Acute temperature sensitivity in optic nerve axons explained by an electrogenic membrane potential.

Classical work in squid axon reports resting membrane potential is independent of temperature, but our findings suggest that this is not the case for axons in mammalian optic nerve. Refractory period duration changes over 10 times between 37 °C and room temperature, and afterpotential polarity is also acutely temperature sensitive, inconsistent with changes in temperature impacting nerve function only through altered rates of ion channel gating kinetics. Our evidence suggests that the membrane potential is enhanced by warming, an effect reduced by exposure to ouabain. The temperature dependence can be explained if axonal Na(+)/K(+) ATPase continuously expels Na(+) ions that enter axons largely electroneutrally, thereby adding a substantial electrogenic component to the membrane potential. Block of the Na(+) transporter NKCC1 with bumetanide increases refractoriness, like depolarization, indicating that this is a probable route by which Na(+) enters, raising the expectation that the rate of electroneutral Na(+) influx increases with temperature and suggesting a temperature-dependent transmembrane Na(+) cycle that contributes to membrane potential.