scholarly journals Voltage Gating of Shaker K+ Channels

1998 ◽  
Vol 112 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatriz M. Rodríguez ◽  
Daniel Sigg ◽  
Francisco Bezanilla

Ionic (Ii) and gating currents (Ig) from noninactivating Shaker H4 K+ channels were recorded with the cut-open oocyte voltage clamp and macropatch techniques. Steady state and kinetic properties were studied in the temperature range 2–22°C. The time course of Ii elicited by large depolarizations consists of an initial delay followed by an exponential rise with two kinetic components. The main Ii component is highly temperature dependent (Q10 > 4) and mildly voltage dependent, having a valence times the fraction of electric field (z) of 0.2–0.3 eo. The Ig On response obtained between −60 and 20 mV consists of a rising phase followed by a decay with fast and slow kinetic components. The main Ig component of decay is highly temperature dependent (Q10 > 4) and has a z between 1.6 and 2.8 eo in the voltage range from −60 to −10 mV, and ∼0.45 eo at more depolarized potentials. After a pulse to 0 mV, a variable recovery period at −50 mV reactivates the gating charge with a high temperature dependence (Q10 > 4). In contrast, the reactivation occurring between −90 and −50 mV has a Q10 = 1.2. Fluctuation analysis of ionic currents reveals that the open probability decreases 20% between 18 and 8°C and the unitary conductance has a low temperature dependence with a Q10 of 1.44. Plots of conductance and gating charge displacement are displaced to the left along the voltage axis when the temperature is decreased. The temperature data suggests that activation consists of a series of early steps with low enthalpic and negative entropic changes, followed by at least one step with high enthalpic and positive entropic changes, leading to final transition to the open state, which has a negative entropic change.

1992 ◽  
Vol 100 (3) ◽  
pp. 401-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
M D Ganfornina ◽  
J López-Barneo

Single K+ channel currents were recorded in excised membrane patches from dispersed chemoreceptor cells of the rabbit carotid body under conditions that abolish current flow through Na+ and Ca2+ channels. We have found three classes of voltage-gated K+ channels that differ in their single-channel conductance (gamma), dependence on internal Ca2+ (Ca2+i), and sensitivity to changes in O2 tension (PO2). Ca(2+)-activated K+ channels (KCa channels) with gamma approximately 210 pS in symmetrical K+ solutions were observed when [Ca2+]i was greater than 0.1 microM. Small conductance channels with gamma = 16 pS were not affected by [Ca2+]i and they exhibited slow activation and inactivation time courses. In these two channel types open probability (P(open)) was unaffected when exposed to normoxic (PO2 = 140 mmHg) or hypoxic (PO2 approximately 5-10 mmHg) external solutions. A third channel type (referred to as KO2 channel), having an intermediate gamma(approximately 40 pS), was the most frequently recorded. KO2 channels are steeply voltage dependent and not affected by [Ca2+]i, they inactivate almost completely in less than 500 ms, and their P(open) reversibly decreases upon exposure to low PO2. The effect of low PO2 is voltage dependent, being more pronounced at moderately depolarized voltages. At 0 mV, for example, P(open) diminishes to approximately 40% of the control value. The time course of ensemble current averages of KO2 channels is remarkably similar to that of the O2-sensitive K+ current. In addition, ensemble average and macroscopic K+ currents are affected similarly by low PO2. These observations strongly suggest that KO2 channels are the main contributors to the macroscopic K+ current of glomus cells. The reversible inhibition of KO2 channel activity by low PO2 does not desensitize and is not related to the presence of F-, ATP, and GTP-gamma-S at the internal face of the membrane. These results indicate that KO2 channels confer upon glomus cells their unique chemoreceptor properties and that the O2-K+ channel interaction occurs either directly or through an O2 sensor intrinsic to the plasma membrane closely associated with the channel molecule.


1998 ◽  
Vol 111 (4) ◽  
pp. 565-581 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birgit Hirschberg ◽  
James Maylie ◽  
John P. Adelman ◽  
Neil V. Marrion

