scholarly journals Permeation of internal and external monovalent cations through the catfish cone photoreceptor cGMP-gated channel.

1995 ◽  
Vol 106 (3) ◽  
pp. 485-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
L W Haynes

The permeation of monovalent cations through the cGMP-gated channel of catfish cone outer segments was examined by measuring permeability and conductance ratios under biionic conditions. For monovalent cations presented on the cytoplasmic side of the channel, the permeability ratios with respect to extracellular Na followed the sequence NH4 > K > Li > Rb = Na > Cs while the conductance ratios at +50 mV followed the sequence Na approximately NH4 > K > Rb > Li = Cs. These patterns are broadly similar to the amphibian rod channel. The symmetry of the channel was tested by presenting the test ion on the extracellular side and using Na as the common reference ion on the cytoplasmic side. Under these biionic conditions, the permeability ratios with respect to Na at the intracellular side followed the sequence NH4 > Li > K > Na > Rb > Cs while the conductance ratios at +50 mV followed the sequence NH4 > K approximately Na > Rb > Li > Cs. Thus, the channel is asymmetric with respect to external and internal cations. Under symmetrical 120 mM ionic conditions, the single-channel conductance at +50 mV ranged from 58 pS in NH4 to 15 pS for Cs and was in the order NH4 > Na > K > Rb > Cs. Unexpectedly, the single-channel current-voltage relation showed sufficient outward rectification to account for the rectification observed in multichannel patches without invoking voltage dependence in gating. The concentration dependence of the reversal potential for K showed that chloride was impermeant. Anomalous mole fraction behavior was not observed, nor, over a limited concentration range, were multiple dissociation constants. An Eyring rate theory model with a single binding site was sufficient to explain these observations.

1995 ◽  
Vol 106 (3) ◽  
pp. 507-523 ◽  
Author(s):  
L W Haynes

The ability of the divalent cations calcium, magnesium, and barium to permeate through the cGMP-gated channel of catfish cone outer segments was examined by measuring permeability and conductance ratios under biionic conditions and by measuring their ability to block current carried by sodium when presented on the cytoplasmic or extracellular side of the channel. Current carried by divalent cations in the absence of monovalent cations showed the typical rectification pattern observed from these channels under physiological conditions (an exponential increase in current at both positive and negative voltages). With calcium as the reference ion, the relative permeabilities were Ca > Ba > Mg, and the chord conductance ratios at +50 mV were in the order of Ca approximately Mg > Ba. With external sodium as the reference ion, the relative permeabilities were Ca > Mg > Ba > Na with chord conductance ratios at +30 mV in the order of Na > Ca = Mg > Ba. The ability of divalent cations presented on the intracellular side to block the sodium current was in the order Ca > Mg > Ba at +30 mV and Ca > Ba > Mg at -30 mV. Block by external divalent cations was also investigated. The current-voltage relations showed block by internal divalent cations reveal no anomalous mole fraction behavior, suggesting little ion-ion interaction within the pore. An Eyring rate theory model with two barriers and a single binding site is sufficient to explain both these observations and those for monovalent cations, predicting a single-channel conductance under physiological conditions of 2 pS and an inward current at -30 mV carried by 82% Na, 5% Mg, and 13% Ca.


1992 ◽  
Vol 100 (5) ◽  
pp. 783-801 ◽  
Author(s):  
L W Haynes

Inside-out patches were excised from catfish rod or cone outer segments. Single channel and macroscopic currents were recorded from GMP-gated channels activated by 1 mM cGMP in low divalent buffered saline. Currents were blocked by the application of micromolar concentrations of l-cis-diltiazem to the cytoplasmic side of the patch. The concentration dependence of block indicated that a single molecule was sufficient to block a channel and that all channels were susceptible to block. The dissociation constant for the rod channel was an order of magnitude smaller than for the cone channel, but the voltage dependence of block was nearly identical. The macroscopic current-voltage relation in the presence of blocker was inwardly rectifying and superficially resembled voltage-dependent block by an impermeant blocker occluding the ion-conducting pore of the channel. Block by diltiazem acting from the extracellular side of the channel was investigated by including 5 microM diltiazem in the recording pipette solution. The macroscopic current-voltage relation again showed inward rectification, inconsistent with the idea that diltiazem acts by occluding the pore at the external side. The kinetics of block by diltiazem applied to the intra- and extracellular side were measured in cone patches containing only a single channel. The unbinding rates were similar in both cases, suggesting a single binding site. Differences in the binding rate were consistent with greater accessibility to the binding site from the cytoplasmic side. Block from the cytoplasmic side was independent of pH, suggesting that the state of ionization of diltiazem was not related to its ability to block the channel in a voltage-dependent fashion. These observations are inconsistent with a pore-occluding blocker, but could be explained if the hydrophobic portion of diltiazem partitioned into the hydrophobic core of the channel protein, perhaps altering the gating of the channel.


