Ion Channel Permeation and Selectivity

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan J. Nogueira ◽  
Ben Corry
Keyword(s):  
Ion Channels ◽  
Ion Channel ◽  
Ion Selectivity ◽  
Ionic Currents ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Ion Permeation ◽  
Voltage Gated ◽  
Physical Mechanisms ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Mechanistic Insight

Many biological processes essential for life rely on the transport of specific ions at specific times across cell membranes. Such exquisite control of ionic currents, which is regulated by protein ion channels, is fundamental for the proper functioning of the cells. It is not surprising, therefore, that the mechanism of ion permeation and selectivity in ion channels has been extensively investigated by means of experimental and theoretical approaches. These studies have provided great mechanistic insight but have also raised new questions that are still unresolved. This chapter first summarizes the main techniques that have provided significant knowledge about ion permeation and selectivity. It then discusses the physical mechanisms leading to ion permeation and the explanations that have been proposed for ion selectivity in voltage-gated potassium, sodium, and calcium channels.

VOCCs and TREK-1 ion channel expression in human tenocytes

2007 ◽  
Vol 292 (3) ◽  
pp. C1053-C1060 ◽  
Author(s):  
Merzesh Magra ◽  
Steven Hughes ◽  
Alicia J. El Haj ◽  
Nicola Maffulli
Keyword(s):  
Ion Channels ◽  
Ion Channel ◽  
Ionic Currents ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Functional Expression ◽  
Tissue Cell ◽  
Pharmacological Management ◽  
Whole Cell ◽  
Voltage Gated ◽  
Channel Expression

Mechanosensitive and voltage-gated ion channels are known to perform important roles in mechanotransduction in a number of connective tissues, including bone and muscle. It is hypothesized that voltage-gated and mechanosensitive ion channels also may play a key role in some or all initial responses of human tenocytes to mechanical stimulation. However, to date there has been no direct investigation of ion channel expression by human tenocytes. Human tenocytes were cultured from patellar tendon samples harvested from five patients undergoing routine total knee replacement surgery (mean age: 66 yr; range: 63–73 yr). RT-PCR, Western blotting, and whole cell electrophysiological studies were performed to investigate the expression of different classes of ion channels within tenocytes. Human tenocytes expressed mRNA and protein encoding voltage-operated calcium channel (VOCC) subunits (Ca α1A, Ca α1C, Ca α1D, Ca α2δ1) and the mechanosensitive tandem pore domain potassium channel (2PK+) TREK-1. They exhibit whole cell currents consistent with the functional expression of these channels. In addition, other ionic currents were detected within tenocytes consistent with the expression of a diverse array of other ion channels. VOCCs and TREK channels have been implicated in mechanotransduction signaling pathways in numerous connective tissue cell types. These mechanisms may be present in human tenocytes. In addition, human tenocytes may express other channel currents. Ion channels may represent potential targets for the pharmacological management of chronic tendinopathies.

scholarly journals Ionic bases for electrical remodeling of the canine cardiac ventricle

2013 ◽  
Vol 305 (3) ◽  
pp. H410-H419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darwin Jeyaraj ◽  
Xiaoping Wan ◽  
Eckhard Ficker ◽  
Julian E. Stelzer ◽  
Isabelle Deschenes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ion Channels ◽  
Ion Channel ◽  
Phase 1 ◽  
Myocardial Strain ◽  
Ionic Currents ◽  
Left Ventricular ◽  
Electrical Remodeling ◽  
Cardiac Ventricle ◽  
Ionic Mechanisms ◽  
Ventricular Electrical Remodeling

