A new neurotoxin receptor site on Na+ channels identified by a conotoxin that affects Na+ channel inactivation in molluscs, and acts as an antagonist in rat brain

Toxicon ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 396
2002 ◽  
Vol 120 (6) ◽  
pp. 887-895 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Zimmer ◽  
Klaus Benndorf

The α subunit of voltage-gated Na+ channels of brain, skeletal muscle, and cardiomyocytes is functionally modulated by the accessory β1, but not the β2 subunit. In the present study, we used β1/β2 chimeras to identify molecular regions within the β1 subunit that are responsible for both the increase of the current density and the acceleration of recovery from inactivation of the human heart Na+ channel (hH1). The channels were expressed in Xenopus oocytes. As a control, we coexpressed the β1/β2 chimeras with rat brain IIA channels. In agreement with previous studies, the β1 extracellular domain sufficed to modulate IIA channel function. In contrast to this, the extracellular domain of the β1 subunit alone was ineffective to modulate hH1. Instead, the putative membrane anchor plus either the intracellular or the extracellular domain of the β1 subunit was required. An exchange of the β1 membrane anchor by the corresponding β2 subunit region almost completely abolished the effects of the β1 subunit on hH1, suggesting that the β1 membrane anchor plays a crucial role for the modulation of the cardiac Na+ channel isoform. It is concluded that the β1 subunit modulates the cardiac and the neuronal channel isoforms by different molecular interactions: hH1 channels via the membrane anchor plus additional intracellular or extracellular regions, and IIA channels via the extracellular region only.


1989 ◽  
Vol 257 (6) ◽  
pp. R1354-R1358 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Edwards ◽  
P. L. Lutz ◽  
D. G. Baden

Synaptosomes were isolated from turtle and rat brains to determine whether differences in brain ion channel densities accounted for the turtle's ability to survive anoxia compared with the mammal. The Na(+)-channel binding neurotoxin brevetoxin showed high-affinity specific binding in both turtle and rat synaptosomes, suggesting specific ligand-receptor interaction. The maximum binding capacity (Bmax) value for the turtle was only about one-third of that found for the rat synaptosomes, suggesting that the turtle synaptosome has a correspondingly lower Na+ channel density than the rat. This apparent difference in Na+ channel density is not reflected in metabolic rates, since at the same temperature (31 degrees C) the O2 consumption of both the rat and turtle synaptosome was almost identical. The large reductions in energy expenditure seen in synaptosomes incubated in Na(+)-free media and in media containing ouabain (approximately 50% turtle, 80% rat) are probably related to the halting of transmembrane Na(+)-K+ exchange. The greater reduction in the rat may be related to the apparent greater density of Na+ channels in the rat brain. However, compared with the 90% reduction in brain metabolism that occurs when the turtle brain becomes anoxic, the differences in ion channel density and in the costs of ion pumping between the rat and turtle brain are trivial. Closing Na+ channels with tetrodotoxin and increasing Na+ channel activation with veratridine caused substantial decreases and increases in synaptosome energy consumption, respectively. This suggests that the modulation of ion channel conductance has a significant effect on metabolic cost and may be an important mechanism to reduce energy consumption and electrical activity in the anoxic turtle brain, while still maintaining ionic gradients.


2001 ◽  
Vol 204 (4) ◽  
pp. 711-721 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Grolleau ◽  
M. Stankiewicz ◽  
L. Birinyi-Strachan ◽  
X.H. Wang ◽  
G.M. Nicholson ◽  
...  

The effects of delta-ACTX-Hv1a, purified from the venom of the funnel-web spider Hadronyche versuta, were studied on the isolated giant axon and dorsal unpaired median (DUM) neurones of the cockroach Periplaneta americana under current- and voltage-clamp conditions using the double oil-gap technique for single axons and the patch-clamp technique for neurones. In parallel, the effects of the toxin were investigated on the excitability of rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurones. In both DRG and DUM neurones, delta-ACTX-Hv1a induced spontaneous repetitive firing accompanied by plateau potentials. However, in the case of DUM neurones, plateau action potentials were facilitated when the membrane was artificially hyperpolarized. In cockroach giant axons, delta-ACTX-Hv1a also produced plateau action potentials, but only when the membrane was pre-treated with 3–4 diaminopyridine. Under voltage-clamp conditions, delta-ACTX-Hv1a specifically affected voltage-gated Na+ channels in both axons and DUM neurones. Both the current/voltage and conductance/voltage curves of the delta-ACTX-Hv1a-modified inward current were shifted 10 mV to the left of control curves. In the presence of delta-ACTX-Hv1a, steady-state Na+ channel inactivation became incomplete, causing the appearance of a non-inactivating component at potentials more positive than −40 mV. The amplitude of this non-inactivating component was dependent on the holding potential. From this study, it is concluded that, in insect neurones, delta-ACTX-Hv1a mainly affects Na+ channel inactivation by a mechanism that differs slightly from that of scorpion alpha-toxins.


