scholarly journals NMR solution structure and analysis of isolated S3b-S4a motif of repeat IV of the human cardiac sodium channel

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adel K Hussein ◽  
Mohammed H Bhuiyan ◽  
Jianqin Zhuang ◽  
Sébastien F Poget

Voltage-gated sodium channels are membrane proteins that play an important role in the propagation of electrical signals by mediating the rising phase of an action potential. Numerous diseases, including epilepsy, extreme pain, and certain cardiac arrhythmias have been linked to defects in these channels. The S3b-S4a helix-turn-helix motif (paddle motif) is a region of the channel that is involved in voltage sensing and undergoes significant structural changes during gating. It is also the binding site for many gating-modifier toxins. We determined the solution structure of the paddle motif from the fourth repeat of NaV1.5 in dodecylphosphocholine micelles by NMR spectroscopy and investigated its dynamics and micelle interactions. The structure displays a helix hairpin with a short connecting loop, and likely represents the activated conformation with three of the first four gating charges facing away from S3. Furthermore, paramagnetic relaxation measurements showed that the paddle motif is mainly interacting with the interface region of the micelle. NMR relaxation studies revealed that the paddle motif is mostly rigid, with some residues around the loop region and the last 4 residues on the C-terminus displaying heightened mobility. The structural findings reported here allowed the interpretation of three disease-causing mutations in this region of the human cardiac sodium channel, S1609W, F1617del and T1620M. The establishment of this model system for NMR studies of the paddle region offers a promising platform for future toxin interaction studies in the cardiac sodium channels, and similar approaches may be applied to other sodium channel isoforms.

Circulation ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 132 (suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerome C Clatot ◽  
Malcolm Hoshi ◽  
Haiyan Liu ◽  
Xiaoping Wan ◽  
Krekwit Shinlapawittayatorn ◽  
...  

Introduction: Mutations in SCN5A, the gene encoding for the cardiac sodium channel, produce alterations of the cardiac action potential that lead to life-threatening arrhythmias such as Long QT Syndrome (LQT3) and Brugada Syndrome (BrS). The conventional wisdom that sodium channels exist in complexes containing a single alpha-subunit has been challenged by the existence of dominant-negative (DN) mutations in BrS and the presence of polymorphisms that can restore trafficking and gating deficiencies of mutant channels in LQT and BrS. In fact, we have previously demonstrated that SCN5A subunits can interact with each other. Here we hypothesized that the physical and biophysical interactions between SCN5A alpha-subunits involve the partner protein 14-3-3, known to form dimers. Methods: SCN5A DN-BrS mutants and LQT3 gating deficient mutants were expressed in HEK293 cells and in commercially available iPS-derived cardiomyocytes, iCells©, in presence or absence of 14-3-3 inhibition. Resulting currents were measured using patch-clamp. Results: In order to investigate if the DN-effect seen by some BrS mutants is due to interaction of the sodium channel with the protein 14-3-3 which in turn would be involved in the alpha-alpha interaction, we expressed two different BrS DN-mutants in HEK293 cells with and without difopein, a specific 14-3-3 inhibitor. The presence of difopein abolished the DN-effect of both mutants. The DN-effect was also abolished when we mutated the putative 14-3-3 binding site on SCN5A and expressed the DN-mutants either in HEK293 cells or in iCells©. Inhibition of 14-3-3 also impaired the biophysical coupling observed in presence of SCN5A gating deficient mutants that affect either activation or inactivation of not only the mutants but also of the wild-type channel. Conclusions: Our results suggest that binding of 14-3-3 to the cardiac sodium channel alpha-subunit is involved in the alpha-alpha interaction and biophysical coupling of the channel. This study not only shifts paradigms in regards to sodium channel assembly and structure, but also puts forward the idea that physical and biophysical uncoupling of cardiac sodium channels could be a new therapy target for cardiac arrhythmias caused by SCN5A mutations.


Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (Suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dmytro O Kryshtal ◽  
Daniel J Blackwell ◽  
Christian L Egly ◽  
Abigail N Smith ◽  
Suzanne M Batiste ◽  
...  