Emerging evidence suggests that ventricular electrical remodeling (VER) is triggered by regional myocardial strain via mechanoelectrical feedback mechanisms; however, the ionic mechanisms underlying strain-induced VER are poorly understood. To determine its ionic basis, VER induced by altered electrical activation in dogs undergoing left ventricular pacing ( n = 6) were compared with unpaced controls ( n = 4). Action potential (AP) durations (APDs), ionic currents, and Ca2+ transients were measured from canine epicardial myocytes isolated from early-activated (low strain) and late-activated (high strain) left ventricular regions. VER in the early-activated region was characterized by minimal APD prolongation, but marked attenuation of the AP phase 1 notch attributed to reduced transient outward K+ current. In contrast, VER in the late-activated region was characterized by significant APD prolongation. Despite marked APD prolongation, there was surprisingly minimal change in ion channel densities but a twofold increase in diastolic Ca2+. Computer simulations demonstrated that changes in sarcolemmal ion channel density could only account for attenuation of the AP notch observed in the early-activated region but failed to account for APD remodeling in the late-activated region. Furthermore, these simulations identified that cytosolic Ca2+ accounted for APD prolongation in the late-activated region by enhancing forward-mode Na+/Ca2+ exchanger activity, corroborated by increased Na+/Ca2+ exchanger protein expression. Finally, assessment of skinned fibers after VER identified altered myofilament Ca2+ sensitivity in late-activated regions to be associated with increased diastolic levels of Ca2+. In conclusion, we identified two distinct ionic mechanisms that underlie VER: 1) strain-independent changes in early-activated regions due to remodeling of sarcolemmal ion channels with no changes in Ca2+ handling and 2) a novel and unexpected mechanism for strain-induced VER in late-activated regions in the canine arising from remodeling of sarcomeric Ca2+ handling rather than sarcolemmal ion channels.

Voltage-Gated Ion Channels and Hereditary Disease

1999 ◽  
Vol 79 (4) ◽  
pp. 1317-1372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Lehmann-Horn ◽  
Karin Jurkat-Rott
Keyword(s):  
Ion Channels ◽  
Ion Channel ◽  
Recombinant Dna ◽  
Hereditary Disease ◽  
Hereditary Diseases ◽  
Technological Advancement ◽  
Myotonia Congenita ◽  
Voltage Gated ◽  
Voltage Gated Ion Channels ◽  
Gated Ion Channels

By the introduction of technological advancement in methods of structural analysis, electronics, and recombinant DNA techniques, research in physiology has become molecular. Additionally, focus of interest has been moving away from classical physiology to become increasingly centered on mechanisms of disease. A wonderful example for this development, as evident by this review, is the field of ion channel research which would not be nearly as advanced had it not been for human diseases to clarify. It is for this reason that structure-function relationships and ion channel electrophysiology cannot be separated from the genetic and clinical description of ion channelopathies. Unique among reviews of this topic is that all known human hereditary diseases of voltage-gated ion channels are described covering various fields of medicine such as neurology (nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy, benign neonatal convulsions, episodic ataxia, hemiplegic migraine, deafness, stationary night blindness), nephrology (X-linked recessive nephrolithiasis, Bartter), myology (hypokalemic and hyperkalemic periodic paralysis, myotonia congenita, paramyotonia, malignant hyperthermia), cardiology (LQT syndrome), and interesting parallels in mechanisms of disease emphasized. Likewise, all types of voltage-gated ion channels for cations (sodium, calcium, and potassium channels) and anions (chloride channels) are described together with all knowledge about pharmacology, structure, expression, isoforms, and encoding genes.

scholarly journals Structural and molecular insight into the pH-induced low-permeability of the voltage-gated potassium channel Kv1.2 through dewetting of the water cavity

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juhwan Lee ◽  
Mooseok Kang ◽  
Sangyeol Kim ◽  
Iksoo Chang
Keyword(s):  
Ion Channels ◽  
Ion Channel ◽  
Potassium Ion ◽  
Low Permeability ◽  
Voltage Gated ◽  
Kv Channels ◽  
Proton Concentration ◽  
Electrical Voltage ◽  
Gating Mechanism ◽  
Ph Dependent

