scholarly journals Acute inhibition of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) Cl− channel by thyroid hormones involves multiple mechanisms

2013 ◽  
Vol 305 (8) ◽  
pp. C817-C828 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiwei Cai ◽  
Hongyu Li ◽  
Jeng-Haur Chen ◽  
David N. Sheppard

The chemical structures of the thyroid hormones triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) resemble those of small-molecules that inhibit the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) Cl− channel. We therefore tested the acute effects of T3, T4 and reverse T3 (rT3) on recombinant wild-type human CFTR using the patch-clamp technique. When added directly to the intracellular solution bathing excised membrane patches, T3, T4, and rT3 (all tested at 50 μM) inhibited CFTR in several ways: they strongly reduced CFTR open probability by impeding channel opening; they moderately decreased single-channel current amplitude, and they promoted transitions to subconductance states. To investigate the mechanism of CFTR inhibition, we studied T3. T3 (50 μM) had multiple effects on CFTR gating kinetics, suggestive of both allosteric inhibition and open-channel blockade. Channel inhibition by T3 was weakly voltage dependent and stronger than the allosteric inhibitor genistein, but weaker than the open-channel blocker glibenclamide. Raising the intracellular ATP concentration abrogated T3 inhibition of CFTR gating, but not the reduction in single-channel current amplitude nor the transitions to subconductance states. The decrease in single-channel current amplitude was relieved by membrane depolarization, but not the transitions to subconductance states. We conclude that T3 has complex effects on CFTR consistent with both allosteric inhibition and open-channel blockade. Our results suggest that there are multiple allosteric mechanisms of CFTR inhibition, including interference with ATP-dependent channel gating and obstruction of conformational changes that gate the CFTR pore. CFTR inhibition by thyroid hormones has implications for the development of innovative small-molecule CFTR inhibitors.

1995 ◽  
Vol 269 (1) ◽  
pp. C250-C256 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. Rae ◽  
A. Rich ◽  
A. C. Zamudio ◽  
O. A. Candia

Prozac (fluoxetine), a compound used therapeutically in humans to combat depression, has substantial effects on ionic conductances in rabbit corneal epithelial cells and in cultured human lens epithelium. In corneal epithelium, it reduces the current due to the large-conductance potassium channels that dominate this preparation. Its effects seem largely to decrease the open probability while leaving the single-channel current amplitude unaltered. In cultured human epithelium, currents from calcium-activated potassium channels and inward rectifiers are unaffected by Prozac. Delayed-rectifier potassium currents are reduced by Prozac in a complicated way that involves both gating and single-channel current amplitude. Fast tetrodotoxin-blockable sodium currents are also decreased by Prozac in this preparation. For all of these ion conductance effects, Prozac concentrations of 10(-5) to 10(-4) M are required. Whereas these levels are 10- to 100-fold higher than the plasma levels achieved in therapeutic use in humans, they are comparable to or less than levels needed for many other blockers of the ionic conductances studied here.


2016 ◽  
pp. 505-515
Author(s):  
F. QIAN ◽  
L. LIU ◽  
Z. LIU ◽  
C. LU

The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) chloride channel contains 12 transmembrane (TM) regions that are presumed to form the channel pore. However, there is no direct evidence clearly illustrating the involvement of these transmembrane regions in the actual CFTR pore structure. To obtain insight into the architecture of the CFTR channel pore, we used patch clamp recording techniques and a strategy of co-mutagenesis of two potential pore-forming transmembrane regions (TM1 and TM6) to investigate the collaboration of these two TM regions. We performed a range of specific functional assays comparing the single channel conductance, anion binding, and anion selectivity properties of the co-mutated CFTR variants, and the results indicated that TM1 and TM6 play vital roles in forming the channel pore and, thus, determine the functional properties of the channel. Furthermore, we provided functional evidence that the amino acid threonine (T338) in TM6 has synergic effects with lysine (K95) in TM1. Therefore, we propose that these two residues have functional collaboration in the CFTR channel pore and may collectively form a selective filter.


1999 ◽  
Vol 277 (6) ◽  
pp. C1160-C1169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriana G. Prat ◽  
C. Casey Cunningham ◽  
G. Robert Jackson ◽  
Steven C. Borkan ◽  
Yihan Wang ◽  
...  

Previous studies have indicated a role of the actin cytoskeleton in the regulation of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) ion channel. However, the exact molecular nature of this regulation is still largely unknown. In this report human epithelial CFTR was expressed in human melanoma cells genetically devoid of the filamin homologue actin-cross-linking protein ABP-280 [ABP(−)]. cAMP stimulation of ABP(−) cells or cells genetically rescued with ABP-280 cDNA [ABP(+)] was without effect on whole cell Cl− currents. In ABP(−) cells expressing CFTR, cAMP was also without effect on Cl− conductance. In contrast, cAMP induced a 10-fold increase in the diphenylamine-2-carboxylate (DPC)-sensitive whole cell Cl− currents of ABP(+)/CFTR(+) cells. Further, in cells expressing both CFTR and a truncated form of ABP-280 unable to cross-link actin filaments, cAMP was also without effect on CFTR activation. Dialysis of ABP-280 or filamin through the patch pipette, however, resulted in a DPC-inhibitable increase in the whole cell currents of ABP(−)/CFTR(+) cells. At the single-channel level, protein kinase A plus ATP activated single Cl−channels only in excised patches from ABP(+)/CFTR(+) cells. Furthermore, filamin alone also induced Cl− channel activity in excised patches of ABP(−)/CFTR(+) cells. The present data indicate that an organized actin cytoskeleton is required for cAMP-dependent activation of CFTR.


