A conserved cytoplasmic region of ROMK modulates pH sensitivity, conductance, and gating

1997 ◽  
Vol 273 (4) ◽  
pp. F516-F529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Han Choe ◽  
Hao Zhou ◽  
Lawrence G. Palmer ◽  
Henry Sackin
Keyword(s):  
Single Channel ◽  
Ph Sensitivity ◽  
Channel Noise ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Channel Conductance ◽  
Single Channel Conductance ◽  
Open Probability ◽  
Hydrophobic Region ◽  
K Secretion ◽  
Single Channel Currents

ROMK channels play a key role in overall K balance by controlling K secretion across the apical membrane of mammalian cortical collecting tubule. In contrast to the family of strong inward rectifiers (IRKs), ROMK channels are markedly sensitive to intracellular pH. Using Xenopus oocytes, we have confirmed this pH sensitivity at both the single-channel and whole cell level. Reduction of oocyte pH from 6.8 to 6.4 (using a permeant acetate buffer) reduced channel open probability from 0.76 ± 0.02 to near zero ( n = 8), without altering single-channel conductance. This was due to the appearance of a long-lived closed state at low internal pH. We have confirmed that a lysine residue (K61 on ROMK2; K80 on ROMK1), NH2 terminal to the first putative transmembrane segment (M1), is primarily responsible for conferring a steep pH sensitivity to ROMK (B. Fakler, J. Schultz, J. Yang, U. Schulte, U. Bråandle, H. P. Zenner, L. Y. Jan, and J. P. Ruppersberg. EMBO J. 15: 4093–4099, 1996). However, the apparent p K a of ROMK also depends on another residue in a highly conserved, mildly hydrophobic area: T51 on ROMK2 (T70 on ROMK1). Replacing this neutral threonine (T51) with a negatively charged glutamate shifted the apparent p K a for inward conductance from 6.5 ± 0.01 ( n = 8, wild type) to 7.0 ± 0.02 ( n = 5, T51E). On the other hand, replacing T51 with a positively charged lysine shifted the apparent p K a in the opposite direction, from 6.5 ± 0.01 ( n = 8, wild type) to 6.0 ± 0.02 ( n = 9, T51K). The opposite effects of the glutamate and lysine substitutions at position 51 (ROMK2) are consistent with a model in which T51 is physically close to K61 and alters either the local pH or the apparent p K a via an electrostatic mechanism. In addition to its effects on pH sensitivity, the mutation T51E also decreased single-channel conductance from 34.0 ± 1.0 pS ( n = 8, wild type) to 17.4 ± 1 pS ( n = 9, T51E), reversed the voltage gating of the channel, and significantly increased open-channel noise. These effects on single-channel currents suggest that the T51 residue, located in a mildly hydrophobic area of ROMK2, also interacts with the hydrophobic region of the permeation pathway.

scholarly journals Single-Channel Characteristics of Wild-Type IKs Channels and Channels formed with Two MinK Mutants that Cause Long QT Syndrome

1998 ◽  
Vol 112 (6) ◽  
pp. 651-663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federico Sesti ◽  
Steve A.N. Goldstein
Keyword(s):  
Long Qt Syndrome ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Xenopus Laevis Oocytes ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Channel Conductance ◽  
Single Channel Conductance ◽  
Long Qt ◽  
Conduction Pathway ◽  
Qt Syndrome ◽  
Single Channel Currents

