Neurosci Lett 1996 Apr 05;2073:203-5. doi: 10.1016/0304-3940(96)12502-7.

A neural influence on the appearance of sodium current in Xenopus embryonic myocytes.

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Regulation of early embryonic expression of sodium current in cultured Xenopus laevis myocytes was investigated. In myocytes isolated before innervation and cultured for about 1 day, only 51% expressed sodium current at a mean density of 74 +/- 20 pA/pF (mean +/- SEM; n = 26), inadequately reflecting the functional development of skeletal muscle in vivo at this time. This cell-autonomous expression pattern could be modulated. First, co-culture of myocytes and dissociated neural tissue induced additional sodium current expression (82%; 172 +/- 31 pA/pF, n = 14) and, secondly, removal of calcium from the culture medium reduced sodium current density (13 +/- 6 pA/pF; n = 5). The former results suggest that a diffusible factor released from differentiating neurons is able to initiate the expression of sodium channels in myocytes.

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