Abstract
NERVE membranes stained with various fluorescent dyes show changes in fluorescence intensity concomitant with changes in transmembrane potential1–4. Cohen et al.4 described a number of dyes that exhibit changes in fluorescence emission which vary linearly with transmembrane potential. Two of these have been used to investigate the excitation–contraction process in skeletal muscle5–7. Whole muscles and single fibres stained with Nile Blue A were reported to give fluorescence intensity changes on stimulation arising from the membranes of the sarcoplasmic reticulum5,6. Muscles and fibres stained with Merocyanine 540 on the other hand, give very early changes in fluorescence intensity when stimulated electrically6,7. Landowne7 proposed that since the merocyanine signal disappeared after detubulation in snake costocutaneous muscles, the fluorescence change must arise from the T-system membranes.
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VERGARA, J., BEZANILLA, F. Fluorescence changes during electrical activity in frog muscle stained with merocyanine. Nature 259, 684–686 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1038/259684a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/259684a0
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