IKs channels are voltage dependent and K+ selective. They influence cardiac action potential duration through their contribution to myocyte repolarization. Assembled from minK and KvLQT1 subunits, IKs channels are notable for a heteromeric ion conduction pathway in which both subunit types contribute to pore formation. This study was undertaken to assess the effects of minK on pore function. We first characterized the properties of wild-type human IKs channels and channels formed only of KvLQT1 subunits. Channels were expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes or Chinese hamster ovary cells and currents recorded in excised membrane patches or whole-cell mode. Unitary conductance estimates were dependent on bandwidth due to rapid channel “flicker.” At 25 kHz in symmetrical 100-mM KCl, the single-channel conductance of IKs channels was ∼16 pS (corresponding to ∼0.8 pA at 50 mV) as judged by noise-variance analysis; this was fourfold greater than the estimated conductance of homomeric KvLQT1 channels. Mutant IKs channels formed with D76N and S74L minK subunits are associated with long QT syndrome. When compared with wild type, mutant channels showed lower unitary currents and diminished open probabilities with only minor changes in ion permeabilities. Apparently, the mutations altered single-channel currents at a site in the pore distinct from the ion selectivity apparatus. Patients carrying these mutant minK genes are expected to manifest decreased K+ flux through IKs channels due to lowered single-channel conductance and altered gating.

scholarly journals Biophysical and Molecular Mechanisms Underlying the Modulation of Heteromeric Kir4.1–Kir5.1 Channels by Co2 and Ph

2000 ◽  
Vol 116 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhenjiang Yang ◽  
Haoxing Xu ◽  
Ningren Cui ◽  
Zhiqiang Qu ◽  
Sengthong Chanchevalap ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Ph Sensitivity ◽  
Channel Conductance ◽  
Single Channel Conductance ◽  
Kir Channels ◽  
Kir Channel ◽  
Open Time ◽  
Excised Patches ◽  
Single Channel Currents

CO2 chemoreception may be related to modulation of inward rectifier K+ channels (Kir channels) in brainstem neurons. Kir4.1 is expressed predominantly in the brainstem and inhibited during hypercapnia. Although the homomeric Kir4.1 only responds to severe intracellular acidification, coexpression of Kir4.1 with Kir5.1 greatly enhances channel sensitivities to CO2 and pH. To understand the biophysical and molecular mechanisms underlying the modulation of these currents by CO2 and pH, heteromeric Kir4.1–Kir5.1 were studied in inside-out patches. These Kir4.1–Kir5.1 currents showed a single channel conductance of 59 pS with open-state probability (Popen) ∼ 0.4 at pH 7.4. Channel activity reached the maximum at pH 8.5 and was completely suppressed at pH 6.5 with pKa 7.45. The effect of low pH on these currents was due to selective suppression of Popen without evident effects on single channel conductance, leading to a decrease in the channel mean open time and an increase in the mean closed time. At pH 8.5, single-channel currents showed two sublevels of conductance at ∼1/4 and 3/4 of the maximal openings. None of them was affected by lowering pH. The Kir4.1–Kir5.1 currents were modulated by phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) that enhanced baseline Popen and reduced channel sensitivity to intracellular protons. In the presence of 10 μM PIP2, the Kir4.1–Kir5.1 showed a pKa value of 7.22. The effect of PIP2, however, was not seen in homomeric Kir4.1 currents. The CO2/pH sensitivities were related to a lysine residue in the NH2 terminus of Kir4.1. Mutation of this residue (K67M, K67Q) completely eliminated the CO2 sensitivity of both homomeric Kir4.1 and heteromeric Kir4.1–Kir5.1. In excised patches, interestingly, the Kir4.1–Kir5.1 carrying K67M mutation remained sensitive to low pHi. Such pH sensitivity, however, disappeared in the presence of PIP2. The effect of PIP2 on shifting the titration curve of wild-type and mutant channels was totally abolished when Arg178 in Kir5.1 was mutated. Thus, these studies demonstrate a heteromeric Kir channel that can be modulated by both acidic and alkaline pH, show the modulation of pH sensitivity of Kir channels by PIP2, and provide information of the biophysical and molecular mechanisms underlying the Kir modulation by intracellular protons.

scholarly journals Effects of Ionic Strength on Gating and Permeation of TREK-2 K2P channels

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linus J Conrad ◽  
Peter Proks ◽  
Stephen J Tucker
Keyword(s):  
Ionic Strength ◽  
Mechanism Of Action ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Channel Conductance ◽  
Single Channel Conductance ◽  
Open Probability ◽  
Voltage Sensing ◽  
Voltage Dependent ◽  
Single Channel Currents ◽  
Gating Process

