scholarly journals Hysteretic hERG Channel Gating Current Recorded At Physiological Temperature

Author(s):  
David Kelly Jones

Abstract Cardiac hERG channels comprise at least two subunits, hERG 1a and hERG 1b, and drive cardiac action potential repolarization. hERG 1a subunits contain a cytoplasmic PAS domain that is absent in hERG 1b. The hERG 1a PAS domain regulates voltage sensor domain (VSD) movement, but hERG VSD behavior and its regulation by the hERG 1a PAS domain have not been studied at physiological temperatures. We recorded gating charge from homomeric hERG 1a and heteromeric hERG 1a/1b channels at near physiological temperatures (36 ± 1°C) using pulse durations comparable in length to the human ventricular action potential. The voltage dependence of deactivation was hyperpolarized relative to activation, reflecting VSD relaxation at positive potentials. These data suggest that relaxation (hysteresis) works to delay pore closure during repolarization. Interestingly, hERG 1a VSD deactivation displayed a double Boltzmann distribution, but hERG 1a/1b deactivation displayed a single Boltzmann. Disabling the hERG1a PAS domain using a PAS-targeting antibody similarly transformed hERG 1a deactivation from a double to a single Boltzmann, highlighting the contribution of the PAS in regulating VSD movement. These data represent, to our knowledge, the first recordings of hERG gating charge at physiological temperature and demonstrate that VSD relaxation (hysteresis) is present in hERG channels at physiological temperature.

2010 ◽  
Vol 299 (1) ◽  
pp. C74-C86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sindura B. Ganapathi ◽  
Todd E. Fox ◽  
Mark Kester ◽  
Keith S. Elmslie

Human ether-à-go-go-related gene (HERG) potassium channels play an important role in cardiac action potential repolarization, and HERG dysfunction can cause cardiac arrhythmias. However, recent evidence suggests a role for HERG in the proliferation and progression of multiple types of cancers, making it an attractive target for cancer therapy. Ceramide is an important second messenger of the sphingolipid family, which due to its proapoptotic properties has shown promising results in animal models as an anticancer agent . Yet the acute effects of ceramide on HERG potassium channels are not known. In the present study we examined the effects of cell-permeable C6-ceramide on HERG potassium channels stably expressed in HEK-293 cells. C6-ceramide (10 μM) reversibly inhibited HERG channel current (IHERG) by 36 ± 5%. Kinetically, ceramide induced a significant hyperpolarizing shift in the current-voltage relationship (Δ V1/2 = −8 ± 0.5 mV) and increased the deactivation rate (43 ± 3% for τfast and 51 ± 3% for τslow). Mechanistically, ceramide recruited HERG channels within caveolin-enriched lipid rafts. Cholesterol depletion and repletion experiments and mathematical modeling studies confirmed that inhibition and gating effects are mediated by separate mechanisms. The ceramide-induced hyperpolarizing gating shift (raft mediated) could offset the impact of inhibition (raft independent) during cardiac action potential repolarization, so together they may nullify any negative impact on cardiac rhythm. Our results provide new insights into the effects of C6-ceramide on HERG channels and suggest that C6-ceramide can be a promising therapeutic for cancers that overexpress HERG.


1977 ◽  
Vol 70 (5) ◽  
pp. 567-590 ◽  
Author(s):  
C M Armstrong ◽  
F Bezanilla

Gating current (Ig) has been studied in relation to inactivation of Na channels. No component of Ig has the time course of inactivation; apparently little or no charge movement is associated with this step. Inactivation nonetheless affects Ig by immobilizing about two-thirds of gating charge. Immobilization can be followed by measuring ON charge movement during a pulse and comparing it to OFF charge after the pulse. The OFF:ON ratio is near 1 for a pulse so short that no inactivation occurs, and the ratio drops to about one-third with a time course that parallels inactivation. Other correlations between inactivation and immobilization are that: (a) they have the same voltage dependence; (b) charge movement recovers with the time coures of recovery from inactivation. We interpret this to mean that the immobilized charge returns slowly to "off" position with the time course of recovery from inactivation, and that the small current generated is lost in base-line noise. At -150 mV recover is very rapid, and the immobilized charge forms a distinct slow component of current as it returns to off position. After destruction of inactivation by pronase, there is no immobilization of charge. A model is presented in which inactivation gains its voltage dependence by coupling to the activation gate.