AbstractUnderstanding the gating mechanism of ion channel proteins is key to understanding the regulation of cell signaling through these channels. Channel opening and closing are regulated by diverse environmental factors that include temperature, electrical voltage across the channel, and proton concentration. Low permeability in voltage-gated potassium ion channels (Kv) is intimately correlated with the prolonged action potential duration observed in many acidosis diseases. The Kv channels consist of voltage-sensing domains (S1–S4 helices) and central pore domains (S5–S6 helices) that include a selectivity filter and water-filled cavity. The voltage-sensing domain is responsible for the voltage-gating of Kv channels. While the low permeability of Kv channels to potassium ion is highly correlated with the cellular proton concentration, it is unclear how an intracellular acidic condition drives their closure, which may indicate an additional pH-dependent gating mechanism of the Kv family. Here, we show that two residues E327 and H418 in the proximity of the water cavity of Kv1.2 play crucial roles as a pH switch. In addition, we present a structural and molecular concept of the pH-dependent gating of Kv1.2 in atomic detail, showing that the protonation of E327 and H418 disrupts the electrostatic balance around the S6 helices, which leads to a straightening transition in the shape of their axes and causes dewetting of the water-filled cavity and closure of the channel. Our work offers a conceptual advancement to the regulation of the pH-dependent gating of various voltage-gated ion channels and their related biological functions.Author SummaryThe acid sensing ion channels are a biological machinery for maintaining the cell functional under the acidic or basic cellular environment. Understanding the pH-dependent gating mechanism of such channels provides the structural insight to design the molecular strategy in regulating the acidosis. Here, we studied the voltage-gated potassium ion channel Kv1.2 which senses not only the electrical voltage across the channels but also the cellular acidity. We uncovered that two key residues E327 and H418 in the pore domain of Kv1.2 channel play a role as pH-switch in that their protonation control the gating of the pore in Kv1.2 channel. It offered a molecular insight how the acidity reduces the ion permeability in voltage-gated potassium channels.

scholarly journals Approaches for unveiling the kinetic mechanisms of voltage gated ion channels in neurons

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Marco Antonio Navarro
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Ion Channels ◽  
Ion Channel ◽  
Rate Constants ◽  
Markov Models ◽  
Neuronal Firing ◽  
Voltage Gated ◽  
Voltage Gated Ion Channels ◽  
Parameter Constraints ◽  
Gated Ion Channels

Ionic currents drive cellular function within all living cells to perform highly specific tasks. For excitable cells, such as muscle and neurons, voltage-gated ion channels have finely tuned kinetics that allow the transduction of Action potentials to other cells. Voltage-gated ion channels are molecular machines that open and close depending on electrical potential. Neuronal firing rates are largely determined by the overall availability of voltage-gated Na+ and K+ currents.This work describes new approaches for collecting and analyzing experimental data that can be used to streamline experiments. Ion channels are composed of multimeric complexes regulated by intracellular factors producing complex kinetics. The stochastic behavior of thousands of individual ion hannels coordinates to produce cellular activity. To describe their activity and test hypotheses about the channel, experimenters often fit Markov models to a set of experimental data. Markov models are defined by a set of states, whose transitions described by rate constants. To improve the modeling process, we have developed computational approaches to introduce kinetic constraints that reduces the parameter search space. This work describes the implementation and mathematical transformations required to describe linear and non-linear parameter constraints that govern rate constants. Not all ion channel behaviors can easily be described by rate constants. Therefore, we developed and implemented a penalty-based mechanism that can be used to guide the optimization engine to produce a model with a desired behavior, such as single-channel open probability and use dependent effects. To streamline data collection for experiments in brain slice preparations, we developed a 3D virtual software environment that incorporates data from micro-positioning motors and scientific cameras in real-time. This environment provides positional feedback to the investigator and allows for the creation of data maps including both images and electrical recordings. We have also produced semi-automatic targeting procedures that simplifies the overall experimental experience. Experimentally, this work also examines how the kinetic mechanism of voltage gated Na channels regulates the neuronal firing of brainstem respiratory neurons. These raphe neurons are intrinsic pacemakers that do not rely on synaptic connections to elicit activity. I explored how intracellular calcium regulates the kinetics of TTX-sensitive Na+ currents using whole-cell patch clamp electrophysiology. Established with intracellular Ca2+ buffers, high [Ca2+] levels greater than ~7 [micro]M did not change the voltage dependence of steady-state activation and inactivation, but slightly slowed inactivation time course. However, the recovery from inactivation and use dependence inactivation is slowed by high intracellular [Ca2+]. Overall, these approaches described in this work have improved data acquisition and data analysis to create better ion channel models and enhance the electrophysiology experience.