In addition to the classical voltage-dependent behavior mediated by voltage-sensing-domains (VSD), a growing number of voltage-dependent gating behaviors are being described in ion channels that lack canonical VSDs. A common thread in their mechanism of action is the contribution of the permeating ion to this voltage sensing process. The polymodal K2P K+ channel TREK2 responds to membrane voltage through a gating process that is mediated by the interaction of K+ with its selectivity filter. Recently, we have found that this action can be modulated by small molecule agonists (e.g. BL1249) which appear to have an electrostatic influence on K+ binding within the inner cavity and produce an increase in the single-channel conductance of TREK-2 channels. Here, we directly probed this K+-dependent gating process by recording both macroscopic and single-channel currents of TREK-2 in the presence of high concentrations of internal K+. Surprisingly we found that the channel is inhibited by high internal K+ concentrations and that this is mediated by the concomitant increase in ionic-strength. However, we were still able to determine that the increase in single channel conductance in the presence of BL1249 was blunted in high ionic-strength, whilst its activatory effect (on channel open probability) persisted. These effects are consistent with an electrostatic mechanism of action of negatively charged activators such as BL1249 on permeation, but also suggest that their influence on channel gating is more complex.

Ion channels activated by L-glutamate and GABA in cultured cerebellar neurons of the rat

1985 ◽  
Vol 224 (1236) ◽  
pp. 367-373 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Single Channel ◽  
Noise Spectrum ◽  
Channel Noise ◽  
Single Channels ◽  
Channel Conductance ◽  
Single Channel Conductance ◽  
Patch Clamp Technique ◽  
Whole Cell ◽  
Two Component ◽  
Single Channel Currents

Glutamate and GABA-receptor channels were investigated in explants of rat cerebellum grown in cell culture. The patch-clamp technique was used to examine neurons under whole cell clamp and the properties of channels were derived by analysis of glutamate and GABA-evoked current noise. In addition, single channel currents activated by glutamate were recorded from isolated outside-out patches of membrane. We found evidence for at least two types of glutamate receptor-channels in cerebellar cells. Some neurons exhibited a channel of 50 pS conductance with a Lorentzian noise spectrum of 5.9 ms time constant. Single channels were readily resolved both in whole cell clamp and excised patches. Other neurons possessed low conductance channels which produced two component spectra. Estimates of the single channel conductance gave a value of about 140 fS. GABA channel noise obtained from these cells was also fitted by two component spectra which gave single channel conductance of 16 pS.

scholarly journals Effects of ionic strength on gating and permeation of TREK-2 K2P channels

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. e0258275
Author(s):  
Linus J. Conrad ◽  
Peter Proks ◽  
Stephen J. Tucker
Keyword(s):  
Ionic Strength ◽  
Mechanism Of Action ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Channel Conductance ◽  
Single Channel Conductance ◽  
Open Probability ◽  
Voltage Sensing ◽  
Voltage Dependent ◽  
Single Channel Currents ◽  
Gating Process

In addition to the classical voltage-dependent behavior mediated by the voltage-sensing-domains (VSD) of ion channels, a growing number of voltage-dependent gating behaviors are being described in channels that lack canonical VSDs. A common thread in their mechanism of action is the contribution of the permeating ion to this voltage sensing process. The polymodal K2P K+ channel, TREK2 responds to membrane voltage through a gating process mediated by the interaction of K+ with its selectivity filter. Recently, we found that this action can be modulated by small molecule agonists (e.g. BL1249) which appear to have an electrostatic influence on K+ binding within the inner cavity and produce an increase in the single-channel conductance of TREK-2 channels. Here, we directly probed this K+-dependent gating process by recording both macroscopic and single-channel currents of TREK-2 in the presence of high concentrations of internal K+. Surprisingly we found TREK-2 is inhibited by high internal K+ concentrations and that this is mediated by the concomitant increase in ionic-strength. However, we were still able to determine that the increase in single channel conductance in the presence of BL1249 was blunted in high ionic-strength, whilst its activatory effect (on channel open probability) persisted. These effects are consistent with an electrostatic mechanism of action of negatively charged activators such as BL1249 on permeation, but also suggest that their influence on channel gating is complex.

