Down-regulation of voltage-dependent sodium channels initiated by sodium influx in developing neurons.

To address the issue of whether regulatory feedback exists between the electrical activity of a neuron and ion-channel density, we investigated the effect of Na(+)-channel activators (scorpion alpha toxin, batrachotoxin, and veratridine) on the density of Na+ channels in fetal rat brain neurons in vitro. A partial but rapid (t1/2, 15 min) disappearance of surface Na+ channels was observed as measured by a decrease in the specific binding of [3H]saxitoxin and 125I-labeled scorpion beta toxin and a decrease in specific 22Na+ uptake. Moreover, the increase in the number of Na+ channels that normally occurs during neuronal maturation in vitro was inhibited by chronic channel activator treatment. The induced disappearance of Na+ channels was abolished by tetrodotoxin, was found to be dependent on the external Na+ concentration, and was prevented when either choline (a nonpermeant ion) or Li+ (a permeant ion) was substituted for Na+. Amphotericin B, a Na+ ionophore, and monensin were able to mimick the effect of Na(+)-channel activators, while a KCl depolarization failed to do this. This feedback regulation seems to be a neuronal property since Na(+)-channel density in cultured astrocytes was not affected by channel activator treatment or by amphotericin B. The present evidence suggests that an increase in intracellular Na+ concentration, whether elicited by Na(+)-channel activators or mediated by a Na+ ionophore, can induce a decrease in surface Na+ channels and therefore is involved in down-regulation of Na(+)-channel density in fetal rat brain neurons in vitro.