1990 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
C K Augustine ◽  
F Bezanilla

The presence of internal Mg-ATP produced a number of changes in the K conductance of perfused giant axons of squid. For holding potentials between -40 and -50 mV, steady-state K conductance increased for depolarizations to potentials more positive than approximately -15 mV and decreased for smaller depolarizations. The voltage dependencies of both steady-state activation and inactivation also appears shifted toward more positive potentials. Gating kinetics were affected by internal ATP, with the activation time constant slowed and the characteristic delay in K conductance markedly enhanced. The rate of deactivation also was hastened during perfusion with ATP. Internal ATP affected potassium channel gating currents in similar ways. The voltage dependence of gating charge movement was shifted toward more positive potentials and the time constants of ON and OFF gating current also were slowed and hastened, respectively, in the presence of ATP. These effects of ATP on the K conductance occurred when no exogenous protein kinases were added to the internal solution and persisted even after removing ATP from the internal perfusate. Perfusion with a solution containing exogenous alkaline phosphatase reversed the effects of ATP. These results provide further evidence that the effects of ATP on the K conductance are a consequence of a phosphorylation reaction mediated by a kinase present and active in perfused axons. Phosphorylation appears to alter the K conductance of squid giant axons via a minimum of two mechanisms. First, the voltage dependence of gating parameters are shifted toward positive potentials. Second, there is an increase in the number of functional closed states and/or a decrease in the rates of transition between these states of the K channels.


2018 ◽  
Vol 114 (3) ◽  
pp. 374a
Author(s):  
David K. Jones ◽  
Carol Harley ◽  
Anthony Amolo ◽  
Joao Morais-Cabral ◽  
Gail A. Robertson

1999 ◽  
Vol 114 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Max Kanevsky ◽  
Richard W. Aldrich

The best-known Shaker allele of Drosophila with a novel gating phenotype, Sh5, differs from the wild-type potassium channel by a point mutation in the fifth membrane-spanning segment (S5) (Gautam, M., and M.A. Tanouye. 1990. Neuron. 5:67–73; Lichtinghagen, R., M. Stocker, R. Wittka, G. Boheim, W. Stühmer, A. Ferrus, and O. Pongs. 1990. EMBO [Eur. Mol. Biol. Organ.] J. 9:4399–4407) and causes a decrease in the apparent voltage dependence of opening. A kinetic study of Sh5 revealed that changes in the deactivation rate could account for the altered gating behavior (Zagotta, W.N., and R.W. Aldrich. 1990. J. Neurosci. 10:1799–1810), but the presence of intact fast inactivation precluded observation of the closing kinetics and steady state activation. We studied the Sh5 mutation (F401I) in ShB channels in which fast N-type inactivation was removed, directly confirming this conclusion. Replacement of other phenylalanines in S5 did not result in substantial alterations in voltage-dependent gating. At position 401, valine and alanine substitutions, like F401I, produce currents with decreased apparent voltage dependence of the open probability and of the deactivation rates, as well as accelerated kinetics of opening and closing. A leucine residue is the exception among aliphatic mutants, with the F401L channels having a steep voltage dependence of opening and slow closing kinetics. The analysis of sigmoidal delay in channel opening, and of gating current kinetics, indicates that wild-type and F401L mutant channels possess a form of cooperativity in the gating mechanism that the F401A channels lack. The wild-type and F401L channels' entering the open state gives rise to slow decay of the OFF gating current. In F401A, rapid gating charge return persists after channels open, confirming that this mutation disrupts stabilization of the open state. We present a kinetic model that can account for these properties by postulating that the four subunits independently undergo two sequential voltage-sensitive transitions each, followed by a final concerted opening step. These channels differ primarily in the final concerted transition, which is biased in favor of the open state in F401L and the wild type, and in the opposite direction in F401A. These results are consistent with an activation scheme whereby bulky aromatic or aliphatic side chains at position 401 in S5 cooperatively stabilize the open state, possibly by interacting with residues in other helices.


2007 ◽  
Vol 129 (6) ◽  
pp. 461-475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga Babich ◽  
John Reeves ◽  
Roman Shirokov

Using the lanthanide gadolinium (Gd3+) as a Ca2+ replacing probe, we investigated the voltage dependence of pore blockage of CaV1.2 channels. Gd+3 reduces peak currents (tonic block) and accelerates decay of ionic current during depolarization (use-dependent block). Because diffusion of Gd3+ at concentrations used (<1 μM) is much slower than activation of the channel, the tonic effect is likely to be due to the blockage that occurred in closed channels before depolarization. We found that the dose–response curves for the two blocking effects of Gd3+ shifted in parallel for Ba2+, Sr2+, and Ca2+ currents through the wild-type channel, and for Ca2+ currents through the selectivity filter mutation EEQE that lowers the blocking potency of Gd3+. The correlation indicates that Gd3+ binding to the same site causes both tonic and use-dependent blocking effects. The apparent on-rate for the tonic block increases with the prepulse voltage in the range −60 to −45 mV, where significant gating current but no ionic current occurs. When plotted together against voltage, the on-rates of tonic block (−100 to −45 mV) and of use-dependent block (−40 to 40 mV) fall on a single sigmoid that parallels the voltage dependence of the gating charge. The on-rate of tonic block by Gd3+ decreases with concentration of Ba2+, indicating that the apparent affinity of the site to permeant ions is about 1 mM in closed channels. Therefore, we propose that at submicromolar concentrations, Gd3+ binds at the entry to the selectivity locus and that the affinity of the site for permeant ions decreases during preopening transitions of the channel.


