scholarly journals Interaction of internal anions with potassium channels of the squid giant axon.

1983 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 429-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
D J Adams ◽  
G S Oxford
Keyword(s):  
Prolonged Exposure ◽  
Channel Gating ◽  
Reversal Potential ◽  
Inorganic Anions ◽  
K Channel ◽  
Delayed Rectifier ◽  
K Channels ◽  
Gating Mechanism ◽  
Inorganic Species ◽  
K Currents

The interaction of internal anions with the delayed rectifier potassium channel was studied in perfused squid axons. Changing the internal potassium salt from K+ glutamate- to KF produced a reversible decline of outward K currents and a marked slowing of the activation of K channels at all voltages. Fluoride ions exert a differential effect upon K channel gating kinetics whereby activation of IK during depolarizing steps is slowed dramatically, but the rate of closing after the step is not much altered. These effects develop with a slow time course (30-60 min) and are specific for K channels over Na channels. Both the amplitude and activation rate of IK were restored within seconds upon return to internal glutamate solutions. The fluoride effect is independent of the external K+ concentration and test membrane potential, and does not recover with repetitive application of depolarizing voltage steps. Of 11 different anions tested, all inorganic species induced similar decreases and slowing of IK, while K currents were maintained during extended perfusion with several organic anions. Anions do not alter the reversal potential or shape of the instantaneous current-voltage relation of open K channels. The effect of prolonged exposure to internal fluoride could be partially reversed by the addition of cationic K channel blocking agents such as TEA+, 4-AP+, and Cs+. The competitive antagonism between inorganic anions and internal cationic K channel blockers suggests that they may interact at a related site(s). These results indicate that inorganic anions modify part of the K channel gating mechanism (activation) at a locus near the inner channel surface.

scholarly journals External monovalent cations that impede the closing of K channels.

1986 ◽  
Vol 87 (5) ◽  
pp. 795-816 ◽  
Author(s):  
D R Matteson ◽  
R P Swenson
Keyword(s):  
Channel Gating ◽  
Reversal Potential ◽  
Monovalent Cation ◽  
K Channel ◽  
Monovalent Cations ◽  
Large Shift ◽  
K Channels ◽  
Voltage Curve ◽  
Voltage Relationship ◽  
Closing Rate

We have examined the effects of a variety of monovalent cations on K channel gating in squid giant axons. The addition of the permeant cations K, Rb, or Cs to the external medium decreases the channel closing rate and causes a negative shift of the conductance-voltage relationship. Both of these effects are larger in Rb than in K. The opening kinetics of the K channel are, on the other hand, unaffected by these monovalent cations. Other permeant species, like NH4 and Tl, slightly increase the closing rate, whereas the relatively impermeant cations Na, Li, and Tris have little or no effect on K channel gating. The permeant cations have different effects on the reversal potential and the shape of the instantaneous current-voltage relationship. These effects give information about entry and binding of the cations in K channels. Rb, for example, enters the pore readily (large shift of the reversal potential), but binds tightly to the channel interior, inhibiting current flow. We find a correlation between the occupancy of the channel by a monovalent cation and the closing rate, and conclude that the presence of a monovalent cation in the pore inhibits channel closing, and thereby causes a leftward shift in the activation-voltage curve. In causing these effects, the cations appear to bind near the inner surface of the membrane.

scholarly journals Saxitoxin Is a Gating Modifier of hERG K+ Channels

2003 ◽  
Vol 121 (6) ◽  
pp. 583-598 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jixin Wang ◽  
Joseph J. Salata ◽  
Paul B. Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Channel Gating ◽  
Cellular Membrane ◽  
Membrane Potentials ◽  
Hek293 Cells ◽  
K Channel ◽  
K Channels ◽  
Channel Opening ◽  
Kinetics Of ◽  
K Currents ◽  
Voltage Activation

