Ion flow through membranes and the resting potential of cells

Abstract

A knowledge of the relationship between ion flow, both passive and active, ionic concentration, and membrane potential is essential to the understanding of cellular function. The problem has been analyzed on the basis of elementary physical and biophysical principles, providing a theoretical model of current flow and resting potential of cells, including those in epithelia. The model assumes that the permeability of the ion channels is not voltage dependent, but applies to gated channels when the gates are open. Two sources of nonlinearity of the current-voltage relationship are included in the analysis: ionic depletion and accumulation at the channels' mouths, and channel saturation at higher concentrations. The predictions of the model have been quantitative, validated by comparison with experiment, which has been limited to the only two cases in which adequate data was found. Application of the theory to the scala media of the mammalian cochlea has explained the source of its high positive potential and provided estimates of the Na+ and K+ permeabilities of the membranes of its marginal cells. This analysis provides a theoretically sound alternative to the widely used Goldman equation, the limited validity of which was emphasized by Goldman (D.E. Goldman, 1943, J. Gen. Physiol, 27:37-60), as well as its derivatives, including the Goldman-Hodgkin-Katz equation for resting potentials.