Na+-induced inward rectification in the two-pore domain K+ channel, TASK-2

2005 ◽  
Vol 288 (1) ◽  
pp. F162-F169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Morton ◽  
Sarah Chipperfield ◽  
Abdulrahman Abohamed ◽  
Asipu Sivaprasadarao ◽  
Malcolm Hunter

TASK-2 is a member of the two-pore domain K+ (K2P) channel family that is expressed at high levels in several epithelia, including the proximal tubule. In common with the other TASK channels, TASK-2 is sensitive to changes in extracellular pH. We have expressed human TASK-2 in Chinese hamster ovary cells and studied whole cell and single-channel activity by patch clamp. The open probability of K2P channels is generally independent of voltage, yielding linear current-voltage ( I- V) curves. Despite these properties, we found that these channels showed distinct inward rectification immediately on the establishment of whole cell clamp, which became progressively less pronounced with time. This rectification was due to intracellular Na+ but was unaffected by polyamines or Mg2+ (agents that cause rectification in Kir channels). Rectification was concentration- and voltage-dependent and could be reversibly induced by switching between Na+-rich and Na+-free bath solutions. In excised inside-out patches, Na+ reduced the amplitude of single-channel currents, indicative of rapid block and unblock of the pore. Mutations in the selectivity filter abolished Na+-induced rectification, suggesting that Na+ binds within the selectivity filter in wild-type channels. This sensitivity to intracellular Na+ may be an additional potential regulatory mechanism of TASK-2 channels.

1993 ◽  
Vol 264 (3) ◽  
pp. F490-F495 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. W. Mangel ◽  
J. R. Raymond ◽  
J. G. Fitz

This study addresses the mechanisms responsible for regulation of high-conductance anion channels by GTP binding proteins in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. Single-channel currents were measured in inside-out membrane patches using patch-clamp techniques. Anion-selective channels with a unitary conductance of 381 +/- 8 pS activated spontaneously in 48% of excised patches. In patches with no spontaneous channel activity, addition of GppNHp, a nonhydrolyzable analogue of GTP, activated channels in 8 of 12 studies, and in patches with spontaneous channel activity, GppNHp increased open probability in 4 of 4 experiments. In contrast, GDP beta S, a nonhydrolyzable GDP analogue, inhibited both spontaneous and GppNHp-induced channel activity. In patches without spontaneous channel activity, addition of cholera toxin activated channels in five of eight studies. Interestingly, pertussis toxin had a similar effect, activating channels in five of seven previously quiescent patches. To further evaluate the possible role of inhibitory G proteins in channel regulation, activity was measured in cell-attached patches in cells transfected with the serotonin 5-HT1A receptor, which is coupled to effector mechanisms through a pertussis toxin-sensitive G protein. Stimulation of 5-HT1A-transfected cells with the receptor agonist (+/-)-8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin caused a transient decrease in open probability in either standard or high-potassium solutions. In aggregate, these findings suggest that both cholera and pertussis toxin-sensitive G proteins contribute to regulation of high-conductance anion channels in CHO cells.


2002 ◽  
Vol 120 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lai-Hua Xie ◽  
Scott A. John ◽  
James N. Weiss

Inward rectification in strong inward rectifiers such as Kir2.1 is attributed to voltage-dependent block by intracellular polyamines and Mg2+. Block by the polyamine spermine has a complex voltage dependence with shallow and steep components and complex concentration dependence. To understand the mechanism, we measured macroscopic Kir2.1 currents in excised inside-out giant patches from Xenopus oocytes expressing Kir2.1, and single channel currents in the inside-out patches from COS7 cells transfected with Kir2.1. We found that as spermine concentration or voltage increased, the shallow voltage-dependent component of spermine block at more negative voltages was caused by progressive reduction in the single channel current amplitude, without a decrease in open probability. We attributed this effect to spermine screening negative surface charges involving E224 and E299 near the inner vestibule of the channel, thereby reducing K ion permeation rate. This idea was further supported by experiments in which increasing ionic strength also decreased Kir2.1 single channel amplitude, and by mutagenesis experiments showing that this component of spermine block decreased when E224 and E299, but not D172, were neutralized. The steep voltage-dependent component of block at more depolarized voltages was attributed to spermine migrating deeper into the pore and causing fast open channel block. A quantitative model incorporating both features showed excellent agreement with the steady-state and kinetic data. In addition, this model accounts for previously described substate behavior induced by a variety of Kir2.1 channel blockers.


