scholarly journals An acetylcholine receptor lacking both γ and ε subunits mediates transmission in zebrafish slow muscle synapses

2011 ◽  
Vol 138 (3) ◽  
pp. 353-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Mongeon ◽  
Michael Walogorsky ◽  
Jason Urban ◽  
Gail Mandel ◽  
Fumihito Ono ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Acetylcholine Receptor ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Slow Muscle ◽  
Synaptic Function ◽  
Fast Muscle ◽  
Xenopus Laevis Oocytes ◽  
Synaptic Currents ◽  
Functional Features ◽  
Single Channel Currents

Fast and slow skeletal muscle types in larval zebrafish can be distinguished by a fivefold difference in the time course of their synaptic decay. Single-channel recordings indicate that this difference is conferred through kinetically distinct nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) isoforms. The underlying basis for this distinction was explored by cloning zebrafish muscle AChR subunit cDNAs and expressing them in Xenopus laevis oocytes. Measurements of single-channel conductance and mean open burst duration assigned α2βδε to fast muscle synaptic current. Contrary to expectations, receptors composed of only αβδ subunits (presumed to be α2βδ2 receptors) recapitulated the kinetics and conductance of slow muscle single-channel currents. Additional evidence in support of γ/ε-less receptors as mediators of slow muscle synapses was reflected in the inward current rectification of heterologously expressed α2βδ2 receptors, a property normally associated with neuronal-type nicotinic receptors. Similar rectification was reflected in both single-channel and synaptic currents in slow muscle, distinguishing them from fast muscle. The final evidence for α2βδ2 receptors in slow muscle was provided by our ability to convert fast muscle synaptic currents to those of slow muscle by knocking down ε subunit expression in vivo. Thus, for the first time, muscle synaptic function can be ascribed to a receptor isoform that is composed of only three different subunits. The unique functional features offered by the α2βδ2 receptor likely play a central role in mediating the persistent contractions characteristic to this muscle type.

scholarly journals Desensitization of Mouse Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Channels

1998 ◽  
Vol 112 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Auerbach ◽  
Gustav Akk
Keyword(s):  
Acetylcholine Receptor ◽  
Rate Constant ◽  
Binding Sites ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Ion Permeation ◽  
Activation Gate ◽  
The Status ◽  
Single Channel Currents ◽  
Cyclic Models ◽  
Channel Currents

The rate constants of acetylcholine receptor channels (AChR) desensitization and recovery were estimated from the durations and frequencies of clusters of single-channel currents. Diliganded-open AChR desensitize much faster than either unliganded- or diliganded-closed AChR, which indicates that the desensitization rate constant depends on the status of the activation gate rather than the occupancy of the transmitter binding sites. The desensitization rate constant does not change with the nature of the agonist, the membrane potential, the species of permeant cation, channel block by ACh, the subunit composition (ε or γ), or several mutations that are near the transmitter binding sites. The results are discussed in terms of cyclic models of AChR activation, desensitization, and recovery. In particular, a mechanism by which activation and desensitization are mediated by two distinct, but interrelated, gates in the ion permeation pathway is proposed.

Voltage-dependent K+ current in capillary endothelial cells isolated from guinea pig heart

1999 ◽  
Vol 277 (1) ◽  
pp. H119-H127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Dittrich ◽  
Jürgen Daut
Keyword(s):  
Guinea Pig ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Patch Clamp Technique ◽  
Guinea Pig Heart ◽  
Potential Oscillations ◽  
Time To Peak ◽  
Voltage Dependent ◽  
Capillary Endothelial Cells ◽  
Single Channel Currents

Capillary fragments were isolated from guinea pig hearts, and their electrical properties were studied using the perforated-patch and cell-attached mode of the patch-clamp technique. A voltage-dependent K+ current was discovered that was activated at potentials positive to −20 mV and showed a sigmoid rising phase. For depolarizing voltage steps from −128 to +52 mV, the time to peak was 71 ± 5 ms (mean ± SE) and the amplitude of the current was 3.7 ± 0.5 pA/pF in the presence of 5 mM external K+. The time course of inactivation was exponential with a time constant of 7.2 ± 0.5 s at +52 mV. The current was blocked by tetraethylammonium (inhibitory constant ∼3 mM) but was not affected by charybdotoxin (1 μM) or apamin (1 μM). In the cell-attached mode, depolarization-activated single-channel currents were found that inactivated completely within 30 s; the single-channel conductance was 12.3 ± 2.4 pS. The depolarization-activated K+current described here may play a role in membrane potential oscillations of the endothelium.

scholarly journals Gating of Recombinant Small-Conductance Ca-activated K+ Channels by Calcium

1998 ◽  
Vol 111 (4) ◽  
pp. 565-581 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birgit Hirschberg ◽  
James Maylie ◽  
John P. Adelman ◽  
Neil V. Marrion
Keyword(s):  
Time Course ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
K Channel ◽  
Open Probability ◽  
K Channels ◽  
Sensitive Clone ◽  
Single Channel Currents ◽  
Open States ◽  
Small Conductance

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.

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 NMDA receptor channel gating control by the pre-M1 helix

2020 ◽  
Vol 152 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Miranda J. McDaniel ◽  
Kevin K. Ogden ◽  
Steven A. Kell ◽  
Pieter B. Burger ◽  
Dennis C. Liotta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nmda Receptor ◽  
Conformational Changes ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Transmembrane Domain ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Channel Gating ◽  
Open Probability ◽  
Single Channel Currents

The NMDA receptor (NMDAR) is an ionotropic glutamate receptor formed from the tetrameric assembly of GluN1 and GluN2 subunits. Within the flexible linker between the agonist binding domain (ABD) and the M1 helix of the pore-forming transmembrane helical bundle lies a two-turn, extracellular pre-M1 helix positioned parallel to the plasma membrane and in van der Waals contact with the M3 helix thought to constitute the channel gate. The pre-M1 helix is tethered to the bilobed ABD, where agonist-induced conformational changes initiate activation. Additionally, it is a locus for de novo mutations associated with neurological disorders, is near other disease-associated de novo sites within the transmembrane domain, and is a structural determinant of subunit-selective modulators. To investigate the role of the pre-M1 helix in channel gating, we performed scanning mutagenesis across the GluN2A pre-M1 helix and recorded whole-cell macroscopic and single channel currents from HEK293 cell-attached patches. We identified two residues at which mutations perturb channel open probability, the mean open time, and the glutamate deactivation time course. We identified a subunit-specific network of aromatic amino acids located in and around the GluN2A pre-M1 helix to be important for gating. Based on these results, we are able to hypothesize about the role of the pre-M1 helix in other NMDAR subunits based on sequence and structure homology. Our results emphasize the role of the pre-M1 helix in channel gating, implicate the surrounding amino acid environment in this mechanism, and suggest unique subunit-specific contributions of pre-M1 helices to GluN1 and GluN2 gating.

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.

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