scholarly journals Conserved His-Gly motif of acid-sensing ion channels resides in a reentrant ‘loop’ implicated in gating and ion selectivity

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nate Yoder ◽  
Eric Gouaux
Keyword(s):  
Ion Channels ◽  
Ion Selectivity ◽  
Fear Memory ◽  
Amino Terminus ◽  
Ion Permeation ◽  
Structural Explanation ◽  
Cryo Electron Microscopy ◽  
Acid Sensing Ion Channels ◽  
And Function

ABSTRACTAcid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) are proton-gated members of the epithelial sodium channel/degenerin (ENaC/DEG) superfamily of ion channels and are expressed throughout central and peripheral nervous systems. The homotrimeric splice variant ASIC1a has been implicated in nociception, fear memory, mood disorders and ischemia. Here we extract full-length chicken ASIC1a (cASIC1a) from cell membranes using styrene maleic acid (SMA) copolymer, yielding structures of ASIC1a channels in both high pH resting and low pH desensitized conformations by single-particle cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). The structures of resting and desensitized channels reveal a reentrant loop at the amino terminus of ASIC1a that includes the highly conserved ‘His-Gly’ (HG) motif. The reentrant loop lines the lower ion permeation pathway and buttresses the ‘Gly-Ala-Ser’ (GAS) constriction, thus providing a structural explanation for the role of the His-Gly dipeptide in the structure and function of ASICs.

scholarly journals Mechanisms underlying sequence-dependent DNA hybridisation rates in the absence of secondary structure

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Hertel ◽  
Richard Spinney ◽  
Stephanie Xu ◽  
Thomas E Ouldridge ◽  
Richard Morris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Structure ◽  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Physical Factors ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Physical Mechanisms ◽  
Mechanistic Insight ◽  
Sequence Dependent ◽  
Dna Hybridisation ◽  
Kinetics Of ◽  
Insight Into

The kinetics of DNA hybridisation are fundamental to biological processes and DNA-based technologies. However, the precise physical mechanisms that determine why different DNA sequences hybridise at different rates are not well understood. Secondary structure is one predictable factor that influences hybridisation rates but is not sufficient on its own to fully explain the observed sequence-dependent variance. Consequently, to achieve a good correlation with experimental data, current prediction algorithms require many parameters that provide little mechanistic insight into DNA hybridisation. In this context, we measured hybridisation rates of 43 different DNA sequences that are not predicted to form secondary structure and present a parsimonious physically justified model to quantify their hybridisation rates. Accounting only for the combinatorics of complementary nucleating interactions and their sequence-dependent stability, the model achieves good correlation with experiment with only two free parameters, thus providing new insight into the physical factors underpinning DNA hybridisation rates.

scholarly journals Panama: A tool for ion channel biophysics simulation

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anuj Guruacharya
Keyword(s):  
Ion Channels ◽  
Potassium Channels ◽  
Calcium Channels ◽  
Ion Channel ◽  
Chloride Channels ◽  
High Threshold ◽  
Spreadsheet Program ◽  
Online Tool ◽  
Voltage Gated ◽  
Web App

I have created an online tool and an R library that simulates biophysics of voltage-gated ion channels. It is made publicly available as an R library called Panama at github.com/anuj2054/panama and as a web app at neuronsimulator.com. A need for such a tool was observed after surveying available software packages. I found that the available packages are either not robust enough to simulate multiple ion channels, too complicated, usable only as desktop software, not optimized for mobile devices, not interactive, lacking intuitive graphical controls, or not appropriate for undergraduate education. My app simulates the physiology of 11 different channels - voltage-gated sodium, potassium, and chloride channels; channels causing A-current, M-current, and After-HyperPolarization (AHP) current; calcium-activated potassium channels; low threshold T type calcium channels and high threshold L type calcium channels; leak sodium and leak potassium channels. It can simulate these channels under both current clamp and voltage clamp conditions. As we change the input values on the app, the output can be instantaneously visualized on the web browser and downloaded as a data table to be further analyzed in a spreadsheet program. The app is a first of its kind, mobile-friendly and touch-screen-friendly online tool that can be used to teach undergraduate neuroscience classes. It can also be used by researchers on their local computers as part of an R library. It has intuitive touch-optimized controls, instantaneous graphical output, and yet is pedagogically robust for education and casual research purposes.Neuroscience education, ion channel biophysics, Hodgkin-Huxley simulation, web app for neuroscience