2004 ◽  
Vol 287 (5) ◽  
pp. C1256-C1263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongyue Chen ◽  
Guillermo A. Altenberg ◽  
Luis Reuss

PKA-mediated phosphorylation of the regulatory (R) domain plays a major role in the activation of the human cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (hCFTR). In contrast, the effect of PKC-mediated phosphorylation is controversial, smaller than that of PKA, and dependent on the cell type. In the present study, we expressed Xenopus CFTR ( XCFTR) and hCFTR in Xenopus oocytes and examined their responses (i.e., macroscopic membrane conductance) to maximal stimulation by PKC and PKA agonists. With XCFTR, the average response to PKC was approximately sixfold that of PKA stimulation. In contrast, with hCFTR, the response to PKC was ∼90% of the response to PKA stimulation. The reason for these differences was the small response of XCFTR to PKA stimulation. Using the substituted cysteine accessibility method, we found no evidence for insertion of functional CFTR channels in the plasma membrane in response to PKC stimulation. The increase in macroscopic conductance in response to PKC stimulation of XCFTR was due to an approximately fivefold increase in single-channel open probability, with a minor (∼30%) increase in single-channel conductance. The responses of XCFTR to PKC stimulation and of hCFTR to PKA stimulation were mediated by similar increases in Po. In both instances, there were no changes in the number of channels in the membrane. We speculate that in animals other than humans, PKC stimulation may be the dominant mechanism for activation of CFTR.


1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (9) ◽  
pp. 645-649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaodong Wang ◽  
Yoshinori Marunaka ◽  
Ludwik Fedorko ◽  
Sascha Dho ◽  
J. Kevin Foskett ◽  
...  

The Cl− conductance of a mouse fibroblast cell line (LTK− cells) that was stably transfected with the human CFTR (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator) complementary DNA was studied. Single Cl− channel activity was observed only after treatment of the cells with forskolin, the single-channel conductance being 6.2 ± 0.2 pS with a linear current–voltage relationship. In CFTR+ cells, the whole-cell current at +90 mV increased from 7.3 ± 2.7 pA/pF (n = 12) to 46.1 ± 11.2 pA/pF (n = 5) after addition of dibutyryl-cyclic AMP (10−4 M) to the bath. Increasing the intracellular Cl− concentration to 150 mM activated linear Cl− currents in the absence of cyclic AMP in CFTR+ (n = 42) but not in CFTR− cells (n = 4). Similar Cl− current was also activated by high intracellular I− concentration. These results indicate that the CFTR-induced Cl− conductance in LTK− cells can be activated by either cyclic AMP or high intracellular halide concentrations.Key words: cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), chloride channel, cyclic AMP, whole-cell patch clamp, single-channel patch clamp.


1998 ◽  
Vol 111 (3) ◽  
pp. 477-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fei Wang ◽  
Shawn Zeltwanger ◽  
Iris C.-H. Yang ◽  
Angus C. Nairn ◽  
Tzyh-Chang Hwang

Previous studies have shown that genistein increased cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) channel activity in the presence of saturating concentrations of forskolin and calyculin A in intact cells. Possible molecular mechanisms for genistein's action include inhibition of tyrosine kinases, inhibition of serine/threonine protein phosphatases, or direct binding of genistein to CFTR. Since genistein inhibits several enzymes that hydrolyze ATP, and ATP hydrolysis is an intrinsic property of CFTR, we examined the effect of genistein on CFTR gating in excised inside-out patches from Hi-5 insect cells and NIH3T3 cells expressing recombinant CFTR. Genistein (50 μM) did not open phosphorylated CFTR channels by itself, but increased the ATP- induced CFTR channel current by approximately twofold. A similar magnitude of enhancement was observed when genistein was applied with PKI, a specific inhibitor of protein kinase A, or vanadate, a tyrosine phosphatase inhibitor, suggesting that inhibition of protein phosphatases or tyrosine kinases does not account for genistein's effects. The enhancement of channel current increased with increasing concentrations of genistein and reached a maximum at 35 μM genistein. At higher concentrations of genistein concentration, CFTR channel current decreased, resulting in a bell-shaped dose–response relationship. In the absence of genistein, both open- and closed-time histograms could be fitted with a single exponential function, yielding a mean open time (τO) of 0.302 ± 0.002 s, and a mean closed time (τC) of 0.406 ± 0.003 s. In the presence of 50 μM genistein, the open time histogram could be fitted with a double exponential function with τO1 = 0.429 ± 0.003 s and τO2 = 2.033 ± 0.173 s. Thus, genistein induced a prolonged open state, an effect that mimics that of nonhydrolyzable ATP analogs. Closed time analysis showed that 50 μM genistein caused a prolonged closed state with a time constant of 2.410 ± 0.035 s. We thus conclude that (a) the effects of genistein are likely caused by a direct binding of the drug to the CFTR protein, and (b) at least two binding sites are required to explain the effects of genistein: a high affinity site that decreases the closing rate and a low affinity site that reduces the opening rate.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document