible, voltage-dependent inhibition of swelling-activated Cl(-) current (I(Cl,swell)) in LNCaP prostate cancer epithelial cells that is unrelated to their Ca(2+) binding. BAPTA was the most effective (maximal blockade 67%, IC(50)=70 microM, at +100 mV) followed by EDTA and HEDTA. I(Cl,swell) blockade by EDTA was pH-dependent. BAPTA blocked I(Cl,swell) also in other cell types. We conclude that Ca(2+) chelating agents block I(Cl,swell) by acting directly on the underlying channel, and that the negative charge of the free chelator form is critical for the blockade.
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Lemonnier et al. (2002) studied this question.
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