2012 ◽  
Vol 140 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vsevolod Telezhkin ◽  
David A. Brown ◽  
Alasdair J. Gibb

Low-threshold voltage-gated M-type potassium channels (M channels) are tetraheteromers, commonly of two Kv7.2 and two Kv7.3 subunits. Though gated by voltage, the channels have an absolute requirement for binding of the membrane phospholipid phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P2) to open. We have investigated the quantitative relation between the concentration of a water-soluble PI(4,5)P2 analog, dioctanoyl-PI(4,5)P2 (DiC8-PI(4,5)P2), and channel open probability (Popen) by fast application of increasing concentrations of DiC8-PI(4,5)P2 to the inside face of membrane patches excised from Chinese hamster ovary cells expressing M channels as heteromeric Kv7.2/7.3 subunits. The rationale for the experiments is that this will mimic the effect of changes in membrane PI(4,5)P2 concentration. Single-channel conductances from channel current–voltage relations in cell-attached mode were 9.2 ± 0.1 pS with a 2.5-mM pipette [K+]. Plots of Popen against DiC8-PI(4,5)P2 concentration were best fitted using a two-component concentration–Popen relationship with high and low affinity, half-maximal effective concentration (EC50) values of 1.3 ± 0.14 and 75.5 ± 2.5 µM, respectively, and Hill slopes of 1.4 ± 0.06. In contrast, homomeric channels from cells expressing only Kv7.2 or Kv7.3 constructs yielded single-component curves with EC50 values of 76.2 ± 19.9 or 3.6 ± 1.0 µM, respectively. When wild-type (WT) Kv7.2 was coexpressed with a mutated Kv7.3 subunit with >100-fold reduced sensitivity to PI(4,5)P2, the high-affinity component of the activation curve was lost. Fitting the data for WT and mutant channels to an activation mechanism with independent PI(4,5)P2 binding to two Kv7.2 and two Kv7.3 subunits suggests that the two components of the M-channel activation curve correspond to the interaction of PI(4,5)P2 with the Kv7.3 and Kv7.2 subunits, respectively, that channels can open when only the two Kv7.3 subunits have bound DiC8-PI(4,5)P2, and that maximum channel opening requires binding to all four subunits.


1998 ◽  
Vol 111 (4) ◽  
pp. 565-581 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birgit Hirschberg ◽  
James Maylie ◽  
John P. Adelman ◽  
Neil V. Marrion

Small-conductance Ca-activated K+ channels play an important role in modulating excitability in many cell types. These channels are activated by submicromolar concentrations of intracellular Ca2+, but little is known about the gating kinetics upon activation by Ca2+. In this study, single channel currents were recorded from Xenopus oocytes expressing the apamin-sensitive clone rSK2. Channel activity was detectable in 0.2 μM Ca2+ and was maximal above 2 μM Ca2+. Analysis of stationary currents revealed two open times and three closed times, with only the longest closed time being Ca dependent, decreasing with increasing Ca2+ concentrations. In addition, elevated Ca2+ concentrations resulted in a larger percentage of long openings and short closures. Membrane voltage did not have significant effects on either open or closed times. The open probability was ∼0.6 in 1 μM free Ca2+. A lower open probability of ∼0.05 in 1 μM Ca2+ was also observed, and channels switched spontaneously between behaviors. The occurrence of these switches and the amount of time channels spent displaying high open probability behavior was Ca2+ dependent. The two behaviors shared many features including the open times and the short and intermediate closed times, but the low open probability behavior was characterized by a different, long Ca2+-dependent closed time in the range of hundreds of milliseconds to seconds. Small-conductance Ca- activated K+ channel gating was modeled by a gating scheme consisting of four closed and two open states. This model yielded a close representation of the single channel data and predicted a macroscopic activation time course similar to that observed upon fast application of Ca2+ to excised inside-out patches.