Small-conductance Ca-activated K+ channels play an important role in modulating excitability in many cell types. These channels are activated by submicromolar concentrations of intracellular Ca2+, but little is known about the gating kinetics upon activation by Ca2+. In this study, single channel currents were recorded from Xenopus oocytes expressing the apamin-sensitive clone rSK2. Channel activity was detectable in 0.2 μM Ca2+ and was maximal above 2 μM Ca2+. Analysis of stationary currents revealed two open times and three closed times, with only the longest closed time being Ca dependent, decreasing with increasing Ca2+ concentrations. In addition, elevated Ca2+ concentrations resulted in a larger percentage of long openings and short closures. Membrane voltage did not have significant effects on either open or closed times. The open probability was ∼0.6 in 1 μM free Ca2+. A lower open probability of ∼0.05 in 1 μM Ca2+ was also observed, and channels switched spontaneously between behaviors. The occurrence of these switches and the amount of time channels spent displaying high open probability behavior was Ca2+ dependent. The two behaviors shared many features including the open times and the short and intermediate closed times, but the low open probability behavior was characterized by a different, long Ca2+-dependent closed time in the range of hundreds of milliseconds to seconds. Small-conductance Ca- activated K+ channel gating was modeled by a gating scheme consisting of four closed and two open states. This model yielded a close representation of the single channel data and predicted a macroscopic activation time course similar to that observed upon fast application of Ca2+ to excised inside-out patches.


1992 ◽  
Vol 99 (6) ◽  
pp. 841-862 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Markwardt ◽  
G Isenberg

Currents through maxi K+ channels were recorded in inside-out macro-patches. Using a liquid filament switch (Franke, C., H. Hatt, and J. Dudel. 1987. Neurosci, Lett. 77:199-204) the Ca2+ concentration at the tip of the patch electrode ([Ca2+]i) was changed in less than 1 ms. Elevation of [Ca2+]i from less than 10 nM to 3, 6, 20, 50, 320, or 1,000 microM activated several maxi K+ channels in the patch, whereas return to less than 10 nM deactivated them. The time course of Ca(2+)-dependent activation and deactivation was evaluated from the mean of 10-50 sweeps. The mean currents started a approximately 10-ms delay that was attributed to diffusion of Ca2+ from the tip to the K+ channel protein. The activation and deactivation time courses were fitted with the third power of exponential terms. The rate of activation increased with higher [Ca2+]i and with more positive potentials. The rate of deactivation was independent of preceding [Ca2+]i and was reduced at more positive potentials. The rate of deactivation was measured at five temperatures between 16 and 37 degrees C; fitting the results with the Arrhenius equation yielded an energy barrier of 16 kcal/mol for the Ca2+ dissociation at 0 mV. After 200 ms, the time-dependent processes were in a steady state, i.e., there was no sign of inactivation. In the steady state (200 ms), the dependence of channel openness, N.P(o), on [Ca2+]i yielded a Hill coefficient of approximately 3. The apparent dissociation constant, KD, decreased from 13 microM at -50 mV to 0.5 microM at +70 mV. The dependence of N.P(o) on voltage followed a Boltzmann distribution with a maximal P(o) of 0.8 and a slope factor of approximately 39 mV. The results were summarized by a model describing Ca2+- and voltage-dependent activation and deactivation, as well as steady-state open probability by the binding of Ca2+ to three equal and independent sites within the electrical field of the membrane at an electrical distance of 0.31 from the cytoplasmic side.


1994 ◽  
Vol 103 (2) ◽  
pp. 279-319 ◽  
Author(s):  
W N Zagotta ◽  
T Hoshi ◽  
J Dittman ◽  
R W Aldrich

Voltage-dependent gating behavior of Shaker potassium channels without N-type inactivation (ShB delta 6-46) expressed in Xenopus oocytes was studied. The voltage dependence of the steady-state open probability indicated that the activation process involves the movement of the equivalent of 12-16 electronic charges across the membrane. The sigmoidal kinetics of the activation process, which is maintained at depolarized voltages up to at least +100 mV indicate the presence of at least five sequential conformational changes before opening. The voltage dependence of the gating charge movement suggested that each elementary transition involves 3.5 electronic charges. The voltage dependence of the forward opening rate, as estimated by the single-channel first latency distribution, the final phase of the macroscopic ionic current activation, the ionic current reactivation and the ON gating current time course, showed movement of the equivalent of 0.3 to 0.5 electronic charges were associated with a large number of the activation transitions. The equivalent charge movement of 1.1 electronic charges was associated with the closing conformational change. The results were generally consistent with models involving a number of independent and identical transitions with a major exception that the first closing transition is slower than expected as indicated by tail current and OFF gating charge measurements.


