Potassium-transporting proteins in skeletal muscle: cellular location and fiber-type differences

Michael Kristensen, Carsten Juel

32 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Potassium (K+) displacement in skeletal muscle may be an important factor in the development of muscle fatigue during intense exercise. It has been shown in vitro that an increase in the extracellular K+ concentration ([K+]e) to values higher than approx. 10 mm significantly reduce force development in unfatigued skeletal muscle. Several in vivo studies have shown that [K+]e increases progressively with increasing work intensity, reaching values higher than 10 mm. This increase in [K+]e is expected to be even higher in the transverse (T)-tubules than the concentration reached in the interstitium. Besides the voltage-sensitive K+ (Kv) channels that generate the action potential (AP) it is suggested that the big-conductance Ca2+-dependent K+ (KCa1.1) channel contributes significantly to the K+ release into the T-tubules. Also the ATP-dependent K+ (KATP) channel participates, but is suggested primarily to participate in K+ release to the interstitium. Because there is restricted diffusion of K+ to the interstitium, K+ released to the T-tubules during AP propagation will be removed primarily by reuptake mediated by transport proteins located in the T-tubule membrane. The most important protein that mediates K+ reuptake in the T-tubules is the Na+,K+-ATPase α2 dimers, but a significant contribution of the strong inward rectifier K + (Kir2.1) channel is also suggested. The Na+, K +, 2Cl- 1 (NKCC1) cotransporter also participates in K+ reuptake but probably mainly from the interstitium. The relative content of the different K+-transporting proteins differs in oxidative and glycolytic muscles, and might explain the different [K +]e tolerance observed.

Original languageEnglish
JournalActa Physiologica (Print Edition)
Volume198
Issue number2
Pages (from-to)105-123
Number of pages19
ISSN1748-1708
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2010

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