scholarly journals Lack of negative slope in I-V plots for BK channels at positive potentials in the absence of intracellular blockers

2013 ◽  
Vol 141 (4) ◽  
pp. 493-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanyan Geng ◽  
Xiaoyu Wang ◽  
Karl L. Magleby
Keyword(s):  
Single Channel ◽  
Bk Channels ◽  
Negative Slope ◽  
Channel Conductance ◽  
Single Channel Conductance ◽  
Linear Current ◽  
Joint Application ◽  
Current Voltage ◽  
Α Subunits

Large-conductance, voltage- and Ca2+-activated K+ (BK) channels display near linear current–voltage (I-V) plots for voltages between −100 and +100 mV, with an increasing sublinearity for more positive potentials. As is the case for many types of channels, BK channels are blocked at positive potentials by intracellular Ca2+ and Mg2+. This fast block progressively reduces single-channel conductance with increasing voltage, giving rise to a negative slope in the I-V plots beyond about +120 mV, depending on the concentration of the blockers. In contrast to these observations of pronounced differences in the magnitudes and shapes of I-V plots in the absence and presence of intracellular blockers, Schroeder and Hansen (2007. J. Gen. Physiol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1085/jgp.200709802) have reported identical I-V plots in the absence and presence of blockers for BK channels, with both plots having reduced conductance and negative slopes, as expected for blockers. Schroeder and Hansen included both Ca2+ and Mg2+ in the intracellular solution rather than a single blocker, and they also studied BK channels expressed from α plus β1 subunits, whereas most previous studies used only α subunits. Although it seems unlikely that these experimental differences would account for the differences in findings between previous studies and those of Schroeder and Hansen, we repeated the experiments using BK channels comprised of α plus β1 subunits with joint application of 2.5 mM Ca2+ plus 2.5 mM Mg2+, as Schroeder and Hansen did. In contrast to the findings of Schroeder and Hansen of identical I-V plots, we found marked differences in the single-channel I-V plots in the absence and presence of blockers. Consistent with previous studies, we found near linear I-V plots in the absence of blockers and greatly reduced currents and negative slopes in the presence of blockers. Hence, studies of conductance mechanisms for BK channels should exclude intracellular Ca2+/Mg2+, as they can reduce conductance and induce negative slopes.

scholarly journals Intrinsic Electrostatic Potential in the BK Channel Pore: Role in Determining Single Channel Conductance and Block

2008 ◽  
Vol 131 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingrid Carvacho ◽  
Wendy Gonzalez ◽  
Yolima P. Torres ◽  
Sebastian Brauchi ◽  
Osvaldo Alvarez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electrostatic Potential ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Molecular Model ◽  
Bk Channels ◽  
Bk Channel ◽  
Xenopus Laevis Oocytes ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Channel Conductance ◽  
Single Channel Conductance ◽  
Electrostatic Effect

The internal vestibule of large-conductance Ca2+ voltage-activated K+ (BK) channels contains a ring of eight negative charges not present in K+ channels of lower conductance (Glu386 and Glu389 in hSlo) that modulates channel conductance through an electrostatic mechanism (Brelidze, T.I., X. Niu, and K.L. Magleby. 2003. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 100:9017–9022). In BK channels there are also two acidic amino acid residues in an extracellular loop (Asp326 and Glu329 in hSlo). To determine the electrostatic influence of these charges on channel conductance, we expressed wild-type BK channels and mutants E386N/E389N, D326N, E329Q, and D326N/E329Q channels on Xenopus laevis oocytes, and measured the expressed currents under patch clamp. Contribution of E329 to the conductance is negligible and single channel conductance of D326N/E329Q channels measured at 0 mV in symmetrical 110 mM K+ was 18% lower than the control. Current–voltage curves displayed weak outward rectification for D326N and the double mutant. The conductance differences between the mutants and wild-type BK were caused by an electrostatic effect since they were enhanced at low K+ (30 mM) and vanished at high K+ (1 M K+). We determine the electrostatic potential change, Δφ, caused by the charge neutralization using TEA+ block for the extracellular charges and Ba2+ for intracellular charges. We measured 13 ± 2 mV for Δφ at the TEA+ site when turning off the extracellular charges, and 17 ± 2 mV for the Δφ at the Ba2+ site when the intracellular charges were turned off. To understand the electrostatic effect of charge neutralizations, we determined Δφ using a BK channel molecular model embedded in a lipid bilayer and solving the Poisson-Boltzmann equation. The model explains the experimental results adequately and, in particular, gives an economical explanation to the differential effect on the conductance of the neutralization of charges D326 and E329.