1998 ◽  
Vol 88 (4) ◽  
pp. 1043-1054 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lingamaneni Ratnakumari ◽  
Hugh C. Hemmings

Background Recent electrophysiologic studies indicate that clinical concentrations of volatile general anesthetic agents inhibit central nervous system sodium (Na+) channels. In this study, the biochemical effects of halothane on Na+ channel function were determined using rat brain synaptosomes (pinched-off nerve terminals) to assess the role of presynaptic Na+ channels in anesthetic effects. Methods Synaptosomes from adult rat cerebral cortex were used to determine the effects of halothane on veratridine-evoked Na+ channel-dependent Na+ influx (using 22Na+), changes in intrasynaptosomal [Na+] (using ion-specific spectrofluorometry), and neurotoxin interactions with specific receptor sites of the Na+ channel (by radioligand binding). The potential physiologic and functional significance of these effects was determined by measuring the effects of halothane on veratridine-evoked Na+ channel-dependent glutamate release (using enzyme-coupled spectrofluorometry). Results Halothane inhibited veratridine-evoked 22Na+ influx (IC50 = 1.1 mM) and changes in intrasynaptosomal [Na+] (concentration for 50% inhibition [IC50] = 0.97 mM), and it specifically antagonized [3H]batrachotoxinin-A 20-alpha-benzoate binding to receptor site two of the Na+ channel (IC50 = 0.53 mM). Scatchard and kinetic analysis revealed an allosteric competitive mechanism for inhibition of toxin binding. Halothane inhibited veratridine-evoked glutamate release from synaptosomes with comparable potency (IC50 = 0.67 mM). Conclusions Halothane significantly inhibited Na+ channel-mediated Na influx, increases in intrasynaptosomal [Na+] and glutamate release, and competed with neurotoxin binding to site two of the Na+ channel in synaptosomes at concentrations within its clinical range (minimum alveolar concentration, 1-2). These findings support a role for presynaptic Na+ channels as a molecular target for general anesthetic effects.


2017 ◽  
Vol 150 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clay M. Armstrong ◽  
Stephen Hollingworth

We are wired with conducting cables called axons that rapidly transmit electrical signals (e.g., “Ouch!”) from, for example, the toe to the spinal cord. Because of the high internal resistance of axons (salt water rather than copper), a signal must be reinforced after traveling a short distance. Reinforcement is accomplished by ion channels, Na channels for detecting the signal and reinforcing it by driving it further positive (to near 50 mV) and K channels for then restoring it to the resting level (near −70 mV). The signal is called an action potential and has a duration of roughly a millisecond. The return of membrane voltage (Vm) to the resting level after an action potential is facilitated by “inactivation” of the Na channels: i.e., an internal particle diffuses into the mouth of any open Na channel and temporarily blocks it. Some types of K channels also show inactivation after being open for a time. N-type inactivation of K channels has a relatively fast time course and involves diffusion of the N-terminal of one of the channel’s four identical subunits into the channel’s inner mouth, if it is open. This mechanism is similar to Na channel inactivation. Both Na and K channels also display slower inactivation processes. C inactivation in K channels involves changes in the channel’s outer mouth, the “selectivity filter,” whose normal function is to prevent Na+ ions from entering the K channel. C inactivation deforms the filter so that neither K+ nor Na+ can pass.


1986 ◽  
Vol 261 (22) ◽  
pp. 10257-10263
Author(s):  
R Laufer ◽  
C Gilon ◽  
M Chorev ◽  
Z Selinger
Keyword(s):  

1996 ◽  
Vol 270 (4) ◽  
pp. C998-C1010 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. L. Chalfant ◽  
T. G. O'Brien ◽  
M. M. Civan

Amiloride-sensitive whole cell currents have been reported in M-1 mouse cortical collecting duct cells (Korbmacher et al., J. Gen. Physiol. 102: 761-793, 1993). We have confirmed that amiloride inhibits the whole cell currents but not necessarily the measured whole cell currents. Anomalous responses were eliminated by removing external Na+ and/or introducing paraepithelial shunts. The amiloride-sensitive whole cell currents displayed Goldman rectification. The ionic selectivity sequence of the amiloride-sensitive conductance was Li+ > Na+ >> K+. Growth of M-1 cells on permeable supports increased the amiloride-sensitive whole cell permeability, compared with cells grown on plastic. Single amiloride-sensitive channels were observed, which conformed to the highly selective low-conductance amiloride-sensitive class [Na(5)] of epithelial Na+ channels. Hypotonic pretreatment markedly slowed run-down of channel activity. The gating of the M-1 Na+ channel in excised patches was complex. Open- and closed-state dwell-time distributions from patches that display one operative channel were best described with two or more exponential terms each. We conclude that 1) study of M-1 whole cell Na+ currents is facilitated by reducing the transepithelial potential to zero, 2) these M-1 currents reflect the operation of Na(5) channels, and 3) the Na+ channels display complex kinetics, involving > or = 2 open and > or = 2 closed states.


1993 ◽  
Vol 17 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 169-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Furuyama ◽  
Y. Morita ◽  
S. Inagaki ◽  
H. Takagi
Keyword(s):  

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