scholarly journals Unraveling of a Strongly Correlated Dynamical Network of Residues Controlling the Permeation of Potassium in KcsA Ion Channel

Entropy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 72
Author(s):  
Salvatore M. Cosseddu ◽  
Eunju Julia Choe ◽  
Igor A. Khovanov
Keyword(s):  
Ion Channel ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Mutual Influence ◽  
Selectivity Filter ◽  
Water Molecules ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Dynamical Network ◽  
Arginine Residues ◽  
Single Channel Currents

The complicated patterns of the single-channel currents in potassium ion channel KcsA are governed by the structural variability of the selectivity filter. A comparative analysis of the dynamics of the wild type KcsA channel and several of its mutants showing different conducting patterns was performed. A strongly correlated dynamical network of interacting residues is found to play a key role in regulating the state of the wild type channel. The network is centered on the aspartate D80 which plays the role of a hub by strong interacting via hydrogen bonds with residues E71, R64, R89, and W67. Residue D80 also affects the selectivity filter via its backbones. This network further compromises ions and water molecules located inside the channel that results in the mutual influence: the permeation depends on the configuration of residues in the network, and the dynamics of network’s residues depends on locations of ions and water molecules inside the selectivity filter. Some features of the network provide a further understanding of experimental results describing the KcsA activity. In particular, the necessity of anionic lipids to be present for functioning the channel is explained by the interaction between the lipids and the arginine residues R64 and R89 that prevents destabilizing the structure of the selectivity filter.

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 Stoichiometry of Recombinant N-Methyl-d-Aspartate Receptor Channels Inferred from Single-channel Current Patterns

1997 ◽  
Vol 110 (5) ◽  
pp. 485-502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis S. Premkumar ◽  
Anthony Auerbach
Keyword(s):  
Single Channel ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Current Pattern ◽  
Channel Current ◽  
Single Channel Current ◽  
Aspartate Receptor ◽  
Single Channel Currents ◽  
Nr2 Subunits ◽  
Channel Currents ◽  
Straightforward Interpretation

Single-channel currents were recorded from mouse NR1-NR2B (ζ-ε2) receptors containing mixtures of wild-type and mutant subunits expressed in Xenopus oocytes. Mutant subunits had an asparagine-to-glutamine (N-to-Q) mutation at the N0 site of the M2 segment (NR1:598, NR2B:589). Receptors with pure N or Q NR1 and NR2 subunits generated single-channel currents with distinctive current patterns. Based on main and sublevel amplitudes, occupancy probabilities, and lifetimes, four patterns of current were identified, corresponding to receptors with the following subunit compositions (NR1/NR2): N/N, N/Q, Q/N, and Q/Q. Only one current pattern was apparent for each composition. When a mixture of N and Q NR2 subunits was coexpressed with pure mutant NR1 subunits, three single-channel current patterns were apparent. One pattern was the same as Q/Q receptors and another was the same as Q/N receptors. The third, novel pattern presumably arose from hybrid receptors having both N and Q NR2 subunits. When a mixture of N and Q NR1 subunits was coexpressed with pure mutant NR2 subunits, six single-channel current patterns were apparent. One pattern was the same as Q/Q receptors and another was the same as N/Q receptors. The four novel patterns presumably arose from hybrid receptors having both N and Q NR1 subunits. The relative frequency of NR1 hybrid receptor current patterns depended on the relative amounts of Q and N subunits that were injected into the oocytes. The number of hybrid receptor patterns suggests that there are two NR2 subunits per receptor and is consistent with either three or five NR1 subunits per receptor, depending on whether or not the order of mutant and wild-type subunits influences the current pattern. When considered in relation to other studies, the most straightforward interpretation of the results is that N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors are pentamers composed of three NR1 and two NR2 subunits.

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 Fundamental Gating Mechanism of Nicotinic Receptor Channel Revealed by Mutation Causing a Congenital Myasthenic Syndrome

2000 ◽  
Vol 116 (3) ◽  
pp. 449-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hai-Long Wang ◽  
Kinji Ohno ◽  
Margherita Milone ◽  
Joan M. Brengman ◽  
Amelia Evoli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rate Constants ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Gaussian Function ◽  
Congenital Myasthenic Syndrome ◽  
Markov Modeling ◽  
Amphipathic Helix ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Gating Mechanism ◽  
Myasthenic Syndrome ◽  
Single Channel Currents