Single-channel recordings from amiloride-sensitive epithelial sodium channel

1985 ◽  
Vol 249 (3) ◽  
pp. C200-C207 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. L. Hamilton ◽  
D. C. Eaton
Keyword(s):  
Single Channel ◽  
Na Channel ◽  
Apical Surface ◽  
Channel Conductance ◽  
Single Channel Conductance ◽  
Cell Interior ◽  
Channel Characteristics ◽  
Open Time ◽  
Current Voltage ◽  
Patch Pipette

We report here the first evidence in intact epithelial cells of unit conductance events from an amiloride-sensitive Na+ channel. The events were observed when patch-clamp recordings were made from the apical surface of cultured epithelial kidney cells (A6). The channel characteristics are as follows. Single-channel conductance ranged between 7 and 10 pS (mean = 8.4 +/- 1.3), the current-voltage (I-V) relationship displayed little if any nonlinearity over a range of +/- 80 mV (with respect to the patch pipette), and the channel Na+/K+ selectivity was approximately 3-4:1. Amiloride, a cationic blocker of the channel, reduced channel mean open time and increased channel mean closed time as the voltage of the cell interior was made more negative. Amiloride induced channel flickering at increased negative potentials (intracellular potential with respect to the patch) but did not alter the single-channel conductance or the I-V relationship from that observed in control patches.

scholarly journals Gating and Conductance Properties of Bk Channels Are Modulated by the S9–S10 Tail Domain of the α Subunit

2001 ◽  
Vol 118 (6) ◽  
pp. 711-734 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda L. Moss ◽  
Karl L. Magleby
Keyword(s):  
Single Channel ◽  
Bk Channels ◽  
Bk Channel ◽  
Burst Duration ◽  
Tail Domain ◽  
Channel Conductance ◽  
Single Channel Conductance ◽  
Open Time ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Single Channel Currents

The COOH-terminal S9–S10 tail domain of large conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (BK) channels is a major determinant of Ca2+ sensitivity (Schreiber, M., A. Wei, A. Yuan, J. Gaut, M. Saito, and L. Salkoff. 1999. Nat. Neurosci. 2:416–421). To investigate whether the tail domain also modulates Ca2+-independent properties of BK channels, we explored the functional differences between the BK channel mSlo1 and another member of the Slo family, mSlo3 (Schreiber, M., A. Yuan, and L. Salkoff. 1998. J. Biol. Chem. 273:3509–3516). Compared with mSlo1 channels, mSlo3 channels showed little Ca2+ sensitivity, and the mean open time, burst duration, gaps between bursts, and single-channel conductance of mSlo3 channels were only 32, 22, 41, and 37% of that for mSlo1 channels, respectively. To examine which channel properties arise from the tail domain, we coexpressed the core of mSlo1 with either the tail domain of mSlo1 or the tail domain of mSlo3 channels, and studied the single-channel currents. Replacing the mSlo1 tail with the mSlo3 tail resulted in the following: increased open probability in the absence of Ca2+; reduced the Ca2+ sensitivity greatly by allowing only partial activation by Ca2+ and by reducing the Hill coefficient for Ca2+ activation; decreased the voltage dependence ∼28%; decreased the mean open time two- to threefold; decreased the mean burst duration three- to ninefold; decreased the single-channel conductance ∼14%; decreased the Kd for block by TEAi ∼30%; did not change the minimal numbers of three to four open and five to seven closed states entered during gating; and did not change the major features of the dependency between adjacent interval durations. These observations support a modular construction of the BK channel in which the tail domain modulates the gating kinetics and conductance properties of the voltage-dependent core domain, in addition to determining most of the high affinity Ca2+ sensitivity.

scholarly journals Ca2+ block and flickering both contribute to the negative slope of the IV curve in BK channels

2013 ◽  
Vol 141 (4) ◽  
pp. 499-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Indra Schroeder ◽  
Gerhard Thiel ◽  
Ulf-Peter Hansen
Keyword(s):  
Open Channel ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Bk Channels ◽  
Negative Slope ◽  
Channel Noise ◽  
Channel Current ◽  
Single Channel Current ◽  
Current Voltage ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Iv Curves

Single-channel current–voltage (IV) curves of human large-conductance, voltage- and Ca2+-activated K+ (BK) channels are quite linear in 150 mM KCl. In the presence of Ca2+ and/or Mg2+, they show a negative slope conductance at high positive potentials. This is generally explained by a Ca2+/Mg2+ block as by Geng et al. (2013. J. Gen. Physiol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1085/jgp.201210955) in this issue. Here, we basically support this finding but add a refinement: the analysis of the open-channel noise by means of β distributions reveals what would be found if measurements were done with an amplifier of sufficient temporal resolution (10 MHz), namely that the block by 2.5 mM Ca2+ and 2.5 mM Mg2+ per se would only cause a saturating curve up to +160 mV. Further bending down requires the involvement of a second process related to flickering in the microsecond range. This flickering is hardly affected by the presence or absence of Ca2+/Mg2+. In contrast to the experiments reported here, previous experiments in BK channels (Schroeder and Hansen. 2007. J. Gen. Physiol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1085/jgp.200709802) showed saturating IV curves already in the absence of Ca2+/Mg2+. The reason for this discrepancy could not be identified so far. However, the flickering component was very similar in the old and new experiments, regardless of the occurrence of noncanonical IV curves.