1993 ◽  
Vol 102 (6) ◽  
pp. 1107-1129 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Tinker ◽  
A J Williams

The sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-release channel plays a central role in cardiac muscle function by providing a ligand-regulated pathway for the release of sequestered Ca2+ to initiate contraction following cell excitation. The efficiency of the channel as a Ca(2+)-release pathway will be influenced by both gating and conductance properties of the system. In the past we have investigated conduction and discrimination of inorganic mono- and divalent cations with the aim of describing the mechanisms governing ion handling in the channel (Tinker, A., A.R. G. Lindsay, and A.J. Williams. 1992. Journal of General Physiology. 100:495-517.). In the present study, we have used permeant and impermeant organic cations to provide additional information on structural features of the conduction pathway. The use of permeant organic cations in biological channels to explore structural motifs underlying selectivity has been an important tool for the electrophysiologist. We have examined the conduction properties of a series of monovalent organic cations of varying size in the purified sheep cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-release channel. Relative permeability, determined from the reversal potential measured under bi-ionic conditions with 210-mM test cation at the cytoplasmic face of the channel and 210 mM K+ at the luminal, was related inversely to the minimum circular cation radius. The reversal potential was concentration-independent. The excluded area hypothesis, with and without a term for solute-wall friction, described the data well and gave a lower estimate for minimum pore radius of 3.3-3.5 A. Blocking studies with the impermeant charged derivative of triethylamine reveal that this narrowing occurs over the first 10-20% of the voltage drop when crossing from the lumen of the SR to the cytoplasm. Single-channel conductances were measured in symmetrical 210 mM salt. Factors other than relative permeability determine conductance as ions with similar relative permeability can have widely varying single-channel conductance. Permeant ions, such as the charged derivatives of trimethylamine and diethylmethylamine, can also inhibit K+ current. The reduction in relative conductance with increasing concentrations of these two ions at a holding potential of 60 mV was described by a rectangular hyperbola and revealed higher affinity binding for diethylmethylamine as compared to trimethylamine. It was possible to describe the complex permeation properties of these two ions using a single-ion four barrier, three binding site Eyring rate theory model. In conclusion, these studies reveal that the cardiac Ca(2+)-release channel has a selectivity filter of approximately 3.5-A radius located at the luminal face of the protein.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


1992 ◽  
Vol 263 (6) ◽  
pp. C1200-C1207 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Banderali ◽  
G. Roy

Large losses of amino acids by diffusion were previously observed in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells during volume regulation. Also, an outward rectifying anion channel was activated. Because this channel was not selective among anions, it was suggested that it could be permeable to amino acids. Its permeability to aspartate, glutamate, and taurine was studied using the patch-clamp technique in the inside-out configuration. Solutions containing 500 mM aspartate or glutamate were used on the cytoplasmic side of excised patches to detect single-channel currents carried by these anions. Permeability ratios were estimated in two different ways: 1) from the shift in reversal potential of current-voltage curves after anion replacement in the bath solution and 2) from comparisons of amplitudes of single-channel currents carried by tested anions and chloride, respectively. The values of aspartate-to-chloride and glutamate-to-chloride permeability ratios obtained with both methods were quite consistent and were of the order of 0.2 for both amino acids. Taurine in solutions at physiological pH 7.3 is a zwitterionic molecule and bears no net charge. To detect single-channel currents carried by taurine, solutions containing 500 mM taurine at pH 8.2 were used in inside-out experiments. Under these conditions 120 mM of negatively charged taurine was present in the solutions bathing the cytoplasmic side of excised patches. The permeability ratio estimated from the shift in reversal potential was 0.75. These results showed that some of the organic compounds released by cells during regulatory volume decrease could diffuse through this outwardly rectifying anionic channel.


