Effect of membrane environment at high temperature on delayed rectifier K+ channel in hypothalamus neurons

AIM: To observe the effect of high temperature on the delayed rectifier K⁺ channel(I_K) in hypothalamus neurons METHODS: The kinetic properties of I K were measured by cell-attached mode of patche-clamp technique RESULTS: The conductance, long-term open constant(τ _o2) and open probability(Po) of I_K increased with increase of temperature (P <0.05), while more burst open and multi-order open were recorded Many types of currents occurred after heat stress at 43℃,and voltage-dependent property reduced and even depressed CONCLUSIONS: The activating action of I_K might be affected obviously by high temperature, the coupling between I K and body fever or heatstroke remained to be established.