1991 ◽  
Vol 97 (5) ◽  
pp. 1013-1041 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Shenkel ◽  
F J Sigworth

Sodium currents were recorded in cell-attached and inside-out patches from the innervated membrane of Electrophorus electrocytes. Electrocytes from Sachs and main electric organs were prepared as described by Pasquale et al. (1986. J. Membr. Biol. 93:195.). Maximal currents in the Sachs organ, measured with 1-2 microns diameter patch pipettes and at room temperature, were in the range of 20 to 300 pA (27 patches) and were obtained near +10 mV. This range of current corresponds to approximately 70 to 1,300 channels in a patch. Maximal current in main organ cells also occurred near +10 mV and were in the range of 100 to 400 pA. Delayed K current was observed in a few patches. The inactivation phase of the currents during maintained depolarizations appears to be a single-exponential relaxation. The time constant decreases from 1 ms near -55 mV to a minimum of 0.3 ms near 0 mV, and then gradually increases with stronger depolarization. The mean currents are half inactivated near -90 mV with an apparent voltage dependence of e-fold per 6 mV. No apparent differences were observed in the decay time course or steady-state inactivation of the currents in the same patch before and after excision. From ensemble fluctuation analysis the peak open probability was found to be approximately 0.5 at +25 mV and increased only gradually with larger depolarizations. The single channel conductances were approximately 20 pS with 200 mM Na outside and 200 mM K inside, and 40 pS in 400 mM solutions. Reversal potentials in the 200 Na parallel 200 K solutions ranged from +51 to +94 mV in multichannel patches, corresponding to selectivity ratios PNa/PK from 8 to 43. Large differences in reversal potentials were seen even among patches from the same cell. Several controls rule out obvious sources of error in the reversal potential measurements. It is concluded that there is heterogeneity in the selectivity properties of the Na channels.


2014 ◽  
Vol 145 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Marabelli ◽  
Remigijus Lape ◽  
Lucia Sivilotti

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.


2008 ◽  
Vol 132 (6) ◽  
pp. 633-650 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivian González-Pérez ◽  
Alan Neely ◽  
Christian Tapia ◽  
Giovanni González-Gutiérrez ◽  
Gustavo Contreras ◽  
...  

After removal of the fast N-type inactivation gate, voltage-sensitive Shaker (Shaker IR) K channels are still able to inactivate, albeit slowly, upon sustained depolarization. The classical mechanism proposed for the slow inactivation observed in cell-free membrane patches—the so called C inactivation—is a constriction of the external mouth of the channel pore that prevents K+ ion conduction. This constriction is antagonized by the external application of the pore blocker tetraethylammonium (TEA). In contrast to C inactivation, here we show that, when recorded in whole Xenopus oocytes, slow inactivation kinetics in Shaker IR K channels is poorly dependent on external TEA but severely delayed by internal TEA. Based on the antagonism with internally or externally added TEA, we used a two-pulse protocol to show that half of the channels inactivate by way of a gate sensitive to internal TEA. Such gate had a recovery time course in the tens of milliseconds range when the interpulse voltage was −90 mV, whereas C-inactivated channels took several seconds to recover. Internal TEA also reduced gating charge conversion associated to slow inactivation, suggesting that the closing of the internal TEA-sensitive inactivation gate could be associated with a significant amount of charge exchange of this type. We interpreted our data assuming that binding of internal TEA antagonized with U-type inactivation (Klemic, K.G., G.E. Kirsch, and S.W. Jones. 2001. Biophys. J. 81:814–826). Our results are consistent with a direct steric interference of internal TEA with an internally located slow inactivation gate as a “foot in the door” mechanism, implying a significant functional overlap between the gate of the internal TEA-sensitive slow inactivation and the primary activation gate. But, because U-type inactivation is reduced by channel opening, trapping the channel in the open conformation by TEA would also yield to an allosteric delay of slow inactivation. These results provide a framework to explain why constitutively C-inactivated channels exhibit gating charge conversion, and why mutations at the internal exit of the pore, such as those associated to episodic ataxia type I in hKv1.1, cause severe changes in inactivation kinetics.


1992 ◽  
Vol 100 (3) ◽  
pp. 427-455 ◽  
Author(s):  
M D Ganfornina ◽  
J López-Barneo

