scholarly journals The voltage-sensing domain of a phosphatase gates the pore of a potassium channel

2013 ◽  
Vol 141 (3) ◽  
pp. 389-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Arrigoni ◽  
Indra Schroeder ◽  
Giulia Romani ◽  
James L. Van Etten ◽  
Gerhard Thiel ◽  
...  

The modular architecture of voltage-gated K+ (Kv) channels suggests that they resulted from the fusion of a voltage-sensing domain (VSD) to a pore module. Here, we show that the VSD of Ciona intestinalis phosphatase (Ci-VSP) fused to the viral channel Kcv creates KvSynth1, a functional voltage-gated, outwardly rectifying K+ channel. KvSynth1 displays the summed features of its individual components: pore properties of Kcv (selectivity and filter gating) and voltage dependence of Ci-VSP (V1/2 = +56 mV; z of ∼1), including the depolarization-induced mode shift. The degree of outward rectification of the channel is critically dependent on the length of the linker more than on its amino acid composition. This highlights a mechanistic role of the linker in transmitting the movement of the sensor to the pore and shows that electromechanical coupling can occur without coevolution of the two domains.

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (9) ◽  
pp. 495-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Zhu ◽  
Xu Song ◽  
Jing Zhou ◽  
Yixin Wang ◽  
Jianxun Xia ◽  
...  

2007 ◽  
Vol 130 (6) ◽  
pp. 601-610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Bruening-Wright ◽  
Wei-Sheng Lee ◽  
John P. Adelman ◽  
James Maylie

Small conductance calcium-gated potassium (SK) channels share an overall topology with voltage-gated potassium (Kv) channels, but are distinct in that they are gated solely by calcium (Ca2+), not voltage. For Kv channels there is strong evidence for an activation gate at the intracellular end of the pore, which was not revealed by substituted cysteine accessibility of the homologous region in SK2 channels. In this study, the divalent ions cadmium (Cd2+) and barium (Ba2+), and 2-aminoethyl methanethiosulfonate (MTSEA) were used to probe three sites in the SK2 channel pore, each intracellular to (on the selectivity filter side of) the region that forms the intracellular activation gate of voltage-gated ion channels. We report that Cd2+ applied to the intracellular side of the membrane can modify a cysteine introduced to a site (V391C) just intracellular to the putative activation gate whether channels are open or closed. Similarly, MTSEA applied to the intracellular side of the membrane can access a cysteine residue (A384C) that, based on homology to potassium (K) channel crystal structures (i.e., the KcsA/MthK model), resides one amino acid intracellular to the glycine gating hinge. Cd2+ and MTSEA modify with similar rates whether the channels are open or closed. In contrast, Ba2+ applied to the intracellular side of the membrane, which is believed to block at the intracellular end of the selectivity filter, blocks open but not closed channels when applied to the cytoplasmic face of rSK2 channels. Moreover, Ba2+ is trapped in SK2 channels when applied to open channels that are subsequently closed. Ba2+ pre-block slows MTSEA modification of A384C in open but not in closed (Ba2+-trapped) channels. The findings suggest that the SK channel activation gate resides deep in the vestibule of the channel, perhaps in the selectivity filter itself.


2007 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 1080-1082 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.W. Claydon ◽  
D. Fedida

VCF (voltage clamp fluorimetry) provides a powerful technique to observe real-time conformational changes that are associated with ion channel gating. The present review highlights the insights such experiments have provided in understanding Kv (voltage-gated potassium) channel gating, with particular emphasis on the study of mammalian Kv1 channels. Further applications of VCF that would contribute to our understanding of the modulation of Kv channels in health and disease are also discussed.