1998 ◽  
Vol 88 (4) ◽  
pp. 1076-1084 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew T. Gray ◽  
Bruce D. Winegar ◽  
Dmitri J. Leonoudakis ◽  
John R. Forsayeth ◽  
Spencer C. Yost

Background Volatile anesthetic agents can activate the S channel, a baseline potassium (K+) channel, of the marine mollusk Aplysia. To investigate whether cloned ion channels with electrophysiologic properties similar to the S channel (potassium selectivity, outward rectification, and activation independent of voltage) also are modulated by volatile anesthetic agents, the authors expressed the cloned yeast ion channel TOK1 (tandem pore domain, outwardly rectifying K+ channel) in Xenopus oocytes and studied its sensitivity to volatile agents. Methods Standard two-electrode voltage and patch clamp recording methods were used to study TOK1 channels expressed in Xenopus oocytes. Results Studies with two-electrode voltage clamp at room temperature showed that halothane, isoflurane, and desflurane increased TOK1 outward currents by 48-65% in barium Frog Ringer's perfusate. The concentrations at which 50% potentiation occurred (EC50 values) were in the range of 768-814 microM (0.016-0.044 atm) and had a rank order of potency in atm in which halothane > isoflurane > desflurane. The potentiation of TOK1 by volatile anesthetic agents was rapid and reversible (onset and offset, 1-20 s). In contrast, the nonanesthetic 1,2-dichlorohexafluorocyclobutane did not potentiate TOK1 currents in concentrations up to five times the MAC value predicted by the Meyer-Overton hypothesis based on oil/gas partition coefficients. Single TOK1 channel currents were recorded from excised outside-out patches. The single channel open probability increased as much as twofold in the presence of isoflurane and rapidly returned to the baseline values on washout. Volatile anesthetic agents did not alter the TOK1 single channel current-voltage (I-V) relationship, however, suggesting that the site of action does not affect the permeation pathway of the channel. Conclusion TOK1 is a potassium channel that is stimulated by volatile anesthetic agents. The concentrations over which potentiation occurred (EC50 values) were higher than those commonly used in clinical practice (approximately twice MAC).


2002 ◽  
Vol 120 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinghua Ding ◽  
Richard Horn

The permeation pathway in voltage-gated potassium channels has narrow constrictions at both the extracellular and intracellular ends. These constrictions might limit the flux of cations from one side of the membrane to the other. The extracellular constriction is the selectivity filter, whereas the intracellular bundle crossing is proposed to act as the activation gate that opens in response to a depolarization. This four-helix bundle crossing is composed of S6 transmembrane segments, one contributed by each subunit. Here, we explore the cytoplasmic extension of the S6 transmembrane segment of Shaker potassium channels, just downstream from the bundle crossing. We substituted cysteine for each residue from N482 to T489 and determined the amplitudes of single channel currents and maximum open probability (Po,max) at depolarized voltages using nonstationary noise analysis. One mutant, F484C, significantly reduces Po,max, whereas Y483C, F484C, and most notably Y485C, reduce single channel conductance (γ). Mutations of residue Y485 have no effect on the Rb+/K+ selectivity, suggesting a local effect on γ rather than an allosteric effect on the selectivity filter. Y485 mutations also reduce pore block by tetrabutylammonium, apparently by increasing the energy barrier for blocker movement through the open activation gate. Replacing Rb+ ions for K+ ions reduces the amplitude of single channel currents and makes γ insensitive to mutations of Y485. These results suggest that Rb+ ions increase an extracellular energy barrier, presumably at the selectivity filter, thus making it rate limiting for flux of permeant ions. These results indicate that S6T residues have an influence on the conformation of the open activation gate, reflected in both the stability of the open state and the energy barriers it presents to ions.