We describe the genetic and kinetic defects in a congenital myasthenic syndrome due to the mutation εA411P in the amphipathic helix of the acetylcholine receptor (AChR) ε subunit. Myasthenic patients from three unrelated families are either homozygous for εA411P or are heterozygous and harbor a null mutation in the second ε allele, indicating that εA411P is recessive. We expressed human AChRs containing wild-type or A411P ε subunits in 293HEK cells, recorded single channel currents at high bandwidth, and determined microscopic rate constants for individual channels using hidden Markov modeling. For individual wild-type and mutant channels, each rate constant distributes as a Gaussian function, but the spread in the distributions for channel opening and closing rate constants is greatly expanded by εA411P. Prolines engineered into positions flanking residue 411 of the ε subunit greatly increase the range of activation kinetics similar to εA411P, whereas prolines engineered into positions equivalent to εA411 in β and δ subunits are without effect. Thus, the amphipathic helix of the ε subunit stabilizes the channel, minimizing the number and range of kinetic modes accessible to individual AChRs. The findings suggest that analogous stabilizing structures are present in other ion channels, and possibly allosteric proteins in general, and that they evolved to maintain uniformity of activation episodes. The findings further suggest that the fundamental gating mechanism of the AChR channel can be explained by a corrugated energy landscape superimposed on a steeply sloped energy well.

Ion channels and disease

2020 ◽  
pp. 246-255
Author(s):  
Frances Ashcroft ◽  
Paolo Tammaro
Keyword(s):  
Ion Channels ◽  
Ion Channel ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Channel Structure ◽  
Channel Proteins ◽  
Channel Function ◽  
Ion Channel Proteins ◽  
Single Channel Currents ◽  
Channel Currents

Ion channels are membrane proteins that act as gated pathways for the movement of ions across cell membranes. They are found in both surface and intracellular membranes and play essential roles in the physiology of all cell types. An ever-increasing number of human diseases are now known to be caused by defects in ion channel function. To understand how ion channel defects give rise to disease, it is helpful to understand how the ion channel proteins work. This chapter therefore considers what is known of ion channel structure, explains the properties of the single ion channel, and shows how single-channel currents give rise to action potentials and synaptic potentials.

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
Keyword(s):  
Single Channel ◽  
Chinese Hamster Ovary Cells ◽  
Chinese Hamster ◽  
Selectivity Filter ◽  
Inward Rectification ◽  
K Channel ◽  
Open Probability ◽  
Whole Cell ◽  
Single Channel Currents ◽  
Pore Domain

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.

scholarly journals Tail End of the S6 Segment

2002 ◽  
Vol 120 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinghua Ding ◽  
Richard Horn
Keyword(s):  
Potassium Channels ◽  
Energy Barrier ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Noise Analysis ◽  
Selectivity Filter ◽  
Open Probability ◽  
Cytoplasmic Extension ◽  
Activation Gate ◽  
Single Channel Currents ◽  
Channel Currents

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.

scholarly journals Transmembrane segment M2 of glycine receptor as a model system for the pore-forming structure of ion channels.

2002 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 869-875 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piotr Bednarczyk ◽  
Adam Szewczyk ◽  
Krzysztof Dołowy
Keyword(s):  
Ion Channel ◽  
Lipid Composition ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Glycine Receptor ◽  
Reversal Potential ◽  
Transmembrane Segment ◽  
Membrane Technique ◽  
Conduction Pathway ◽  
Conductance States ◽  
Single Channel Currents

The glycine receptor belongs to the ligand-gated ion channel superfamily. It is a chloride conducting channel composed of four transmembrane domains. It was previously shown that the second transmembrane domain (M2) of the glycine receptor forms an ion conduction pathway throughout lipid bilayers. The amino-acid sequence of the transmembrane segment M2 of the glycine receptor has a high homology to all receptors of the ligand-gated ion channel superfamily. In our report, we have used a synthetic M2 peptide. It was incorporated into a planar membrane of known lipid composition and currents induced by M2 were measured by the Black Lipid Membrane technique. When the planar lipid bilayer was composed of 75% phosphatidylethanolamine and 25% phosphatidylserine, the reversal potential measured in a 150/600 mM KCl (cis/trans) gradient was -19 mV suggesting that the examined >pore was preferential to anions, P(K)/P(Cl) = 0.25. In contrast, when 75% phosphatidylserine and 25% phosphatidylethanolamine was used, the reversal potential was +20 mV and the >pore was preferential to cations, P(K)/P(Cl) = 4.36. Single-channel currents were recorded with two predominant amplitudes corresponding to the main-conductance and sub-conductance states. Both conductance states (about 12 pS and 30 pS) were measured in a symmetric solution of 50 mM KCl. The observed single-channel properties suggest that the selectivity and conductance of the pore formed by the M2 peptide of the glycine receptor depend on the lipid composition of the planar bilayer.