2000 ◽  
Vol 116 (5) ◽  
pp. 623-636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eli Loots ◽  
Ehud Y. Isacoff

The mechanism by which physiological signals regulate the conformation of molecular gates that open and close ion channels is poorly understood. Voltage clamp fluorometry was used to ask how the voltage-sensing S4 transmembrane domain is coupled to the slow inactivation gate in the pore domain of the Shaker K+ channel. Fluorophores attached at several sites in S4 indicate that the voltage-sensing rearrangements are followed by an additional inactivation motion. Fluorophores attached at the perimeter of the pore domain indicate that the inactivation rearrangement projects from the selectivity filter out to the interface with the voltage-sensing domain. Some of the pore domain sites also sense activation, and this appears to be due to a direct interaction with S4 based on the finding that S4 comes into close enough proximity to the pore domain for a pore mutation to alter the nanoenvironment of an S4-attached fluorophore. We propose that activation produces an S4–pore domain interaction that disrupts a bond between the S4 contact site on the pore domain and the outer end of S6. Our results indicate that this bond holds the slow inactivation gate open and, therefore, we propose that this S4-induced bond disruption triggers inactivation.


2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (34) ◽  
pp. E8086-E8095 ◽  
Author(s):  
Galen E. Flynn ◽  
William N. Zagotta

Hyperpolarization-activated, cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) ion channels are both voltage- and ligand-activated membrane proteins that contribute to electrical excitability and pace-making activity in cardiac and neuronal cells. These channels are members of the voltage-gated Kv channel superfamily and cyclic nucleotide-binding domain subfamily of ion channels. HCN channels have a unique feature that distinguishes them from other voltage-gated channels: the HCN channel pore opens in response to hyperpolarizing voltages instead of depolarizing voltages. In the canonical model of electromechanical coupling, based on Kv channels, a change in membrane voltage activates the voltage-sensing domains (VSD) and the activation energy passes to the pore domain (PD) through a covalent linker that connects the VSD to the PD. In this investigation, the covalent linkage between the VSD and PD, the S4-S5 linker, and nearby regions of spHCN channels were mutated to determine the functional role each plays in hyperpolarization-dependent activation. The results show that: (i) the S4-S5 linker is not required for hyperpolarization-dependent activation or ligand-dependent gating; (ii) the S4 C-terminal region (S4C-term) is not necessary for ligand-dependent gating but is required for hyperpolarization-dependent activation and acts like an autoinhibitory domain on the PD; (iii) the S5N-term region is involved in VSD–PD coupling and holding the pore closed; and (iv) spHCN channels have two voltage-dependent processes, a hyperpolarization-dependent activation and a depolarization-dependent recovery from inactivation. These results are inconsistent with the canonical model of VSD–PD coupling in Kv channels and elucidate the mechanism for hyperpolarization-dependent activation of HCN channels.


Acta Naturae ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 134-139
Author(s):  
M. Yu. Myshkin ◽  
A. S. Paramonov ◽  
D. S. Kulbatsky ◽  
E. A. Surkova ◽  
A. A. Berkut ◽  
...  

Voltage-gated sodium channels (NaV) have a modular architecture and contain five membrane domains. The central pore domain is responsible for ion conduction and contains a selectivity filter, while the four peripheral voltage-sensing domains (VSD-I/IV) are responsible for activation and rapid inactivation of the channel. Gating modifier toxins from arthropod venoms interact with VSDs, influencing the activation and/or inactivation of the channel, and may serve as prototypes of new drugs for the treatment of various channelopathies and pain syndromes. The toxin-binding sites located on VSD-I, II and IV of mammalian NaV channels have been previously described. In this work, using the example of the Hm-3 toxin from the crab spider Heriaeus melloteei, we showed the presence of a toxin-binding site on VSD-III of the human skeletal muscle NaV1.4 channel. A developed cell-free protein synthesis system provided milligram quantities of isolated (separated from the channel) VSD-III and its 15N-labeled analogue. The interactions between VSD-III and Hm-3 were studied by NMR spectroscopy in the membrane-like environment of DPC/LDAO (1 : 1) micelles. Hm-3 has a relatively high affinity to VSD-III (dissociation constant of the complex Kd ~6 M), comparable to the affinity to VSD-I and exceeding the affinity to VSD-II. Within the complex, the positively charged Lys25 and Lys28 residues of the toxin probably interact with the S1S2 extracellular loop of VSD-III. The Hm-3 molecule also contacts the lipid bilayer surrounding the channel.


FEBS Letters ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 589 (22) ◽  
pp. 3471-3478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Castillo ◽  
Amaury Pupo ◽  
David Baez-Nieto ◽  
Gustavo F. Contreras ◽  
Francisco J. Morera ◽  
...  

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document