scholarly journals Hysteresis in the Voltage Dependence of HCN Channels

2005 ◽  
Vol 125 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roope Männikkö ◽  
Shilpi Pandey ◽  
H. Peter Larsson ◽  
Fredrik Elinder

Hyperpolarization-activated, cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) ion channels are important for rhythmic activity in the brain and in the heart. In this study, using ionic and gating current measurements, we show that cloned spHCN channels undergo a hysteresis in their voltage dependence during normal gating. For example, both the gating charge versus voltage curve, Q(V), and the conductance versus voltage curve, G(V), are shifted by about +60 mV when measured from a hyperpolarized holding potential compared with a depolarized holding potential. In addition, the kinetics of the tail current and the activation current change in parallel to the voltage shifts of the Q(V) and G(V) curves. Mammalian HCN1 channels display similar effects in their ionic currents, suggesting that the mammalian HCN channels also undergo voltage hysteresis. We propose a model in which HCN channels transit between two modes. The voltage dependence in the two modes is shifted relative to each other, and the occupancy of the two modes depends on the previous activation of the channel. The shifts in the voltage dependence are fast (τ ≈ 100 ms) and are not accompanied by any apparent inactivation. In HCN1 channels, the shift in voltage dependence is slower in a 100 mM K extracellular solution compared with a 1 mM K solution. Based on these findings, we suggest that molecular conformations similar to slow (C-type) inactivation of K channels underlie voltage hysteresis in HCN channels. The voltage hysteresis results in HCN channels displaying different voltage dependences during different phases in the pacemaker cycle. Computer simulations suggest that voltage hysteresis in HCN channels decreases the risk of arrhythmia in pacemaker cells.

2018 ◽  
Vol 150 (8) ◽  
pp. 1203-1213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia P. Alvarez-Baron ◽  
Vadim A. Klenchin ◽  
Baron Chanda

Hyperpolarization-activated, cyclic nucleotide–gated (HCN) channels generate rhythmic activity in the heart and brain. Isoform-specific functional differences reflect the specializations required for the various roles that they play. Despite a high sequence and structural similarity, HCN isoforms differ greatly in their response to cyclic nucleotides. Cyclic AMP (cAMP) enhances the activity of HCN2 and HCN4 isoforms by shifting the voltage dependence of activation to more depolarized potentials, whereas HCN1 and HCN3 isoforms are practically insensitive to this ligand. Here, to determine the molecular basis for increased cAMP efficacy in HCN2 channels, we progressively mutate residues in the C-linker and cyclic nucleotide–binding domain (CNBD) of the mouse HCN2 to their equivalents in HCN1. We identify two clusters of mutations that determine the differences in voltage-dependent activation between these two isoforms. One maps to the C-linker region, whereas the other is in proximity to the cAMP-binding site in the CNBD. A mutant channel containing just five mutations (M485I, G497D, S514T, V562A, and S563G) switches cAMP sensitivity of full-length HCN2 to that of HCN1 channels. These findings, combined with a detailed analysis of various allosteric models for voltage- and ligand-dependent gating, indicate that these residues alter the ability of the C-linker to transduce signals from the CNBD to the pore gates of the HCN channel.


2005 ◽  
Vol 288 (6) ◽  
pp. H2666-H2676 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiehua Chen ◽  
Masashi Inoue ◽  
Michael F. Sheets

Deletion of a phenylalanine at position 1617 (delF1617) in the extracellular linker between segments S3 and S4 in domain IV of the human heart Na+ channel (hH1a) has been tentatively associated with long QT syndrome type 3 (LQT3). In a mammalian cell expression system, we compared whole cell, gating, and single-channel currents of delF1617 with those of wild-type hH1a. The half points of the peak activation-voltage curve for the two channels were similar, as were the deactivation time constants at hyperpolarized test potentials. However, delF1617 demonstrated a significant negative shift of −7 mV in the half point of the voltage-dependent Na+ channel availability curve compared with wild type. In addition, both the time course of decay of Na+ current ( INa) and two-pulse development of inactivation of delF1617 were faster at negative test potentials, whereas they tended to be slower at positive potentials compared with wild type. Mean channel open times for delF1617 were shorter at potentials <0 mV, whereas they were longer at potentials >0 mV compared with wild type. Using anthopleurin-A, a site-3 toxin that inhibits movement of segment S4 in domain IV (S4-DIV), we found that gating charge contributed by the S4-DIV in delF1617 was reduced 37% compared with wild type. We conclude that deletion of a single amino acid in the S3-S4 linker of domain IV alters the voltage dependence of fast inactivation via a reduction in the gating charge contributed by S4-DIV and can cause either a gain or loss of INa, depending on membrane potential.