Rationale: The class Ic antiarrhythmic drug flecainide prevents ventricular tachyarrhythmia in patients with catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT), a disease caused by hyperactive cardiac ryanodine receptor (RyR2) calcium (Ca) release. Although flecainide inhibits single RyR2 channels in vitro , reports have claimed that RyR2 inhibition by flecainide is not relevant for its mechanism of antiarrhythmic action and concluded that sodium channel block alone is responsible for flecainide’s efficacy in CPVT. Objective: To determine whether RyR2 block independently contributes to flecainide’s efficacy for suppressing spontaneous sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca release and for preventing ventricular tachycardia in vivo . Methods and Results: We synthesized N -methyl flecainide analogues (QX-FL and NM-FL) and showed that N -methylation reduces flecainide’s inhibitory potency on RyR2 channels but not on cardiac sodium channels. Antiarrhythmic efficacy was tested utilizing a calsequestrin knockout (Casq2-/-) CPVT mouse model. In membrane-permeabilized Casq2-/- cardiomyocytes — lacking intact sarcolemma and devoid of sodium channel contribution — flecainide, but not its analogues, suppressed RyR2-mediated Ca release at clinically relevant concentrations. In voltage-clamped, intact Casq2-/- cardiomyocytes pretreated with tetrodotoxin (TTX) to inhibit sodium channels and isolate the effect of flecainide on RyR2, flecainide significantly reduced the frequency of spontaneous SR Ca release, while QX-FL and NM-FL did not. In vivo , flecainide effectively suppressed catecholamine-induced ventricular tachyarrhythmias in Casq2-/- mice, whereas NM-FL did not, despite comparable sodium channel block. Conclusions: Flecainide remains an effective inhibitor of RyR2-mediated arrhythmogenic Ca release even when cardiac sodium channels are blocked. In mice with CPVT, sodium channel block alone was not enough to prevent arrhythmias. Hence, RyR2 inhibition by flecainide is critical for its mechanism of antiarrhythmic action.


Author(s):  
Dmytro O Kryshtal ◽  
Daniel Blackwell ◽  
Christian Egly ◽  
Abigail N Smith ◽  
Suzanne M Batiste ◽  
...  

Rationale: The class Ic antiarrhythmic drug flecainide prevents ventricular tachyarrhythmia in patients with catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT), a disease caused by hyperactive cardiac ryanodine receptor (RyR2) calcium (Ca) release. Although flecainide inhibits single RyR2 channels in vitro, reports have claimed that RyR2 inhibition by flecainide is not relevant for its mechanism of antiarrhythmic action and concluded that sodium channel block alone is responsible for flecainide's efficacy in CPVT. Objective: To determine whether RyR2 block independently contributes to flecainide's efficacy for suppressing spontaneous sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca release and for preventing ventricular tachycardia in vivo. Methods and Results: We synthesized N-methylated flecainide analogues (QX-FL and NM-FL) and showed that N-methylation reduces flecainide's inhibitory potency on RyR2 channels incorporated into artificial lipid bilayers. N-Methylation did not alter flecainide's inhibitory activity on human cardiac sodium channels expressed in HEK293T cells. Antiarrhythmic efficacy was tested utilizing a calsequestrin knockout (Casq2-/-) CPVT mouse model. In membrane-permeabilized Casq2-/- cardiomyocytes — lacking intact sarcolemma and devoid of sodium channel contribution — flecainide, but not its analogues, suppressed RyR2-mediated Ca release at clinically relevant concentrations. In voltage-clamped, intact Casq2-/- cardiomyocytes pretreated with tetrodotoxin (TTX) to inhibit sodium channels and isolate the effect of flecainide on RyR2, flecainide significantly reduced the frequency of spontaneous SR Ca release, while QX-FL and NM-FL did not. In vivo, flecainide effectively suppressed catecholamine-induced ventricular tachyarrhythmias in Casq2-/- mice, whereas NM-FL had no significant effect on arrhythmia burden, despite comparable sodium channel block. Conclusions: Flecainide remains an effective inhibitor of RyR2-mediated arrhythmogenic Ca release even when cardiac sodium channels are blocked. In mice with CPVT, sodium channel block alone did not prevent ventricular tachycardia. Hence, RyR2 channel inhibition likely constitutes the principal mechanism of antiarrhythmic action of flecainide in CPVT.


Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (Suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrina Colucci Chang ◽  
Xiaobo Wu ◽  
Grace Blair ◽  
Alicia Lozano ◽  
Alexandra Hanlon ◽  
...  

Excitability in cardiomyocytes is dependent on the subthreshold current required to raise transmembrane potential to the activation threshold of voltage gated sodium channels and sodium channel recruitment to trigger an action potential. Cardiac sodium channels are densely expressed in the intercalated disc within the perinexal nanodomain, which is 2 orders of magnitude narrower than bulk extracellular interstitium. We hypothesized that perinexal narrowing reduces extracellular induced excitability because the perinexus functions as a voltage divider. Methods: Excitability with an extracellular stimulus was quantified in isolated Langendorff perfused male retired breeder guinea pig hearts by strength duration curves using the Lapicque method. Interventions included changing extracellular potassium (K+: 3, 4.5, and 10 mM), inhibiting sodium channels (90-uM Flecainide), and narrowing the perinexus by increasing extracellular calcium (Ca2+: 1.25 to 2.5 mM). Results: Consistent with previous studies, decreasing K+ from 4.56 to 3 mM depressed excitability with 2.5 mM Ca2+ but not 1.25 mM Ca2+, and conduction velocity (CV) decreased by 10.5 % with both 1.25 and 2.5 mM Ca2+. When K+ was raised from 4.56 to 10 mM, no change was seen in excitability with both Ca2+ concentrations. However, CV decreased by 16% with both Ca2+ concentrations. Flecainide depressed excitability only with 2.5 but not 1.25 mM Ca2+. Meanwhile CV decreased by 13% with 1.25 but CV did not change with 2.5 mM Ca2+. Finally, raising Ca2+ alone at baseline decreased excitability, without substantially changing conduction. Conclusions: Elevating extracellular calcium to narrow perinexi reduces excitability measured by extracellular stimulation consistent with a hypothesis that sodium channels in the intercalated disc are electrically isolated from the bulk interstitium. Furthermore, excitability and conduction do not correlate in response to similar K+ changes when Ca2+ also varies, suggesting cardiac excitability and propagation are independent mechanisms when the excitatory current occurs through regenerative propagation as occurs through gap junctions or arrives via an extracellular field as occurs with pacing and ephaptic coupling.


1999 ◽  
Vol 90 (6) ◽  
pp. 1671-1683. ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Stadnicka ◽  
Wai-Meng Kwok ◽  
Hali A. Hartmann ◽  
Zeljko J. Bosnjak

Background Cloning and heterologous expression of ion channels allow biophysical and molecular studies of the mechanisms of volatile anesthetic interactions with human heart sodium channels. Volatile anesthetics may influence the development of arrhythmias arising from cardiac sodium channel dysfunction. For that reason, understanding the mechanisms of interactions between these anesthetics and cardiac sodium channels is important. This study evaluated the mechanisms of volatile anesthetic actions on the cloned human cardiac sodium channel (hH1a) alpha subunit. Methods Inward sodium currents were recorded from human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells stably expressing hH1a channels. The effects of halothane and isoflurane on current and channel properties were evaluated using the whole cell voltage-clamp technique. Results Halothane at 0.47 and 1.1 mM and isoflurane at 0.54 and 1.13 mM suppressed the sodium current in a dose- and voltage-dependent manner. Steady state activation was not affected, but current decay was accelerated. The voltage dependence of steady state fast and slow inactivations was shifted toward more hyperpolarized potentials. The slope factor of slow but not fast inactivation curves was reduced significantly. Halothane increased the time constant of recovery from fast inactivation. The recovery from slow inactivation was not affected significantly by either anesthetic. Conclusions In a heterologous expression system, halothane and isoflurane interact with the hH1a channels and suppress the sodium current. The mechanisms involve acceleration of the transition from the open to the inactivated state, stabilization of the fast and slow inactivated states, and prolongation of the inactivated state by delayed recovery from the fast inactivated to the resting state.