Single-channel basis for conductance increase induced by isoflurane in Shaker H4 IR K+ channels

2001 ◽  
Vol 280 (5) ◽  
pp. C1130-C1139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jichang Li ◽  
Ana M. Correa
Keyword(s):  
Time Course ◽  
Xenopus Oocytes ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Noise Analysis ◽  
Single Channels ◽  
Channel Conductance ◽  
Single Channel Conductance ◽  
Open Probability ◽  
Slowing Down ◽  
Conductance Increase

Volatile anesthetics modulate the function of various K+ channels. We previously reported that isoflurane induces an increase in macroscopic currents and a slowing down of current deactivation of Shaker H4 IR K+ channels. To understand the single-channel basis of these effects, we performed nonstationary noise analysis of macroscopic currents and analysis of single channels in patches from Xenopus oocytes expressing Shaker H4 IR. Isoflurane (1.2% and 2.5%) induced concentration-dependent, partially reversible increases in macroscopic currents and in the time course of tail currents. Noise analysis of currents (70 mV) revealed an increase in unitary current (∼17%) and maximum open probability (∼20%). Single-channel conductance was larger (∼20%), and opening events were more stable, in isoflurane. Tail-current slow time constants increased by 41% and 136% in 1.2% and 2.5% isoflurane, respectively. Our results show that, in a manner consistent with stabilization of the open state, isoflurane increased the macroscopic conductance of Shaker H4 IR K+ channels by increasing the single-channel conductance and the open probability.

scholarly journals Anion permeation in an apical membrane chloride channel of a secretory epithelial cell.

1992 ◽  
Vol 99 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
D R Halm ◽  
R A Frizzell
Keyword(s):  
Epithelial Cell ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Apical Membrane ◽  
Epithelial Cell Line ◽  
Low Permeability ◽  
Channel Conductance ◽  
Single Channel Conductance ◽  
Conduction Pathway ◽  
Single Channel Currents ◽  
Secretory Epithelial Cell

Single channel currents though apical membrane Cl channels of the secretory epithelial cell line T84 were measured to determine the anionic selectivity and concentration dependence of permeation. The current-voltage relation was rectified with single channel conductance increasing at positive potentials. At 0 mV the single channel conductance was 41 +/- 2 pS. Permeability, determined from reversal potentials, was optimal for anions with diameters between 0.4 and 0.5 nm. Anions of larger diameter had low permeability, consistent with a minimum pore diameter of 0.55 nm. Permeability for anions of similar size was largest for those ions with a more symmetrical charge distribution. Both HCO3 and H2PO4 had lower permeability than the similar-sized symmetrical anions, NO3 and ClO4. The permeability sequence was SCN greater than I approximately NO3 approximately ClO4 greater than Br greater than Cl greater than PF6 greater than HCO3 approximately F much greater than H2PO4. Highly permeant anions had lower relative single channel conductance, consistent with longer times of residence in the channel for these ions. The conductance sequence for anion efflux was NO3 greater than SCN approximately ClO4 greater than Cl approximately I approximately Br greater than PF6 greater than F approximately HCO3 much greater than H2PO4. At high internal concentrations, anions with low permeability and conductance reduced Cl influx consistent with block of the pore. The dependence of current on Cl concentration indicated that Cl can also occupy the channel long enough to limit current flow. Interaction of Cl and SCN within the conduction pathway is supported by the presence of a minimum in the conductance vs. mole fraction relation. These results indicate that this 40-pS Cl channel behaves as a multi-ion pathway in which other permeant anions could alter Cl flow across the apical membrane.