2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (37) ◽  
pp. e2102036118
Author(s):  
Xiaoan Wu ◽  
Rosamary Ramentol ◽  
Marta E. Perez ◽  
Sergei Yu Noskov ◽  
H. Peter Larsson

Rhythmic activity in pacemaker cells, as in the sino-atrial node in the heart, depends on the activation of hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) channels. As in depolarization-activated K+ channels, the fourth transmembrane segment S4 functions as the voltage sensor in hyperpolarization-activated HCN channels. But how the inward movement of S4 in HCN channels at hyperpolarized voltages couples to channel opening is not understood. Using voltage clamp fluorometry, we found here that S4 in HCN channels moves in two steps in response to hyperpolarizations and that the second S4 step correlates with gate opening. We found a mutation in sea urchin HCN channels that separate the two S4 steps in voltage dependence. The E356A mutation in S4 shifts the main S4 movement to positive voltages, but channel opening remains at negative voltages. In addition, E356A reveals a second S4 movement at negative voltages that correlates with gate opening. Cysteine accessibility and molecular models suggest that the second S4 movement opens up an intracellular crevice between S4 and S5 that would allow radial movement of the intracellular ends of S5 and S6 to open HCN channels.


2012 ◽  
Vol 140 (5) ◽  
pp. 469-479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sujung Ryu ◽  
Gary Yellen

HCN (hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide gated) pacemaker channels have an architecture similar to that of voltage-gated K+ channels, but they open with the opposite voltage dependence. HCN channels use essentially the same positively charged voltage sensors and intracellular activation gates as K+ channels, but apparently these two components are coupled differently. In this study, we examine the energetics of coupling between the voltage sensor and the pore by using cysteine mutant channels for which low concentrations of Cd2+ ions freeze the open–closed gating machinery but still allow the sensors to move. We were able to lock mutant channels either into open or into closed states by the application of Cd2+ and measure the effect on voltage sensor movement. Cd2+ did not immobilize the gating charge, as expected for strict coupling, but rather it produced shifts in the voltage dependence of voltage sensor charge movement, consistent with its effect of confining transitions to either closed or open states. From the magnitude of the Cd2+-induced shifts, we estimate that each voltage sensor produces a roughly three- to sevenfold effect on the open–closed equilibrium, corresponding to a coupling energy of ∼1.3–2 kT per sensor. Such coupling is not only opposite in sign to the coupling in K+ channels, but also much weaker.


1991 ◽  
Vol 98 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
C K Abrams ◽  
K S Jakes ◽  
A Finkelstein ◽  
S L Slatin

The availability of primary sequences for ion-conducting channels permits the development of testable models for mechanisms of voltage gating. Previous work on planar phospholipid bilayers and lipid vesicles indicates that voltage gating of colicin E1 channels involves translocation of peptide segments of the molecule into and across the membrane. Here we identify histidine residue 440 as a gating charge associated with this translocation. Using site-directed mutagenesis to convert the positively charged His440 to a neutral cysteine, we find that the voltage dependence for turn-off of channels formed by this mutant at position 440 is less steep than that for wild-type channels; the magnitude of the change in voltage dependence is consistent with residue 440 moving from the trans to the cis side of the membrane in association with channel closure. The effect of trans pH changes on the ion selectivity of channels formed by the carboxymethylated derivative of the cysteine 440 mutant independently establishes that in the open channel state, residue 440 lies on the trans side of the membrane. On the basis of these results, we propose that the voltage-gated opening of colicin E1 channels is accompanied by the insertion into the bilayer of a helical hairpin loop extending from residue 420 to residue 459, and that voltage-gated closing is associated with the extrusion of this loop from the interior of the bilayer back to the cis side.


Like the axolemma of the giant nerve fibre of the squid, the nodal membrane of frog myelinated nerve fibres after blocking transmembrane ionic currents exhibits asymmetrical displacement currents during and after hyperpolarizing and depolarizing voltage clamp pulses of equal size. The steady-state distribution of charges as a function of membrane potential is consistent with Boltzmann’s law (midpoint potential —33.7 mV; saturation value 17200 charges/(μm 2 ). The time course of the asymmetry current and the voltage dependence of its time constant are consistent with the notion that due to a sudden change in membrane potential the charges undergo a first order transition between two configurations. Size and voltage dependence of the time constant are similar to those of the activation of the sodium conductance assuming m 2 h kinetics, The results suggest the presence of ten times more sodium channels (5000/μm2) in the node of Ranvier than in the squid giant axon with similar sodium conductance per channel (2-3 pS),


2000 ◽  
Vol 116 (3) ◽  
pp. 341-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
James A. Morrill ◽  
Stephen C. Cannon