Potassium (K+) channels mediate numerous electrical events in excitable cells, including cellular membrane potential repolarization. The hERG K+ channel plays an important role in myocardial repolarization, and inhibition of these K+ channels is associated with long QT syndromes that can cause fatal cardiac arrhythmias. In this study, we identify saxitoxin (STX) as a hERG channel modifier and investigate the mechanism using heterologous expression of the recombinant channel in HEK293 cells. In the presence of STX, channels opened slower during strong depolarizations, and they closed much faster upon repolarization, suggesting that toxin-bound channels can still open but are modified, and that STX does not simply block the ion conduction pore. STX decreased hERG K+ currents by stabilizing closed channel states visualized as shifts in the voltage dependence of channel opening to more depolarized membrane potentials. The concentration dependence for steady-state modification as well as the kinetics of onset and recovery indicate that multiple STX molecules bind to the channel. Rapid application of STX revealed an apparent “agonist-like” effect in which K+ currents were transiently increased. The mechanism of this effect was found to be an effect on the channel voltage-inactivation relationship. Because the kinetics of inactivation are rapid relative to activation for this channel, the increase in K+ current appeared quickly and could be subverted by a decrease in K+ currents due to the shift in the voltage-activation relationship at some membrane potentials. The results are consistent with a simple model in which STX binds to the hERG K+ channel at multiple sites and alters the energetics of channel gating by shifting both the voltage-inactivation and voltage-activation processes. The results suggest a novel extracellular mechanism for pharmacological manipulation of this channel through allosteric coupling to channel gating.

scholarly journals A whole-cell and single-channel study of the voltage-dependent outward potassium current in avian hepatocytes.

1988 ◽  
Vol 91 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Marchetti ◽  
R T Premont ◽  
A M Brown
Keyword(s):  
Single Channel ◽  
Reversal Potential ◽  
Outward Current ◽  
Single Type ◽  
K Channel ◽  
Delayed Rectifier ◽  
Patch Clamp Technique ◽  
Voltage Dependent ◽  
Single Channel Currents ◽  
K Currents

Voltage-dependent membrane currents were studied in dissociated hepatocytes from chick, using the patch-clamp technique. All cells had voltage-dependent outward K+ currents; in 10% of the cells, a fast, transient, tetrodotoxin-sensitive Na+ current was identified. None of the cells had voltage-dependent inward Ca2+ currents. The K+ current activated at a membrane potential of about -10 mV, had a sigmoidal time course, and did not inactivate in 500 ms. The maximum outward conductance was 6.6 +/- 2.4 nS in 18 cells. The reversal potential, estimated from tail current measurements, shifted by 50 mV per 10-fold increase in the external K+ concentration. The current traces were fitted by n2 kinetics with voltage-dependent time constants. Omitting Ca2+ from the external bath or buffering the internal Ca2+ with EGTA did not alter the outward current, which shows that Ca2+-activated K+ currents were not present. 1-5 mM 4-aminopyridine, 0.5-2 mM BaCl2, and 0.1-1 mM CdCl2 reversibly inhibited the current. The block caused by Ba was voltage dependent. Single-channel currents were recorded in cell-attached and outside-out patches. The mean unitary conductance was 7 pS, and the channels displayed bursting kinetics. Thus, avian hepatocytes have a single type of K+ channel belonging to the delayed rectifier class of K+ channels.

Heterotetramer formation and charybdotoxin sensitivity of two K+ channels cloned from smooth muscle

1994 ◽  
Vol 267 (6) ◽  
pp. C1729-C1733 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. N. Russell ◽  
K. E. Overturf ◽  
B. Horowitz
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Electrical Activity ◽  
K Channel ◽  
Delayed Rectifier ◽  
Excitable Cells ◽  
Pore Region ◽  
K Channels ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
K Currents

Delayed rectifier K+ channels are involved in the electrical activity of all excitable cells. The relationship between native K+ currents recorded from these cells and cloned K+ channel cDNAs has been difficult to ascertain partly because of contradictions in pharmacological characteristics between native and expressed currents. Through the study of the charybdotoxin (CTX) pharmacology of two cloned smooth muscle delayed rectifier K+ channels (cKv 1.2 and cKv1.5) expressed in oocytes, evidence for heterotetramer formation was obtained. We have shown that the presence of even a single CTX-insensitive subunit renders the heterotetrameric channel insensitive to CTX. The two K+ channel clones differ in an amino acid at the mouth of the pore region, which may be in a position to block the access of CTX to its binding site and hence determine CTX sensitivity of the heterotetrameric channel. These results may explain discrepancies reported between native and cloned smooth muscle K+ channels.