1984 ◽  
Vol 84 (5) ◽  
pp. 771-788 ◽  
Author(s):  
D T Campbell ◽  
R Hahin

The effect of low pH on the kinetics of Na channel ionic and gating currents was studied in frog skeletal muscle fibers. Lowering external pH from 7.4 to 5.0 slows the time course of Na current consistent with about a +25-mV shift in the voltage dependence of activation and inactivation time constants. Similar shifts in voltage dependence adequately describe the effects of low pH on the tail current time constant (+23.3 mV) and the gating charge vs. voltage relationship (+22.1 mV). A significantly smaller shift of +13.3 mV described the effect of pH 5.0 solution on the voltage dependence of steady state inactivation. Changes in the time course of gating current at low pH were complex and could not be described as a shift in voltage dependence. tau g, the time constant that describes the time course of the major component of gating charge movement, was slowed in pH 5.0 solution by a factor of approximately 3.5 for potentials from -60 to +45 mV. We conclude that the effects of low pH on Na channel gating cannot be attributed simply to a change in surface potential. Therefore, although it may be appropriate to describe the effect of low pH on some Na channel kinetic properties as a "shift" in voltage dependence, it is not appropriate to interpret such shifts as a measure of changes in surface potential. The maximum gating charge elicited from a holding potential of -150 mV was little affected by low pH.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (18) ◽  
pp. 3046-3054
Author(s):  
Xiaomeng Zhang ◽  
Beilei Wang ◽  
Zhenzhen Liu ◽  
Yubin Zhou ◽  
Lupei Du

hERG (Human ether-a-go-go-related gene) potassium channel, which plays an essential role in cardiac action potential repolarization, is responsible for inherited and druginduced long QT syndrome. Recently, the Cryo-EM structure capturing the open conformation of hERG channel was determined, thus pushing the study on hERG channel at 3.8 Å resolution. This report focuses primarily on summarizing the design rationale and application of several fluorescent probes that target hERG channels, which enables dynamic and real-time monitoring of potassium pore channel affinity to further advance the understanding of the channels.


1999 ◽  
Vol 277 (2) ◽  
pp. H826-H833 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seiko Tanabe ◽  
Toshio Hata ◽  
Masayasu Hiraoka

To explore a possible ionic basis for the prolonged Q-T interval in women compared with that in men, we investigated the electrophysiological effects of estrogen in isolated guinea pig ventricular myocytes. Action potentials and membrane currents were recorded using the whole cell configuration of the patch-clamp technique. Application of 17β-estradiol (10–30 μM) significantly prolonged the action potential duration (APD) at 20% (APD20) and 90% repolarization (APD90) at stimulation rates of 0.1–2.0 Hz. In the presence of 30 μM 17β-estradiol, APD20 and APD90 at 0.1 Hz were prolonged by 46.2 ± 17.1 and 63.4 ± 11.7% of the control ( n = 5), respectively. In the presence of 30 μM 17β-estradiol the peak inward Ca2+ current ( I CaL) was decreased to 80.1 ± 2.5% of the control ( n = 4) without a shift in its voltage dependence. Application of 30 μM 17β-estradiol decreased the rapidly activating component of the delayed outward K+ current ( I Kr) to 63.4 ± 8% and the slowly activating component ( I Ks) to 65.8 ± 8.7% with respect to the control; the inward rectifier K+ current was barely affected. The results suggest that 17β-estradiol prolonged APD mainly by inhibiting the I Kcomponents I Krand I Ks.


1991 ◽  
Vol 98 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
C K Abrams ◽  
K S Jakes ◽  
A Finkelstein ◽  
S L Slatin

The availability of primary sequences for ion-conducting channels permits the development of testable models for mechanisms of voltage gating. Previous work on planar phospholipid bilayers and lipid vesicles indicates that voltage gating of colicin E1 channels involves translocation of peptide segments of the molecule into and across the membrane. Here we identify histidine residue 440 as a gating charge associated with this translocation. Using site-directed mutagenesis to convert the positively charged His440 to a neutral cysteine, we find that the voltage dependence for turn-off of channels formed by this mutant at position 440 is less steep than that for wild-type channels; the magnitude of the change in voltage dependence is consistent with residue 440 moving from the trans to the cis side of the membrane in association with channel closure. The effect of trans pH changes on the ion selectivity of channels formed by the carboxymethylated derivative of the cysteine 440 mutant independently establishes that in the open channel state, residue 440 lies on the trans side of the membrane. On the basis of these results, we propose that the voltage-gated opening of colicin E1 channels is accompanied by the insertion into the bilayer of a helical hairpin loop extending from residue 420 to residue 459, and that voltage-gated closing is associated with the extrusion of this loop from the interior of the bilayer back to the cis side.


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