Multiple binding sites for resin-acid derivatives on the voltage-sensor domain of the Shaker potassium channel
ABSTRACTNegatively charged resin acids and their derivatives open voltage-gated potassium (KV) channels by attracting the positively charged voltage-sensor helix of the channel (S4) towards the extracellular leaflet of the cellular membrane and thereby favoring gate opening. The resin acids have been proposed to primarily bind in a pocket in the periphery of the channel, located between the lipid-facing extracellular ends of the transmembrane segments S3 and S4. However, in apparent contrast to the suggested electrostatic mechanism, neutralization of the top gating charge of the Shaker KV channel did not reduce the resin-acid induced opening, but unexpectedly increased it, suggesting other mechanisms and other sites of action. Here we explored the binding of two resin-acid derivatives, Wu50 and Wu161, to the activated open state Shaker KV channel by a combination of in-silico docking, molecular dynamics simulations, and electrophysiology of mutated channels. We identified three potential resinacid binding sites around the voltage sensor helix S4: (1) The S3/S4 site suggested previously. Positively charged residues introduced at the top of S4 are critical to keep the compound bound in this site by electrostatic force. (2) A site located in the cleft between S4 and the pore domain (the S4/pore site). A tryptophan at the top of S6 and the top gating charge of S4 keeps the compound bound. (3) A site located at the extracellular side of the voltage-sensor domain in a cleft formed by S1-S4 (the top-VSD site). The presence of multiple binding sites around S4 and the anticipated helical-screw motion of the helix during activation makes the effect of resin-acid derivatives on channel function intricate. The propensity of a specific resin acid to activate and open a voltage-gated channel likely depends on its exact binding pose and the types of interactions it can form with the protein in a state-specific manner.