2015 ◽  
Vol 145 (3) ◽  
pp. 185-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guoxia Liu ◽  
Sergey I. Zakharov ◽  
Yongneng Yao ◽  
Steven O. Marx ◽  
Arthur Karlin

The large-conductance, voltage- and Ca2+-gated K+ (BK) channel consists of four α subunits, which form a voltage- and Ca2+-gated channel, and up to four modulatory β subunits. The β1 subunit is expressed in smooth muscle, where it slows BK channel kinetics and shifts the conductance–voltage (G-V) curve to the left at [Ca2+] > 2 µM. In addition to the six transmembrane (TM) helices, S1–S6, conserved in all voltage-dependent K+ channels, BK α has a unique seventh TM helix, S0, which may contribute to the unusual rightward shift in the G-V curve of BK α in the absence of β1 and to a leftward shift in its presence. Such a role is supported by the close proximity of S0 to S3 and S4 in the voltage-sensing domain. Furthermore, on the extracellular side of the membrane, one of the two TM helices of β1, TM2, is adjacent to S0. We have now analyzed induced disulfide bond formation between substituted Cys residues on the cytoplasmic side of the membrane. There, in contrast, S0 is closest to the S2–S3 loop, from which position it is displaced on the addition of β1. The cytoplasmic ends of β1 TM1 and TM2 are adjacent and are located between the S2–S3 loop of one α subunit and S1 of a neighboring α subunit and are not adjacent to S0; i.e., S0 and TM2 have different trajectories through the membrane. In the absence of β1, 70% of disulfide bonding of W43C (S0) and L175C (S2–S3) has no effect on V50 for activation, implying that the cytoplasmic end of S0 and the S2–S3 loop move in concert, if at all, during activation. Otherwise, linking them together in one state would obstruct the transition to the other state, which would certainly change V50.


2014 ◽  
Vol 144 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yee Ling Lam ◽  
Weizhong Zeng ◽  
David Bryant Sauer ◽  
Youxing Jiang

Potassium channels are highly selective for K+ over the smaller Na+. Intriguingly, they are permeable to larger monovalent cations such as Rb+ and Cs+ but are specifically blocked by the similarly sized Ba2+. In this study, we used structural analysis to determine the binding profiles for these permeant and blocking ions in the selectivity filter of the potassium-selective NaK channel mutant NaK2K and also performed permeation experiments using single-channel recordings. Our data revealed that some ion binding properties of NaK2K are distinct from those of the canonical K+ channels KcsA and MthK. Rb+ bound at sites 1, 3, and 4 in NaK2K, as it does in KcsA. Cs+, however, bound predominantly at sites 1 and 3 in NaK2K, whereas it binds at sites 1, 3, and 4 in KcsA. Moreover, Ba2+ binding in NaK2K was distinct from that which has been observed in KcsA and MthK, even though all of these channels show similar Ba2+ block. In the presence of K+, Ba2+ bound to the NaK2K channel at site 3 in conjunction with a K+ at site 1; this led to a prolonged block of the channel (the external K+-dependent Ba2+ lock-in state). In the absence of K+, however, Ba2+ acts as a permeating blocker. We found that, under these conditions, Ba2+ bound at sites 1 or 0 as well as site 3, allowing it to enter the filter from the intracellular side and exit from the extracellular side. The difference in the Ba2+ binding profile in the presence and absence of K+ thus provides a structural explanation for the short and prolonged Ba2+ block observed in NaK2K.


2011 ◽  
Vol 139 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clio Rubinos ◽  
Helmuth A. Sánchez ◽  
Vytas K. Verselis ◽  
Miduturu Srinivas