A novel type of depolarization-activated K+ current in isolated adult rat atrial myocytes

1991 ◽  
Vol 260 (4) ◽  
pp. H1236-H1247 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. A. Boyle ◽  
J. M. Nerbonne
Keyword(s):  
Ventricular Myocytes ◽  
Outward Current ◽  
Cdna Libraries ◽  
K Channel ◽  
Delayed Rectifier ◽  
Atrial Myocytes ◽  
Patch Clamp Recording ◽  
K Channels ◽  
Adult Rat ◽  
K Currents

To determine the types of voltage-gated K+ channels controlling action potential repolarization in atrial cells, we have characterized the properties of depolarization-activated K+ channels in isolated adult rat atrial myocytes using the whole cell patch-clamp recording technique. On membrane depolarization, Ca2(+)-independent outward K+ currents in these cells begin to activate at approximately -40mV. At all test potentials, the currents activate rapidly after a delay, and there is little or no decay of the peak outward current amplitude during brief (100 ms) depolarizations. In addition, the currents show little steady-state inactivation at membrane potentials negative to -60 mV. The currents are blocked effectively by 1-5 mM 4-aminopyridine but are relatively insensitive to extracellular tetraethylammonium at concentrations up to 50 mM. Based on the measured time- and voltage-dependent properties and the pharmacological sensitivity of the currents, we suggest that the depolarization-activated K+ channels underlying the macroscopic currents in adult rat atrial myocytes are distinct from those described previously in other myocardial preparations, including adult rat ventricular myocytes. Interestingly, the outward K+ currents characterized here in isolated adult rat atrial myocytes are remarkably similar to those of several recently described "delayed rectifier" K+ channel genes isolated from rat brain cDNA libraries and expressed in Xenopus oocytes, suggesting that similar K+ currents are likely present in cells of the mammalian central nervous system.

scholarly journals Voltage-gated potassium channels in brown fat cells.

1989 ◽  
Vol 93 (3) ◽  
pp. 451-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
M T Lucero ◽  
P A Pappone
Keyword(s):  
Single Channel ◽  
Reversal Potential ◽  
Brown Fat ◽  
Membrane Currents ◽  
Delayed Rectifier ◽  
Fat Cells ◽  
K Channels ◽  
Voltage Gated ◽  
K Currents ◽  
External K

We studied the membrane currents of isolated cultured brown fat cells from neonatal rats using whole-cell and single-channel voltage-clamp recording. All brown fat cells that were recorded from had voltage-gated K currents as their predominant membrane current. No inward currents were seen in these experiments. The K currents of brown fat cells resemble the delayed rectifier currents of nerve and muscle cells. The channels were highly selective for K+, showing a 58-mV change in reversal potential for a 10-fold change in the external [K+]. Their selectivity was typical for K channels, with relative permeabilities of K+ greater than Rb+ greater than NH+4 much greater than Cs+, Na+. The K currents in brown adipocytes activated with a sigmoidal delay after depolarizations to membrane potentials positive to -50 mV. Activation was half maximal at a potential of -28 mV and did not require the presence of significant concentrations of internal calcium. Maximal voltage-activated K conductance averaged 20 nS in high external K+ solutions. The K currents inactivated slowly with sustained depolarization with time constants for the inactivation process on the order of hundreds of milliseconds to tens of seconds. The K channels had an average single-channel conductance of 9 pS and a channel density of approximately 1,000 channels/cell. The K current was blocked by tetraethylammonium or 4-aminopyridine with half maximal block occurring at concentrations of 1-2 mM for either blocker. K currents were unaffected by two blockers of Ca2+-activated K channels, charybdotoxin and apamin. Bath-applied norepinephrine did not affect the K currents or other membrane currents under our experimental conditions. These properties of the K channels indicate that they could produce an increase in the K+ permeability of the brown fat cell membrane during the depolarization that accompanies norepinephrine-stimulated thermogenesis, but that they do not contribute directly to the norepinephrine-induced depolarization.

