Tetrodotoxin-sensitive sodium current in native Xenopus oocytes

Depolarization of oocytes of Xenopus laevis usually elicits mainly passive currents, and a calcium-dependent chloride current. However, oocytes obtained from some donors show, in addition, a transient inward current on depolarization to potentials beyond ca. -40 mV. This current is abolished by tetrodotoxin at submicromolar concentrations, and is prolonged by veratrine; thus, it probably arises through sodium channels of a type similar to those found in nerve and muscle cells. However, the kinetics of the sodium currents varied between oocytes from different donors; this result suggests that genes encoding different sodium channels may be expressed in oocytes from different donors. The presence of these native channels may complicate experiments to study the expression of exogenous sodium channels encoded by foreign messenger RNAs injected into the oocyte.