The anti-malarial drug quinine and its quaternary derivative N-benzylquininium (BQ+) have been shown to inhibit gap junction (GJ) channels with specificity for Cx50 over its closely related homologue Cx46. Here, we examined the mechanism of BQ+ action using undocked Cx46 and Cx50 hemichannels, which are more amenable to analyses at the single-channel level. We found that BQ+ (300 µM–1 mM) robustly inhibited Cx50, but not Cx46, hemichannel currents, indicating that the Cx selectivity of BQ+ is preserved in both hemichannel and GJ channel configurations. BQ+ reduced Cx50 hemichannel open probability (Po) without appreciably altering unitary conductance of the fully open state and was effective when added from either extracellular or cytoplasmic sides. The reductions in Po were dependent on BQ+ concentration with a Hill coefficient of 1.8, suggesting binding of at least two BQ+ molecules. Inhibition by BQ+ was voltage dependent, promoted by hyperpolarization from the extracellular side and conversely by depolarization from the cytoplasmic side. These results are consistent with binding of BQ+ in the pore. Substitution of the N-terminal (NT) domain of Cx46 into Cx50 significantly impaired inhibition by BQ+. The NT domain contributes to the formation of the wide cytoplasmic vestibule of the pore and, thus, may contribute to the binding of BQ+. Single-channel analyses showed that BQ+ induced transitions that did not resemble pore block, but rather transitions indistinguishable from the intrinsic gating events ascribed to loop gating, one of two mechanisms that gate Cx channels. Moreover, BQ+ decreased mean open time and increased mean closed time, indicating that inhibition consists of an increase in hemichannel closing rate as well as a stabilization of the closed state. Collectively, these data suggest a mechanism of action for BQ+ that involves modulation loop gating rather than channel block as a result of binding in the NT domain.


1993 ◽  
Vol 69 (5) ◽  
pp. 1433-1442 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. M. Egan ◽  
D. Dagan ◽  
I. B. Levitan

1. Single calcium-activated potassium channels (KCa channels) were recorded from membrane patches of rat olfactory bulb neurons in culture. Only one kind of KCa channel was seen, and it was present in approximately 50% of detached patches. 2. This channel, like maxi-KCa channels of other tissues, had a single-channel conductance of 270 pS, a reversal potential (Erev) of 0 mV in symmetrical K+, and was highly selective for K+ over Na+ and Cl-. 3. The KCa channel was blocked by d-tubocurarine (d-TC) on the cytoplasmic side, and charybdotoxin (CTX) on the extracellular side. This pharmacology is identical to that of one type of KCa channel from rat brain, observed previously in artificial bilayers and called the type 1 KCa channel. 4. The probability that the channel was in the open state (Po) increased with membrane depolarization. The position of the Po versus transmembrane voltage (Vm) curve was shifted by changes in [Ca2+]i so that the channel was open more often in higher [Ca2+]i. The gating kinetics resembled those of the type 1 KCa channel observed in bilayers. 5. Po was increased after superfusion of the cytoplasmic membrane surface with the active catalytic subunit of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (PK-A), together with MgATP. Phosphorylation altered the distribution of channel closed times but had little effect on open times. The results suggest that phosphorylation is an important molecular mechanism in modulating the activity of this KCa channel from mammalian brain.


1995 ◽  
Vol 268 (2) ◽  
pp. C389-C401 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Chepilko ◽  
H. Zhou ◽  
H. Sackin ◽  
L. G. Palmer

The renal K+ channel (ROMK2) was expressed in Xenopus oocytes, and the patch-clamp technique was used to assess its conducting and gating properties. In cell-attached patches with 110 mM K+ in the bath and pipette, the reversal potential was near zero and the inward conductance (36 pS) was larger than the outward conductance (17 pS). In excised inside-out patches the channels showed rectification in the presence of 5 mM Mg2+ on the cytoplasmic side but not in Mg(2+)-free solution. Inward currents were also observed when K+ was replaced in the pipette by Rb+, NH4+, or thallium (Tl+). The reversal potentials under these conditions yielded a selectivity sequence of Tl+ > K+ > Rb+ > NH4+. On the other hand, the slope conductances for inward current gave a selectivity sequence of K+ = NH4+ > Tl+ > Rb+. The differences in the two sequences can be explained by the presence of cation binding sites within the channel, which interact with Rb+ and Tl+ more strongly and with NH4+ less strongly than with K+. Two other ions, Ba2+ and Cs+, blocked the channel from the outside. The effect of Ba2+ (1 mM) was to reduce the open probability of the channels, whereas Cs+ (10 mM) reduced the apparent single-channel current. The effects of both blockers are enhanced by membrane hyperpolarization. The kinetics of the channel were also studied in cell-attached patches. With K+ in the pipette the distribution of open times could be described by a single exponential (tau 0 = 25 ms), whereas two exponentials (tau 1 = 1 ms, tau 2 = 30 ms) were required to describe the closed-time distribution. Hyperpolarization of the oocyte membrane decreased the open probability and tau 0, and increased tau 1, tau 2, and the number of long closures. The presence of Tl+ in the pipette significantly altered the kinetics, reducing tau 0 and eliminating the long-lived closures. These results suggest that the gating of the channel may depend on the nature of the ion in the pore.


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