Fatty acids represent an essential source of fuel for the heart and play an
important role in the mechanical, electrical, and synthetic activities of
cardiac cells. Under pathological conditions, such as ischemia followed by
reperfusion, the myocardium is exposed to very high levels of fatty acids,
in particular the monounsaturated fatty acid, oleic acid. Elevated plasma f
atty acids have been linked to an increased risk for cardiac arrhythmias. I
n other species, fatty acids have been shown to modulate several cardiac io
n channels, most notably potassium channels. Virtually nothing is known abo
ut the actions of oleic acid on potassium channels in human heart. We there
fore characterized the effects of oleic acid on the transient outward curre
nt, sustained current, and inwardly rectifying current, some of the major p
otassium channels present in human atrium, using the whole-cell patch clamp
method. Exposure of cells to oleic acid (5 mu M) reduced the transient out
ward potassium current to 3.7 +/- 0.8 pA/pF (n = 4) compared with 7.0 +/- 0
.7 pA/pF (n = 4) (P < .05) for cells not exposed. In contrast, oleic acid h
ad little effect on either the sustained current (4.3 +/- 0.3 pA/pF, n = 4
for oleic acid versus 4.8 +/- 0.5, n = 5 for control) present after the dec
ay of the transient outward current or on the amplitude of I-kappa 1 measur
ed at -100 mV (1.4 +/- 0.4 pA/pF, n = 4 for oleic acid versus 1.3 +/- 0.4 p
A/pF, n = 6 for control). In addition, oleic acid significantly slowed the
rate of recovery of the transient outward current, which is predicted to re
sult in a use-dependent reduction in current amplitude in the beating heart
. These results suggest a possible contributing role for oleic acid block o
f the transient outward current in the pathological consequences of myocard
ial ischemia.