2006 ◽  
Vol 282 (7) ◽  
pp. 4643-4652 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerardo Corzo ◽  
Jennifer K. Sabo ◽  
Frank Bosmans ◽  
Bert Billen ◽  
Elba Villegas ◽  
...  

Magi 5, from the hexathelid spider Macrothele gigas, is a 29-residue polypeptide containing three disulfide bridges. It binds specifically to receptor site 4 on mammalian voltage-gated sodium channels and competes with scorpion β-toxins, such as Css IV from Centruroides suffusus suffusus. As a consequence, Magi 5 shifts the activation voltage of the mammalian rNav1.2a channel to more hyperpolarized voltages, whereas the insect channel, DmNav1, is not affected. To gain insight into toxin-channel interactions, Magi 5 and 23 analogues were synthesized. The three-dimensional structure of Magi 5 in aqueous solution was determined, and its voltage-gated sodium channel-binding surfaces were mapped onto this structure using data from electrophysiological measurements on a series of Ala-substituted analogues. The structure clearly resembles the inhibitor cystine knot structural motif, although the triple-stranded β-sheet typically found in that motif is partially distorted in Magi 5. The interactive surface of Magi 5 toward voltage-gated sodium channels resembles in some respects the Janus-faced atracotoxins, with functionally important charged residues on one face of the toxin and hydrophobic residues on the other. Magi 5 also resembles the scorpion β-toxin Css IV, which has distinct nonpolar and charged surfaces that are critical for channel binding and has a key Glu involved in voltage sensor trapping. These two distinct classes of toxin, with different amino acid sequences and different structures, may utilize similar groups of residues on their surface to achieve the common end of modifying voltage-gated sodium channel function.


1988 ◽  
Vol 254 (3) ◽  
pp. H443-H451 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Yatani ◽  
G. E. Kirsch ◽  
L. D. Possani ◽  
A. M. Brown

Purified toxins from a North American scorpion, Centruroides noxius (Cn II-10), and a South American scorpion, Tityus serrulatus (Ts-gamma), were tested on cardiac sodium channels using patch-clamp methods to record whole cell and single-channel currents. The two toxins produced similar effects on sodium currents; potassium and calcium currents were not affected. Macroscopic sodium current amplitudes, measured at test potentials greater than -20 mV where the opening probability was high, decreased in a concentration-dependent manner with a half maximum inhibitory concentration of 6 X 10(-8) M. Block was unchanged by repetitive depolarizing pulses. In the presence of scorpion toxin, the currents were rapidly blocked by tetrodotoxin (3 X 10(-5) M). Both toxins shifted the voltage dependence of sodium channel inactivation to more negative potentials. At test potentials between -50 and -70 mV, where the sodium channel opening probability is normally low, both toxins produced an increase in sodium current and slowed the rates of activation and inactivation. At intermediate potentials between -50 and -20 mV the currents in the presence of toxins crossed over the control currents. At a test potential of -20 mV, the toxins decreased single-channel activity and increased the latency to first opening. At a test potential of -60 mV, the toxins significantly prolonged channel open time. The unitary current amplitudes were unchanged at either potential. We conclude that New World scorpion toxins produce apparently complex effects on whole cell currents primarily by retarding activation gating of cardiac sodium channels.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-30
Author(s):  
Brandon Knopp ◽  
Bailey Pierce ◽  
Vishnu Muppala

