scholarly journals Pharmacological characterization of the serotonin-sensitive potassium channel of Aplysia sensory neurons.

1987 ◽  
Vol 90 (4) ◽  
pp. 587-608 ◽  
Author(s):  
M J Shuster ◽  
S A Siegelbaum

The effects of a variety of K+ channel blockers on current flow through single serotonin-sensitive K+ channels (the S channels) of Aplysia sensory neurons were studied using the patch-clamp technique. Tetraethylammonium (TEA), 4-aminopyridine (4-AP), and Co2+ and Ba2+ were first applied to the external membrane surface using cell-free outside-out patches. At concentrations up to 10 mM, these agents had little or no effect on single S-channel currents. At higher concentrations, external TEA acted as a fast open-channel blocker, reducing the single-channel current amplitude according to a simple one-to-one binding scheme with an apparent Kd of 90 mM. Blockage by external TEA is voltage independent. Internal TEA also acts as an open-channel blocker, with an apparent Kd of approximately 40 mM and a relatively weak voltage dependence, corresponding to an apparent electrical distance to the internal TEA-binding site of 0.1. Both internal and external TEA block the open channel selectively, with an affinity that is 10-100-fold greater than the affinity for the closed channel. Internal Ba2+ acts as a slow channel blocker, producing long closures of the channel, and binding with an apparent Kd of approximately 25-30 microM. These results show that single S-channel currents share a similar pharmacological profile with the macroscopic S current previously characterized with voltage clamp. On the basis of these results, a structural model for S-channel opening is proposed.

1998 ◽  
Vol 111 (4) ◽  
pp. 539-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fred S.P. Chen ◽  
David Fedida

4-Aminopyridine (4-AP) binds to potassium channels at a site or sites in the inner mouth of the pore and is thought to prevent channel opening. The return of hKv1.5 off-gating charge upon repolarization is accelerated by 4-AP and it has been suggested that 4-AP blocks slow conformational rearrangements during late closed states that are necessary for channel opening. On the other hand, quinidine, an open channel blocker, slows the return or immobilizes off-gating charge only at opening potentials (>−25 mV). The aim of this study was to use quini-dine as a probe of open channels to test the kinetic state of 4-AP-blocked channels. In the presence of 0.2–1 mM 4-AP, quinidine slowed charge return and caused partial charge immobilization, corresponding to an increase in the Kd of ∼20-fold. Peak off-gating currents were reduced and decay was slowed ∼2- to 2.5-fold at potentials negative to the threshold of channel activation and during depolarizations shorter than normally required for channel activation. This demonstrated access of quinidine to 4-AP-blocked channels, a lack of competition between the two drugs, and implied allosteric modulation of the quinidine binding site by 4-AP resident within the channel. Single channel recordings also showed that quinidine could modulate the 4-AP-induced closure of the channels, with the result that frequent channel reopenings were observed when both drugs were present. We propose that 4-AP-blocked channels exist in a partially open, nonconducting state that allows access to quinidine, even at more negative potentials and during shorter depolarizations than those required for channel activation.


1998 ◽  
Vol 275 (3) ◽  
pp. F415-F422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon G. MacGregor ◽  
Jason Z. Xu ◽  
Carmel M. McNicholas ◽  
Gerhard Giebisch ◽  
Steven C. Hebert

The activity of the cloned renal K+ channel (ROMK2) is dependent on a balance between phosphorylation and dephosphorylation. There are only three protein kinase A (PKA) sites on ROMK2, with the phosphorylated residues being serine-25 (S25), serine-200 (S200), and serine-294 (S294) (Z.-C. Xu, Y. Yang, and S. C. Hebert. J. Biol. Chem. 271: 9313–9319, 1996). We previously mutated these sites from serine to alanine to study the contribution of each site to overall channel function. Here we have studied each of these single PKA site mutants using the single-channel configuration of the patch-clamp technique. Both COOH-terminal mutations at sites S200A and S294A showed a decreased open channel probability ( P o), whereas the NH2-terminal mutation at site S25A showed no change in P o compared with wild-type ROMK2. The decrease in P o for the S200A and S294A mutants was caused by the additional presence of a long closed state. In contrast, the occurrence of the S25A channel was ∼66% less, suggesting fewer active channels at the membrane. The S200A and S294A channels had different kinetics compared with wild-type ROMK2 channels, showing an increased occurrence of sublevels. Similar kinetics were observed when wild-type ROMK2 was excised and exposed to dephosphorylating conditions, indicating that these effects are specifically a property of the partially phosphorylated channel and not due to an unrelated effect of the mutation.


1989 ◽  
Vol 145 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-184
Author(s):  
D. Yamamoto ◽  
N. Suzuki

Permeability and gating properties of single, non-inactivating, K+ channel currents in cultured Drosophila neurons were studied using the gigaohm-seal patch-clamp technique. The non-inactivating K+ currents were activated by depolarizing the membrane to −30 mV or to more positive potentials. The slope conductance of the channel was estimated to be 17.6 +/− 3.70 pS when the cytoplasmic side of the inside-out membrane patch was perfused with solutions containing 145 mmoll-1 K+. The single-channel conductance was temperature-sensitive, with a Q10 of 1.44 between 10 and 20 degrees C. Single-channel currents could be recorded when the cytoplasmic K+ was replaced with NH4+, Rb+ or Na+, but not with Cs+. The conductance ratio of the channel for these cations was: K+ (1) greater than NH4+(0.53) greater than Rb+ (0.47) greater than Na+ (0.44). Tetraethylammonium (TEA+) ions applied at a concentration of 10 mmoll-1 to the cytoplasmic side of the membrane increased the frequency of ‘blank’ traces which contained no channel openings during repetitive depolarization. In addition, single-channel amplitude was reduced by about 20%. The open-time distribution was fitted by a single exponential function, whereas the closed-time distribution required a three-exponential fit. Permeability and gating properties of single, non-inactivating K+ channel currents in neurons of eag, a mutant which has defects in the delayed rectifier K+ channel, were indistinguishable from those recorded from wild-type neurons.


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.


1996 ◽  
Vol 199 (3) ◽  
pp. 537-548
Author(s):  
W B Alshuaib ◽  
L Byerly

A number of Drosophila learning mutants have defective intracellular second-messenger systems. In an effort to develop techniques that will allow direct measurement of the effects of these mutations on whole-cell neuronal membrane currents, the perforated-patch whole-cell (PPWC) technique has been applied to cleavage-arrested cultured embryonic Drosophila neurons. This technique permits the measurement of membrane currents without disturbing the intracellular environment. As a result of the maintenance of the intracellular environment, Drosophila neuron currents are found to be much more stable than when measured using the conventional whole-cell (CWC) patch-clamp technique. Ca2+ channel currents, which typically 'wash out' within a few minutes of the beginning of CWC recording, are stable for the duration of the seal (tens of minutes) when measured using the PPWC technique. Since the learning mutations dunce and rutabaga disrupt cyclic AMP signalling, the action of externally applied dibutyryl cyclic AMP (db-cAMP) and theophylline on Ca2+ and K+ channel currents were studied. db-cAMP and theophylline enhanced the Ba2+ current, carried by Ca2+ channels, but had no effect on the K+ current in the cleavage-arrested neurons. However, the large variability and reduction in density of Ba2+ and K+ currents raise questions about the suitability of using these cleavage-arrested cells as models for Drosophila neurons.


2018 ◽  
Vol 140 ◽  
pp. 217-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Kaniakova ◽  
Lenka Kleteckova ◽  
Katarina Lichnerova ◽  
Kristina Holubova ◽  
Kristyna Skrenkova ◽  
...  

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