Mechanism of sodium hyperabsorption in cultured cystic fibrosis nasal epithelium: a patch-clamp study

1994 ◽  
Vol 266 (4) ◽  
pp. C1061-C1068 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. C. Chinet ◽  
J. M. Fullton ◽  
J. R. Yankaskas ◽  
R. C. Boucher ◽  
M. J. Stutts
Keyword(s):  
Cystic Fibrosis ◽  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Patch Clamp ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Apical Membrane ◽  
Channel Conductance ◽  
Single Channel Conductance ◽  
Open Probability ◽  
Nasal Epithelial Cells ◽  
Na Permeability

Transepithelial Na+ absorption is increased two to three times in cystic fibrosis (CF) compared with normal (NL) airway epithelia. This increase has been associated with a higher Na+ permeability of the apical membrane of airway epithelial cells. Because Na+ absorption is electrogenic and abolished by amiloride, Na+ channels are thought to dominate the apical membrane Na+ permeability. Three Na+ channel-related mechanisms may explain the increase in apical Na+ permeability in CF cells: increased number of channels, increased single-channel conductance, and increased single-channel open probability. We compared the properties of Na(+)-permeable channels in the apical membrane of confluent preparations of human NL and CF nasal epithelial cells cultured on permeable supports. Na(+)-permeable channels were studied using the patch-clamp technique in the excised inside-out and cell-attached configurations. The same types of Na(+)-permeable channels were recorded in CF and NL cells. In excised patches, nonselective (Na+/K+) cation channels were recorded, and no differences between CF and NL were found in the properties, incidence, single-channel conductance, and single-channel open probability. In cell-attached patches, channels with a higher Na+ vs. K+ selectivity dominated. There was no difference between CF and NL cells in the incidence (18.8 vs. 21.4%, respectively) and conductance (17.2 +/- 2.8 vs. 21.4 +/- 1.5 pS, respectively) of Na(+)-permeable channels. However, the open probability was higher in CF cells compared with NL cells (30.0 +/- 3.4%, n = 6, vs. 15.0 +/- 3.9%, n = 13; P < 0.05). We conclude that, in CF nasal epithelial cells, the increase in Na+ permeability of the apical membrane results from an increase in the open probability of Na(+)-permeable channels in the apical membrane.

scholarly journals A Comparison of the Effect of Lead (Pb) on the Slow Vacuolar (SV) and Fast Vacuolar (FV) Channels in Red Beet (Beta vulgaris L.) Taproot Vacuoles

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (23) ◽  
pp. 12621
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Siemieniuk ◽  
Zbigniew Burdach ◽  
Waldemar Karcz
Keyword(s):  
Single Channel ◽  
Channel Conductance ◽  
Single Channel Conductance ◽  
Patch Clamp Technique ◽  
Open Probability ◽  
Outward Currents ◽  
Inward Currents ◽  
Sv Channels ◽  
The One ◽  
The Impact

Little is known about the effect of lead on the activity of the vacuolar K+ channels. Here, the patch-clamp technique was used to compare the impact of lead (PbCl2) on the slow-activating (SV) and fast-activating (FV) vacuolar channels. It was revealed that, under symmetrical 100-mM K+, the macroscopic currents of the SV channels exhibited a typical slow activation and a strong outward rectification of the steady-state currents, while the macroscopic currents of the FV channels displayed instantaneous currents, which, at the positive potentials, were about three-fold greater compared to the one at the negative potentials. When PbCl2 was added to the bath solution at a final concentration of 100 µM, it decreased the macroscopic outward currents of both channels but did not change the inward currents. The single-channel recordings demonstrated that cytosolic lead causes this macroscopic effect by a decrease of the single-channel conductance and decreases the channel open probability. We propose that cytosolic lead reduces the current flowing through the SV and FV channels, which causes a decrease of the K+ fluxes from the cytosol to the vacuole. This finding may, at least in part, explain the mechanism by which cytosolic Pb2+ reduces the growth of plant cells.

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