scholarly journals Mechanism of activation of the prokaryotic channel ELIC by propylamine: A single-channel study

2014 ◽  
Vol 145 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Marabelli ◽  
Remigijus Lape ◽  
Lucia Sivilotti
Keyword(s):  
Ion Channel ◽  
Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors ◽  
Intermediate State ◽  
Acetylcholine Receptors ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Structural Information ◽  
Kinetic Properties ◽  
Open Probability ◽  
Single Channel Currents

Prokaryotic channels, such as Erwinia chrysanthemi ligand-gated ion channel (ELIC) and Gloeobacter violaceus ligand-gated ion channel, give key structural information for the pentameric ligand-gated ion channel family, which includes nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. ELIC, a cationic channel from E. chrysanthemi, is particularly suitable for single-channel recording because of its high conductance. Here, we report on the kinetic properties of ELIC channels expressed in human embryonic kidney 293 cells. Single-channel currents elicited by the full agonist propylamine (0.5–50 mM) in outside-out patches at −60 mV were analyzed by direct maximum likelihood fitting of kinetic schemes to the idealized data. Several mechanisms were tested, and their adequacy was judged by comparing the predictions of the best fit obtained with the observable features of the experimental data. These included open-/shut-time distributions and the time course of macroscopic propylamine-activated currents elicited by fast theta-tube applications (50–600 ms, 1–50 mM, −100 mV). Related eukaryotic channels, such as glycine and nicotinic receptors, when fully liganded open with high efficacy to a single open state, reached via a preopening intermediate. The simplest adequate description of their activation, the “Flip” model, assumes a concerted transition to a single intermediate state at high agonist concentration. In contrast, ELIC open-time distributions at saturating propylamine showed multiple components. Thus, more than one open state must be accessible to the fully liganded channel. The “Primed” model allows opening from multiple fully liganded intermediates. The best fits of this type of model showed that ELIC maximum open probability (99%) is reached when at least two and probably three molecules of agonist have bound to the channel. The overall efficacy with which the fully liganded channel opens was ∼102 (∼20 for α1β glycine channels). The microscopic affinity for the agonist increased as the channel activated, from 7 mM for the resting state to 0.15 mM for the partially activated intermediate state.

Reduced voltage dependence of inactivation in the SCN5A sodium channel mutation delF1617

2005 ◽  
Vol 288 (6) ◽  
pp. H2666-H2676 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiehua Chen ◽  
Masashi Inoue ◽  
Michael F. Sheets
Keyword(s):  
Time Course ◽  
Voltage Dependence ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Expression System ◽  
Single Amino Acid ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Gating Charge ◽  
Voltage Curve ◽  
Voltage Dependent ◽  
Single Channel Currents

Deletion of a phenylalanine at position 1617 (delF1617) in the extracellular linker between segments S3 and S4 in domain IV of the human heart Na+ channel (hH1a) has been tentatively associated with long QT syndrome type 3 (LQT3). In a mammalian cell expression system, we compared whole cell, gating, and single-channel currents of delF1617 with those of wild-type hH1a. The half points of the peak activation-voltage curve for the two channels were similar, as were the deactivation time constants at hyperpolarized test potentials. However, delF1617 demonstrated a significant negative shift of −7 mV in the half point of the voltage-dependent Na+ channel availability curve compared with wild type. In addition, both the time course of decay of Na+ current ( INa) and two-pulse development of inactivation of delF1617 were faster at negative test potentials, whereas they tended to be slower at positive potentials compared with wild type. Mean channel open times for delF1617 were shorter at potentials <0 mV, whereas they were longer at potentials >0 mV compared with wild type. Using anthopleurin-A, a site-3 toxin that inhibits movement of segment S4 in domain IV (S4-DIV), we found that gating charge contributed by the S4-DIV in delF1617 was reduced 37% compared with wild type. We conclude that deletion of a single amino acid in the S3-S4 linker of domain IV alters the voltage dependence of fast inactivation via a reduction in the gating charge contributed by S4-DIV and can cause either a gain or loss of INa, depending on membrane potential.

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