scholarly journals Nav1.5 cardiac sodium channels, regulation and clinical implications

2015 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 587-592
Author(s):  
Henry Humberto León Ariza ◽  
Natalia Valenzuela Faccini ◽  
Ariana Carolina Rojas Ortega ◽  
Daniel Alfonso Botero Rosas

<p>Voltage-gated sodium channels constitute a group of membrane<br />proteins widely distributed thought the body. In the heart, there<br />are at least six different isoforms, being the Nav1.5 the most<br />abundant. The channel is composed of an α subunit that is formed<br />by four domains of six segments each, and four much smaller β<br />subunits that provide stability and integrate other channels into<br />the α subunit. The function of the Nav1.5 channel is modulated<br />by intracellular cytoskeleton proteins, extracellular proteins,<br />calcium concentration, free radicals, and medications, among<br />other things. The study of the channel and its alterations has<br />grown thanks to its association with pathogenic conditions such<br />as Long QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome, atrial fibrillation,<br />arrhythmogenic ventricular dysplasia and complications during<br />ischemic processes.</p>

2018 ◽  
Vol 137 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takafumi Horishita ◽  
Nobuyuki Yanagihara ◽  
Susumu Ueno ◽  
Dan Okura ◽  
Reiko Horishita ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (14) ◽  
pp. E3135-E3144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Buyan ◽  
Delin Sun ◽  
Ben Corry

Voltage-gated sodium channels are essential for carrying electrical signals throughout the body, and mutations in these proteins are responsible for a variety of disorders, including epilepsy and pain syndromes. As such, they are the target of a number of drugs used for reducing pain or combatting arrhythmias and seizures. However, these drugs affect all sodium channel subtypes found in the body. Designing compounds to target select sodium channel subtypes will provide a new therapeutic pathway and would maximize treatment efficacy while minimizing side effects. Here, we examine the binding preferences of nine compounds known to be sodium channel pore blockers in molecular dynamics simulations. We use the approach of replica exchange solute tempering (REST) to gain a more complete understanding of the inhibitors’ behavior inside the pore of NavMs, a bacterial sodium channel, and NavPas, a eukaryotic sodium channel. Using these simulations, we are able to show that both charged and neutral compounds partition into the bilayer, but neutral forms more readily cross it. We show that there are two possible binding sites for the compounds: (i) a site on helix 6, which has been previously determined by many experimental and computational studies, and (ii) an additional site, occupied by protonated compounds in which the positively charged part of the drug is attracted into the selectivity filter. Distinguishing distinct binding poses for neutral and charged compounds is essential for understanding the nature of pore block and will aid the design of subtype-selective sodium channel inhibitors.


2014 ◽  
Vol 121 (3) ◽  
pp. 620-631 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takafumi Horishita ◽  
Nobuyuki Yanagihara ◽  
Susumu Ueno ◽  
Yuka Sudo ◽  
Yasuhito Uezono ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: The neurosteroids allopregnanolone and pregnanolone are potent positive modulators of γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptors. Antinociceptive effects of allopregnanolone have attracted much attention because recent reports have indicated the potential of allopregnanolone as a therapeutic agent for refractory pain. However, the analgesic mechanisms of allopregnanolone are still unclear. Voltage-gated sodium channels (Nav) are thought to play important roles in inflammatory and neuropathic pain, but there have been few investigations on the effects of allopregnanolone on sodium channels. Methods: Using voltage-clamp techniques, the effects of allopregnanolone sulfate (APAS) and pregnanolone sulfate (PAS) on sodium current were examined in Xenopus oocytes expressing Nav1.2, Nav1.6, Nav1.7, and Nav1.8 α subunits. Results: APAS suppressed sodium currents of Nav1.2, Nav1.6, and Nav1.7 at a holding potential causing half-maximal current in a concentration-dependent manner, whereas it markedly enhanced sodium current of Nav1.8 at a holding potential causing maximal current. Half-maximal inhibitory concentration values for Nav1.2, Nav1.6, and Nav1.7 were 12 ± 4 (n = 6), 41 ± 2 (n = 7), and 131 ± 15 (n = 5) μmol/l (mean ± SEM), respectively. The effects of PAS were lower than those of APAS. From gating analysis, two compounds increased inactivation of all α subunits, while they showed different actions on activation of each α subunit. Moreover, two compounds showed a use-dependent block on Nav1.2, Nav1.6, and Nav1.7. Conclusion: APAS and PAS have diverse effects on sodium currents in oocytes expressing four α subunits. APAS inhibited the sodium currents of Nav1.2 most strongly.