Brugada syndrome is a rare genetic disorder of the cardiac sodium channels associated with an increased risk of sudden cardiac death. It is characterized by an electrocardiogram (EKG) showing a right bundle branch block with an elevation in the ST segment. This condition is associated with mutations in several pathologic genes including the most notable mutation in the SCN5A gene, which encodes for a voltage-gated cardiac sodium channel. The Brugada pattern on EKG can be spontaneous but can also be induced by a variety of etiologies including fever, electrolyte abnormalities, increased vagal tone and drugs such as sodium channel blockers, calcium channel blockers, tricyclic antidepressants and alcohol. One uncommon cause of Brugada syndrome is hyperglycemia. Of particular importance in diabetic patients, hyperglycemia can induce chronic cardiovascular complications as well as acute cardiac events via the induction of the Brugada pattern on EKG. We present a case of a 21-year-old non-insulin compliant diabetic man presenting to the Emergency Department with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) who exhibits the Brugada pattern EKG prior to developing ventricular tachycardia followed by cardiac arrest. The patient’s condition was induced by prolonged hyperglycemia in the setting of DKA with relatively mild electrolyte and pH abnormalities. Herein, this case is presented to highlight the Brugada pattern leading to cardiac arrest as a potential consequence of hyperglycemia and inform physicians on its incidence.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 832-832 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Struckman ◽  
Amara Greer-Short ◽  
Stephen Baine ◽  
Louisa Mezache ◽  
Anna Phillips ◽  
...  

Background:Atrial fibrillation (AF), which is characterized by chaotic patterns of electrical activation of the atria, affects over 4 million people in the US alone. We previously identified nanoscale structural abnormalities in the hearts of AF patients. Specifically, they displayed swelling of gap junction (GJ) –adjacent perinexi, specialized nanodomains rich in cardiac sodium channels (NaV1.5) and located within intercalated disks (IDs; sites of electromechanical contact between adjacent cells). However, the functional consequences of these nanoscale structural changes remain unclear.Objective:We assessed the structural and functional impacts of selectively disrupting different NaV1.5-rich ID nanodomains.Methods and Results:We utilized peptide mimetics of adhesion domains to selectively inhibit adhesion within different ID nanodomains: 1) Nadp1 (target: N-cadherin), 2) dadp1 (target: Desmoglein-2), and 3) βadp1 (target: sodium channel β1 subunit [SCN1b]). Each active peptide was compared against a corresponding inactive control peptide (Nadp1-c, dadp1-c, βadp1-scr). Sub-diffraction confocal imaging revealed ID enrichment of active peptides, but not inactive controls. Furthermore, each active peptide was preferentially localized in ID regions rich in its corresponding protein target. Peptide treatment (100 μM; 60 minutes) of ex vivo mouse hearts revealed profound widening of perinexi by βadp1 and of mechanical junctions by Nadp1. Dadp1 also induced widening of mechanical junctions albeit to a lower degree. STORM single molecule localization microscopy identified about 50&per; of ID-localized NaV1.5 within GJ-adjacent perinexi, while an additional ∼35&per; was located within N-cad-rich ID sites. Nadp1 and βadp1 induced redistribution of ID localized NaV1.5 away from perinexi and mechanical junctions respectively. Dadp1, again, had similar but milder effects compared to Nadp1. Western blot revealed the expression levels of NaV1.5, connexin 43 (Cx43), connexin 40 (Cx40), β1 in peptide treated hearts to be within 10&per; of levels in untreated controls. Optical mapping revealed atrial conduction slowing in hearts treated with Nadp1 (17cm/s, 70.83&per; of control) and βadp1 (13 cm/s, 54.17&per; of control), but not inactive control peptides (24 cm/s). Volume-conducted electrocardiograms (ECG) revealed P wave prolongation in active peptide treated hearts (Nadp1: 26.5ms, βadp1: 31ms), consistent with conduction slowing compared to the inactive control peptides (16ms). Importantly, burst pacing elicited atrial arrhythmias in all hearts treated with Nadp1 and βadp1. Arrhythmia burden (duration, number of arrhythmias) was highest with βadp1.Conclusions:These results suggest that disruption of NaV1.5-rich ID nanodomains impairs electrical impulse propagation and promotes arrhythmias in the atria. Furthermore, the magnitude of functional impacts are likely determined by the amount of sodium channels contained within the nanodomains disrupted.


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