scholarly journals Fluorescence Imaging of Electrically Stimulated Cells

2003 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 660-667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Burnett ◽  
Janet K. Robertson ◽  
Jeffrey M. Palmer ◽  
Richard R. Ryan ◽  
Adrienne E. Dubin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Potential ◽  
Ion Channels ◽  
Ion Channel ◽  
High Throughput ◽  
Pharmacological Intervention ◽  
Voltage Gradient ◽  
Channel Activity ◽  
Voltage Gated ◽  
Voltage Gated Ion Channels ◽  
Gated Ion Channels

Designing high-throughput screens for voltage-gated ion channels has been a tremendous challenge for the pharmaceutical industry because channel activity is dependent on the transmembrane voltage gradient, a stimulus unlike ligand binding to G-protein-coupled receptors or ligand-gated ion channels. To achieve an acceptable throughput, assays to screen for voltage-gated ion channel modulators that are employed today rely on pharmacological intervention to activate these channels. These interventions can introduce artifacts. Ideally, a high-throughput screen should not compromise physiological relevance. Hence, a more appropriate method would activate voltage-gated ion channels by altering plasma membrane potential directly, via electrical stimulation, while simultaneously recordingthe operation of the channel in populations of cells. The authors present preliminary results obtained from a device that is designed to supply precise and reproducible electrical stimuli to populations of cells. Changes in voltage-gated ion channel activity were monitored using a digital fluorescent microscope. The prototype electric field stimulation (EFS) device provided real-time analysis of cellular responsiveness to physiological and pharmacological stimuli. Voltage stimuli applied to SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cells cultured on the EFS device evoked membrane potential changes that were dependent on activation of voltage-gated sodium channels. Data obtained using digital fluorescence microscopy suggests suitability of this system for HTS.

Classification of potassium and chlorine ionic currents in retinal ganglion cell line (RGC-5) by whole-cell patch clamp

2012 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 275-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
SHU-JIE WANG ◽  
LAI-HUA XIE ◽  
BIN HENG ◽  
YAN-QIANG LIU
Keyword(s):  
Patch Clamp ◽  
Ion Channel ◽  
Ganglion Cell ◽  
Cell Line ◽  
Ionic Currents ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Voltage Gated ◽  
Whole Cell Patch Clamp ◽  
Inwardly Rectifying

AbstractRetinal ganglion cell line (RGC-5) has been widely used as a valuable model for studying pathophysiology and physiology of retinal ganglion cells in vitro. However, the electrophysiological characteristics, especially a thorough classification of ionic currents in the cell line, remain to be elucidated in details. In the present study, we determined the resting membrane potential (RMP) in RGC-5 cell line and then identified different types of ionic currents by using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique. The RMP recorded in the cell line was between −30 and −6 mV (−17.6 ± 2.6 mV, n = 10). We observed the following voltage-gated ion channel currents: (1) inwardly rectifying Cl− current (ICl,ir), which could be blocked by Zn2+; (2) Ca2+-activated Cl− current (ICl,Ca), which was sensitive to extracellular Ca2+ and could be inhibited by disodium 4,4’-diisothiocyanatostilbene-2,2’-disulfonate; (3) inwardly rectifying K+ currents (IK1), which could be blocked by Ba2+; (4) a small amount of delayed rectifier K+ current (IK). On the other hand, the voltage-gated sodium channels current (INa) and transient outward potassium channels current (IA) were not observed in this cell line. These results further characterize the ionic currents in the RGC-5 cell line and are beneficial for future studies especially on ion channel (patho)physiology and pharmacology in the RGC-5 cell line.

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