2021 ◽  
Vol 292 ◽  
pp. 03065
Author(s):  
Zhaojia Wang ◽  
Zhenning Zhou

Tetrodotoxin (TTX), a blocker of sodium channels, exists in the pufferfish, amphibians, and octopus, and originated in endosymbiont-vibrio. Researches have confirmed that TTX affected the action potential through the regulation of voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs) and the ingestion of TTX inhibits the nerve signal’s transmission, showing symptoms like rapid weakening and paralysis of the muscles. Recent research shows that TTX’s medical value as the analgesic is mainly focused. The comparison on efficacy among placebo, TTX, and opioids manifests that TTX is healthy and effective in treating neuropathic pain. Moreover, since the drug is synthesized by TTX, it can block specific neurons to alleviate the pain on different parts of the body accurately. Currently speaking, TTX has been widely used as medicine for the alleviation of cancer pain. The mechanism, symptoms, application, and treatment are thoroughly discussed to popularize TTX and pass the “torch” to the new generation because there is still a long way to go—the unsolved mysteries of TTX awaiting humans.


Toxins ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 513 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keiichi Konoki ◽  
Daniel G. Baden ◽  
Todd Scheuer ◽  
William A. Catterall

Brevetoxins are produced by dinoflagellates such as Karenia brevis in warm-water red tides and cause neurotoxic shellfish poisoning. They bind to voltage-gated sodium channels at neurotoxin receptor 5, making the channels more active by shifting the voltage-dependence of activation to more negative potentials and by slowing the inactivation process. Previous work using photoaffinity labeling identified binding to the IS6 and IVS5 transmembrane segments of the channel α subunit. We used alanine-scanning mutagenesis to identify molecular determinants for brevetoxin binding in these regions as well as adjacent regions IVS5-SS1 and IVS6. Most of the mutant channels containing single alanine substitutions expressed functional protein in tsA-201 cells and bound to the radioligand [42-3H]-PbTx3. Binding affinity for the great majority of mutant channels was indistinguishable from wild type. However, transmembrane segments IS6, IVS5 and IVS6 each contained 2 to 4 amino acid positions where alanine substitution resulted in a 2–3-fold reduction in brevetoxin affinity, and additional mutations caused a similar increase in brevetoxin affinity. These findings are consistent with a model in which brevetoxin binds to a protein cleft comprising transmembrane segments IS6, IVS5 and IVS6 and makes multiple distributed interactions with these α helices. Determination of brevetoxin affinity for Nav1.2, Nav1.4 and Nav1.5 channels showed that Nav1.5 channels had a characteristic 5-fold reduction in affinity for brevetoxin relative to the other channel isoforms, suggesting the interaction with sodium channels is specific despite the distributed binding determinants.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. Catterall ◽  
Alan L. Goldin ◽  
Stephen G. Waxman

Sodium channels are voltage-gated sodium-selective ion channels present in the membrane of most excitable cells. Sodium channels comprise of one pore-forming α subunit, which may be associated with either one or two β subunits [176]. α-Subunits consist of four homologous domains (I–IV), each containing six transmembrane segments (S1–S6) and a pore-forming loop. The positively charged fourth transmembrane segment (S4) acts as a voltage sensor and is involved in channel gating. The crystal structure of the bacterial NavAb channel has revealed a number of novel structural features compared to earlier potassium channel structures including a short selectivity filter with ion selectivity determined by interactions with glutamate side chains [268]. Interestingly, the pore region is penetrated by fatty acyl chains that extend into the central cavity which may allow the entry of small, hydrophobic pore-blocking drugs [268]. Auxiliary β1, β2, β3 and β4 subunits consist of a large extracellular N-terminal domain, a single transmembrane segment and a shorter cytoplasmic domain.The nomenclature for sodium channels was proposed by Goldin et al., (2000) [143] and approved by the NC-IUPHAR Subcommittee on sodium channels (Catterall et al., 2005, [51]).


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. Catterall ◽  
Alan L. Goldin ◽  
Stephen G. Waxman

Sodium channels are voltage-gated sodium-selective ion channels present in the membrane of most excitable cells. Sodium channels comprise of one pore-forming α subunit, which may be associated with either one or two β subunits [177]. α-Subunits consist of four homologous domains (I-IV), each containing six transmembrane segments (S1-S6) and a pore-forming loop. The positively charged fourth transmembrane segment (S4) acts as a voltage sensor and is involved in channel gating. The crystal structure of the bacterial NavAb channel has revealed a number of novel structural features compared to earlier potassium channel structures including a short selectivity filter with ion selectivity determined by interactions with glutamate side chains [274]. Interestingly, the pore region is penetrated by fatty acyl chains that extend into the central cavity which may allow the entry of small, hydrophobic pore-blocking drugs [274]. Auxiliary β1, β2, β3 and β4 subunits consist of a large extracellular N-terminal domain, a single transmembrane segment and a shorter cytoplasmic domain.The nomenclature for sodium channels was proposed by Goldin et al., (2000) [144] and approved by the NC-IUPHAR Subcommittee on sodium channels (Catterall et al., 2005, [52]).


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