ATP-sensitive K(+)-selective channels of inner medullary collecting duct cells

1994 ◽  
Vol 267 (3) ◽  
pp. F489-F496 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. C. Sansom ◽  
T. Mougouris ◽  
S. Ono ◽  
T. D. DuBose
Keyword(s):  
Single Channel ◽  
Collecting Duct ◽  
K Channel ◽  
Channel Conductance ◽  
Single Channel Conductance ◽  
Inner Medullary Collecting Duct ◽  
Outward Currents ◽  
Inward Currents ◽  
Excised Patches ◽  
Medullary Collecting Duct

The inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD) in vivo has the capacity to either secrete or reabsorb K+. However, a selective K+ conductance has not been described previously in the IMCD. In the present study, the patch-clamp method was used to determine the presence and properties of K(+)-selective channels in the apical membrane of the inner medullary collecting duct cell line, mIMCD-3. Two types of K(+)-selective channels were observed in both cell-attached and excised patches. The most predominant K+ channel, a smaller conductance K+ channel (SK), was present in cell-attached patches with 140 mM KCl (high bath K+) but not with 135 mM NaCl plus 5 mM KCl (low bath K+) in the bathing solution. The single-channel conductance of SK was 36 pS with inward currents and 29 pS with outward currents in symmetrical 140 mM KCl. SK was insensitive to both voltage and Ca2+. However, SK was inhibited significantly by millimolar concentrations of ATP in excised patches. A second K(+)-selective channel [a larger K+ channel (BK)] displayed a single-channel conductance equal to 132 pS with inward currents and 90 pS with outward currents in symmetrical 140 mM KCl solutions. BK was intermittently activated in excised inside-out patches by Mg(2+)-ATP in concentrations from 1 to 5 mM. With complete removal of Mg2+, BK was insensitive to ATP. BK was also insensitive to potential and Ca2+ and was observed in cell-attached patches with 140 mM KCl in the bath solution. Both channels were blocked reversibly by 1 mM Ba2+ from the intracellular surface but not by external Ba2+.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Basolateral potassium channels in renal proximal tubule

1987 ◽  
Vol 253 (3) ◽  
pp. F476-F487 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Sackin ◽  
L. G. Palmer
Keyword(s):  
Single Channel ◽  
Basolateral Membrane ◽  
K Channel ◽  
Channel Conductance ◽  
Single Channel Conductance ◽  
K Channels ◽  
Open Time ◽  
Excised Patches ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Inside Out

Potassium (K+) channels in the basolateral membrane of unperfused Necturus proximal tubules were studied in both cell-attached and excised patches, after removal of the tubule basement membrane by manual dissection without collagenase. Two different K+ channels were identified on the basis of their kinetics: a short open-time K+ channel, with a mean open time less than 1 ms, and a long open-time K+ channel with a mean open time greater than 20 ms. The short open-time channel occurred more frequently than the longer channel, especially in excised patches. For inside-out excised patches with Cl- replaced by gluconate, the current-voltage relation of the short open-time K+ channel was linear over +/- 60 mV, with a K+-Na+ selectivity of 12 +/- 2 (n = 12), as calculated from the reversal potential with oppositely directed Na+ and K+ gradients. With K-Ringer in the patch pipette and Na-Ringer in the bath, the conductance of the short open-time channel was 47 +/- 2 pS (n = 15) for cell-attached patches, 26 +/- 2 pS (n = 15) for patches excised (inside out) into Na-Ringer, and 36 +/- 6 pS (n = 3) for excised patches with K-Ringer on both sides. These different conductances can be partially explained by a dependence of single-channel conductance on the K+ concentration on the interior side of the membrane. In experiments with a constant K+ gradient across excised patches, large changes in Na+ at the interior side of the membrane produced no change in single-channel conductance, arguing against a direct block of the K+ channel by Na+. Finally, the activity of the short open-time channel was voltage gated, where the mean number of open channels decreased as a linear function of basolateral membrane depolarization for potentials between -60 and 0 mV. Depolarization from -60 to -40 mV decreased the mean number of open K+ channels by 28 +/- 8% (n = 6).

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