scholarly journals Effector Contributions to Gβγ-mediated Signaling as Revealed by Muscarinic Potassium Channel Gating

1997 ◽  
Vol 109 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatyana T. Ivanova-Nikolova ◽  
Gerda E. Breitwieser
Keyword(s):  
G Proteins ◽  
Channel Gating ◽  
K Channel ◽  
Heterotrimeric G Proteins ◽  
K Channels ◽  
Protein Activation ◽  
G Protein Activation ◽  
Extracellular Stimuli ◽  
Acetylcholine Concentration ◽  
Signaling Process

Receptor-mediated activation of heterotrimeric G proteins leading to dissociation of the Gα subunit from Gβγ is a highly conserved signaling strategy used by numerous extracellular stimuli. Although Gβγ subunits regulate a variety of effectors, including kinases, cyclases, phospholipases, and ion channels (Clapham, D.E., and E.J. Neer. 1993. Nature (Lond.). 365:403–406), few tools exist for probing instantaneous Gβγ-effector interactions, and little is known about the kinetic contributions of effectors to the signaling process. In this study, we used the atrial muscarinic K+ channel, which is activated by direct interactions with Gβγ subunits (Logothetis, D.E., Y. Kurachi, J. Galper, E.J. Neer, and D.E. Clap. 1987. Nature (Lond.). 325:321–326; Wickman, K., J.A. Iniguez-Liuhi, P.A. Davenport, R. Taussig, G.B. Krapivinsky, M.E. Linder, A.G. Gilman, and D.E. Clapham. 1994. Nature (Lond.). 366: 654–663; Huang, C.-L., P.A. Slesinger, P.J. Casey, Y.N. Jan, and L.Y. Jan. 1995. Neuron. 15:1133–1143), as a sensitive reporter of the dynamics of Gβγ-effector interactions. Muscarinic K+ channels exhibit bursting behavior upon G protein activation, shifting between three distinct functional modes, characterized by the frequency of channel openings during individual bursts. Acetylcholine concentration (and by inference, the concentration of activated Gβγ) controls the fraction of time spent in each mode without changing either the burst duration or channel gating within individual modes. The picture which emerges is of a Gβγ effector with allosteric regulation and an intrinsic “off” switch which serves to limit its own activation. These two features combine to establish exquisite channel sensitivity to changes in Gβγ concentration, and may be indicative of the factors regulating other Gβγ-modulated effectors.

Molecular site for nucleotide binding on an ATP-sensitive renal K+ channel (ROMK2)

1996 ◽  
Vol 271 (2) ◽  
pp. F275-F285 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. M. McNicholas ◽  
Y. Yang ◽  
G. Giebisch ◽  
S. C. Hebert
Keyword(s):  
Channel Gating ◽  
Direct Interaction ◽  
K Channel ◽  
Amino Terminus ◽  
Atp Binding Site ◽  
Gating Mechanism ◽  
Alternatively Spliced ◽  
Carboxy Terminal ◽  
Apical Membranes

ATP-sensitive, inwardly rectifying K+ channels are present in apical membranes of the distal nephron and play a major role in K+ recycling and secretion. The cloned renal K+ channel, ROMK1, is a candidate for the renal epithelial K+ channel, since it shares many functional characteristics with the native channel. Additionally, ROMK1 contains a putative carboxy-terminal ATP-binding site. Although ROMK1 channel activity could be reactivated by cytosolic Mg-ATP after rundown, the role of nucleotides in channel gating was less certain. We now show that an alternatively spliced transcript of the ROMK channel gene, ROMK2, which encodes a K+ channel with a truncated amino terminus, expresses an ATP-regulated and ATP-sensitive K+ channel (IKATP). Differences in the amino terminus of ROMK isoforms alters the sensitivity of the channel-gating mechanism to ATP. To test whether ATP sensitivity of renal IKATP is mediated by direct interaction of nucleotide, point mutation of specific residues within the ROMK2 phosphate loop (P-loop) were investigated. These either enhanced or attenuated the sensitivity to both activation and inhibition by Mg-ATP, thus demonstrating a direct interaction of nucleotide with the channel-forming polypeptide.