We have studied the kinetic properties of the O2-sensitive K+ channels (KO2 channels) of dissociated glomus cells from rabbit carotid bodies exposed to variable O2 tension (PO2). Experiments were done using single-channel and whole-cell recording techniques. The major gating properties of KO2 channels in excised membrane patches can be explained by a minimal kinetic scheme that includes several closed states (C0 to C4), an open state (O), and two inactivated states (I0 and I1). At negative membrane potentials most channels are distributed between the left-most closed states (C0 and C1), but membrane depolarization displaces the equilibrium toward the open state. After opening, channels undergo reversible transitions to a short-living closed state (C4). These transitions configure a burst, which terminates by channels either returning to a closed state in the activation pathway (C3) or entering a reversible inactivated conformation (I0). Burst duration increases with membrane depolarization. During a maintained depolarization, KO2 channels make several bursts before ending at a nonreversible, absorbing, inactivated state (I1). On moderate depolarizations, KO2 channels inactivate very often from a closed state. Exposure to low PO2 reversibly induces an increase in the first latency, a decrease in the number of bursts per trace, and a higher occurrence of closed-state inactivation. The open state and the transitions to adjacent closed or inactivated states seem to be unaltered by hypoxia. Thus, at low PO2 the number of channels that open in response to a depolarization decreases, and those channels that follow the activation pathway open more slowly and inactivate faster. At the macroscopic level, these changes are paralleled by a reduction in the peak current amplitude, slowing down of the activation kinetics, and acceleration of the inactivation time course. The effects of low PO2 can be explained by assuming that under this condition the closed state C0 is stabilized and the transitions to the absorbing inactivated state I1 are favored. The fact that hypoxia modifies kinetically defined conformational states of the channels suggests that O2 levels determine the structure of specific domains of the KO2 channel molecule. These results help to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the enhancement of the excitability of glomus cells in response to hypoxia.


2006 ◽  
Vol 128 (3) ◽  
pp. 317-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xue Zhang ◽  
Xuhui Zeng ◽  
Christopher J. Lingle

The mouse Slo3 gene (KCNMA3) encodes a K+ channel that is regulated by changes in cytosolic pH. Like Slo1 subunits responsible for the Ca2+ and voltage-activated BK-type channel, the Slo3 α subunit contains a pore module with homology to voltage-gated K+ channels and also an extensive cytosolic C terminus thought to be responsible for ligand dependence. For the Slo3 K+ channel, increases in cytosolic pH promote channel activation, but very little is known about many fundamental properties of Slo3 currents. Here we define the dependence of macroscopic conductance on voltage and pH and, in particular, examine Slo3 conductance activated at negative potentials. Using this information, the ability of a Horrigan-Aldrich–type of general allosteric model to account for Slo3 gating is examined. Finally, the pH and voltage dependence of Slo3 activation and deactivation kinetics is reported. The results indicate that Slo3 differs from Slo1 in several important ways. The limiting conductance activated at the most positive potentials exhibits a pH-dependent maximum, suggesting differences in the limiting open probability at different pH. Furthermore, over a 600 mV range of voltages (−300 to +300 mV), Slo3 conductance shifts only about two to three orders of magnitude, and the limiting conductance at negative potentials is relatively voltage independent compared to Slo1. Within the context of the Horrigan-Aldrich model, these results indicate that the intrinsic voltage dependence (zL) of the Slo3 closed–open equilibrium and the coupling (D) between voltage sensor movement are less than in Slo1. The kinetic behavior of Slo3 currents also differs markedly from Slo1. Both activation and deactivation are best described by two exponential components, both of which are only weakly voltage dependent. Qualitatively, the properties of the two kinetic components in the activation time course suggest that increases in pH increase the fraction of more rapidly opening channels.


1989 ◽  
Vol 256 (2) ◽  
pp. F246-F254 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Taniguchi ◽  
K. Yoshitomi ◽  
M. Imai

To examine the nature of ion-conductive pathways in the basolateral membrane of rabbit distal convoluted tubule (DCT), we recorded single-channel currents from the tubule segment isolated from collagenase-treated kidney. Using cell-attached patch pipettes filled with 130 mM KCl, 5.4 mM CaCl2, and 10 mM N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N'-2-ethanesulfonic acid (pH 7.4), we observed K+ channels in the basolateral membrane of DCT, having two different single-channel conductances of 48.7 +/- 1.4 (n = 9) and 60.6 +/- 1.4 pS (n = 7). Both types of channels were completely blocked by 0.1 mM BaCl2. Both channels have same open probability of approximately 0.5 at the intrinsic basolateral membrane voltage and were recorded with similar incidence. Mean open and closed times were 31.5 +/- 5.2 and 41.3 +/- 16.0 ms for the smaller channel, and 31.5 +/- 5.1 and 36.7 +/- 8.7 ms for the larger channel, respectively. These kinetic properties did not show any clear voltage dependence in both channels. Because of apparent similarity of channel kinetics, it is possible that both activities might represent different states of the same channel. For definite conclusion, however, further investigations are necessary. In three recordings from 54 successful patches, we observed a flickering channel with rapid kinetics, which was insensitive to 1 meq/l Ba2+. The conductance of this channel was 76.6 pS (n = 2). The extrapolated zero current voltage was 76.0 mV (n = 2), indicating that this channel is permeable to K+. From these results, we suggest that K+ channels constitute conductive pathways for K+ in the basolateral membrane of rabbit DCT.


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