1987 ◽  
Vol 232 (1267) ◽  
pp. 239-248 ◽  

Single acetylcholine-activated channels have been recorded from neurons dissociated from the sympathetic chain of 17–21 day old rats. The mean single channel conductance is 35 pS in normal medium containing 1 mM calcium, and 51 pS in the absence of calcium. The measured current amplitudes are about five times more variable than at the frog endplate, at least in part because the current, while the channel is open, is much noisier than when it is shut. Single activations of the receptor by acetylcholine (ACh) produce a burst of openings; the distribution of the burst length has two components, the longer of which is of primary importance in synaptic transmission. Whole-cell currents, in response to ACh (up to 30 μM), show strong inward rectification with no outward current being detectable. This phenomenon is similar whether the intracellular ion is sodium or cesium, whether or not divalent cations are present, and whether or not atropine is present. Nevertheless, outward single-channel currents (of normal conductance) are detectable in isolated outside-out patches.


1998 ◽  
Vol 275 (2) ◽  
pp. C535-C543 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. Obejero-Paz ◽  
M. Auslender ◽  
A. Scarpa

The possibility that protein kinase C (PKC) could control the activity of L-type Ca2+ channels in A7r5 vascular smooth muscle-derived cells in the absence of agonist stimulation was investigated using the patch-clamp technique. Consistent with the possibility that L-type Ca2+ channels are maximally phosphorylated by PKC under these conditions, we show that 1) activation of PKC with the phorbol ester phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate was ineffective in modulating whole cell and single-channel currents, 2) inhibition of PKC activity with staurosporine or chelerythrine inhibited channel activity, 3) inhibition of protein phosphatases by intracellular dialysis of okadaic acid did not affect whole cell currents, and 4) the inhibitory effect of staurosporine was absent in the presence of okadaic acid. The inhibition of Ca2+ currents by PKC inhibitors was due to a decrease in channel availability and long open events, whereas the voltage dependence of the open probability and the single-channel conductance were not affected. The evidence suggests that in resting, nonstimulated A7r5 cells there is a high level of PKC activity that modulates the gating of L-type Ca2+ channels.


1993 ◽  
Vol 265 (2) ◽  
pp. C328-C336 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Takahashi ◽  
H. Yamaguchi ◽  
H. Miyamoto

The K+ channel of HeLa S3 cells in metaphase was analyzed by inside-out and whole cell patch-clamp techniques. The channel had the characteristics of strong inward rectification, small conductance (22 pS at -100 mV), and dependence on intracellular Ca2+. We investigated the cell cycle dependency of the channel, using cells synchronized by harvesting them at the mitotic stage. The cell capacitance increased gradually with increases in the cell volume toward the S phase. The inward K+ currents through the channel at fixed membrane potentials were highest in early G1 and then decreased with time to a minimum in the S phase, increasing again in the M phase. The permeabilities at fixed membrane potentials were also highest in early G1, decreased to minima in the S phase, and increased again toward the next mitosis. In contrast, mean amplitude and the open probability of the single channel at a fixed membrane potential (-60 mV) did not change significantly during the cell cycle. Therefore the capacitance increases with progression of the cell cycle, whereas the permeability decreases from early G1 to an apparent minimum in the S phase. These changes may be caused by cell cycle-dependent changes in the number of channels.


2001 ◽  
Vol 79 (11) ◽  
pp. 919-923 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew P Braun

We observed that the current amplitude and activation of expressed, mouse brain large conductance, calcium-sensitive K+ channels (BKCa channels) may be reversibly enhanced following addition of low concentrations of the weakly permeant cation NH4+ to the cytoplasmic face of the channel in excised, inside-out membrane patches from HEK 293 cells. Conductance-voltage relations were left-shifted along the voltage axis by addition of NH4Cl in a concentration-dependent manner, with an EC50 of 18.5 mM. Furthermore, this effect was observed in the presence of cytosolic free calcium (~1 µM), but was absent in a cytosolic bath solution containing nominally zero free calcium (e.g., 5 mM EGTA only), a condition under which these channels undergo largely voltage-dependent gating. Recordings of single BKCa channel events indicated that NH4+ increased the channel open probability of single channel activity ~3-fold, but did not alter the amplitude of single channel currents. These findings suggest that the calcium-sensitive gating of mammalian BKCa channels may be modified by other ions present in cytosolic solution.Key words: potassium channel, calcium, modulation, electrophysiology.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document