Effect of H+ on ATP-regulated K+ channels in feline ventricular myocytes

1991 ◽  
Vol 261 (3) ◽  
pp. H755-H761 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Cuevas ◽  
A. L. Bassett ◽  
J. S. Cameron ◽  
T. Furukawa ◽  
R. J. Myerburg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ventricular Myocytes ◽  
Reversal Potential ◽  
State Probability ◽  
K Channel ◽  
K Channels ◽  
Open Time ◽  
Current Voltage ◽  
Effects Of Ph ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Current Voltage Relationship

Using patch-clamp techniques, we examined the effects of pH on properties of ATP-regulated K+ channels in single myocytes isolated from cat left ventricles. ATP-K+ channels of inside-out patches were bilaterally exposed to 140 mM K+ solutions (22 degrees C). In the absence of ATP and Mg2+, the channels had a linear current-voltage relationship during hyperpolarizing pulses (20-100 mV negative to the reversal potential) at both intracellular pH (pHi) 7.4 and 6.5, but the slope conductance was 66 +/- 2 pS at pHi 7.4 and 46 +/- 2 pS at pHi 6.5. Lowering pHi from 7.4 to 6.5 increased the mean open time (from 15.9 +/- 4.6 to 35.9 +/- 7.9 ms, P less than 0.01) but decreased the open-state probability measured at 50 mV positive to the reversal potential (from 0.35 +/- 0.04 to 0.16 +/- 0.04, P less than 0.01). However, in the presence of both 0.2 mM ATP and 1 mM MgCl2, lowering pHi from 7.4 to 6.5 increased the mean open time (from 5.0 +/- 2.6 to 17.9 +/- 5.9 ms, P less than 0.01) and the open-state probability (from 0.025 +/- 0.010 to 0.098 +/- 0.024, P less than 0.01). These data indicate that increases in intracellular H+ concentration modulate cardiac ATP-K+ channel properties. Ischemia-associated decreases in pHi may enhance the opening of cardiac ATP-regulated K+ channels and resultant action potential shortening.

scholarly journals Molecular identification of SqKv1A. A candidate for the delayed rectifier K channel in squid giant axon.

1996 ◽  
Vol 108 (3) ◽  
pp. 207-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
J J Rosenthal ◽  
R G Vickery ◽  
W F Gilly
Keyword(s):  
Time Course ◽  
Xenopus Oocytes ◽  
Giant Axon ◽  
K Channel ◽  
Delayed Rectifier ◽  
Giant Fiber ◽  
Western Blots ◽  
Internal Solution ◽  
Giant Axons ◽  
K Currents

We have cloned the cDNA for a squid Kvl potassium channel (SqKv1A). SqKv1A mRNA is selectively expressed in giant fiber lobe (GFL) neurons, the somata of the giant axons. Western blots detect two forms of SqKv1A in both GFL neuron and giant axon samples. Functional properties of SqKv1A currents expressed in Xenopus oocytes are very similar to macroscopic currents in GFL neurons and giant axons. Macroscopic K currents in GFL neuron cell bodies, giant axons, and in Xenopus oocytes expressing SqKv1A, activate rapidly and inactivate incompletely over a time course of several hundred ms. Oocytes injected with SqKv1A cRNA express channels of two conductance classes, estimated to be 13 and 20 pS in an internal solution containing 470 mM K. SqKv1A is thus a good candidate for the "20 pS" K channel that accounts for the majority of rapidly activating K conductance in both GFL neuron cell bodies and the giant axon.

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