Skeletal muscle dihydropyridine (DHP) receptors function both as voltage-activated Ca2+ channels and as voltage sensors for coupling membrane depolarization to release of Ca2+ from the sarcoplasmic reticulum. In skeletal muscle, the principal or α1S subunit occurs in full-length (∼10% of total) and post-transcriptionally truncated (∼90%) forms, which has raised the possibility that the two functional roles are subserved by DHP receptors comprised of different sized α1S subunits. We tested the functional properties of each form by injecting oocytes with cRNAs coding for full-length (α1S) or truncated (α1SΔC) α subunits. Both translation products were expressed in the membrane, as evidenced by increases in the gating charge (Qmax 80–150 pC). Thus, oocytes provide a robust expression system for the study of gating charge movement in α1S, unencumbered by contributions from other voltage-gated channels or the complexities of the transverse tubules. As in recordings from skeletal muscle, for heterologously expressed channels the peak inward Ba2+ currents were small relative to Qmax. The truncated α1SΔC protein, however, supported much larger ionic currents than the full-length product. These data raise the possibility that DHP receptors containing the more abundant, truncated form of the α1S subunit conduct the majority of the L-type Ca2+ current in skeletal muscle. Our data also suggest that the carboxyl terminus of the α1S subunit modulates the coupling between charge movement and channel opening.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 1441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hung-Te Hsu ◽  
Yi-Ching Lo ◽  
Sheng-Nan Wu

UCL-2077 (triphenylmethylaminomethyl)pyridine) was previously reported to suppress slow afterhyperpolarization in neurons. However, the information with respect to the effects of UCL-2077 on ionic currents is quite scarce. The addition of UCL-2077 decreased the amplitude of erg-mediated K+ current (IK(erg)) together with an increased deactivation rate of the current in pituitary GH3 cells. The IC50 and KD values of UCL-2077-induced inhibition of IK(erg) were 4.7 and 5.1 μM, respectively. UCL-2077 (10 μM) distinctly shifted the midpoint in the activation curve of IK(erg) to less hyperpolarizing potentials by 17 mV. Its presence decreased the degree of voltage hysteresis for IK(erg) elicitation by long-lasting triangular ramp pulse. It also diminished the probability of the opening of intermediate-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels. In cell-attached current recordings, UCL-2077 raised the frequency of action currents. When KCNH2 mRNA was knocked down, a UCL-2077-mediated increase in AC firing was attenuated. Collectively, the actions elaborated herein conceivably contribute to the perturbating effects of this compound on electrical behaviors of excitable cells.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 247054701878778 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chung Sub Kim ◽  
Daniel Johnston

Growing evidence suggests a possible link between hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated nonselective cation (HCN) channels and depression. In a recent study published in Molecular Psychiatry, we first demonstrate that Ih (the membrane current mediated by HCN channels) and HCN1 protein expression were increased in dorsal, but not in ventral, CA1 region following chronic, but not acute stress. This upregulation of Ih was restricted to the perisomatic region of CA1 neurons and contributed to a reduction of neuronal excitability. A reduction of HCN1 protein expression in dorsal CA1 region before the onset of chronic unpredictable stress-induced depression was sufficient to provide resilient effects to chronic unpredictable stress. Furthermore, in vivo block of the sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA) pumps, a manipulation known to increase intracellular calcium levels and upregulate Ih, produced anxiogenic-like behavior and an increase in Ih, similar to that observed in chronic unpredictable stress model of depression. Here, we share our view on (1) how the function and expression of HCN1 channels are changed in the brain in a subcellular region-specific manner during the development of depression and (2) how a reduction of HCN1 protein expression provides resilience to chronic stress.


2008 ◽  
Vol 295 (2) ◽  
pp. C557-C565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sriharsha Vemana ◽  
Shilpi Pandey ◽  
H. Peter Larsson

Hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) channels are activated by membrane hyperpolarization that creates time-dependent, inward rectifying currents, gated by the movement of the intrinsic voltage sensor S4. However, inward rectification of the HCN currents is not only observed in the time-dependent HCN currents, but also in the instantaneous HCN tail currents. Inward rectification can also be seen in mutant HCN channels that have mainly time-independent currents ( 5 ). In the present study, we show that intracellular Mg2+ functions as a voltage-dependent blocker of HCN channels, acting to reduce the outward currents. The affinity of HCN channels for Mg2+ is in the physiological range, with Mg2+ binding with an IC50 of 0.53 mM in HCN2 channels and 0.82 mM in HCN1 channels at +50 mV. The effective electrical distance for the Mg2+ binding site was found to be 0.19 for HCN1 channels, suggesting that the binding site is in the pore. Removing a cysteine in the selectivity filter of HCN1 channels reduced the affinity for Mg2+, suggesting that this residue forms part of the binding site deep within the pore. Our results suggest that Mg2+ acts as a voltage-dependent pore blocker and, therefore, reduces outward currents through HCN channels. The pore-blocking action of Mg2+ may play an important physiological role, especially for the slowly gating HCN2 and HCN4 channels. Mg2+ could potentially block outward hyperpolarizing HCN currents at the plateau of action potentials, thus preventing a premature termination of the action potential.


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