A novel GABAergic action mediated by functional coupling between GABAB-like receptor and two different high-conductance K+ channels in cricket Kenyon cells

2013 ◽  
Vol 109 (7) ◽  
pp. 1735-1745 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atsunao Nakamura ◽  
Masami Yoshino

The γ-aminobutyric acid type B (GABAB) receptor has been shown to attenuate high-voltage-activated Ca2+ currents and enhance voltage-dependent or inwardly rectifying K+ currents in a variety of neurons. In this study, we report a novel coupling of GABAB-like receptor with two different high-conductance K+ channels, Na+-activated K+ (KNa) channel and Ca2+-activated K+ (KCa) channel, in Kenyon cells isolated from the mushroom body of the cricket brain. Single-channel activities of KNa and KCa channels in response to bath applications of GABA and the GABAB-specific agonist SKF97541 were recorded with the cell-attached patch configuration. The open probability ( Po) of both KNa and KCa channels was found to be increased by bath application of GABA, and this increase in Po was antagonized by coapplication of the GABAB antagonist CGP54626, suggesting that GABAB-like receptors mediate these actions. Similarly, GABAB-specific agonist SKF97541 increased the Po of both KNa and KCa channels. Perforated-patch recordings using β-escin further revealed that SKF97541 increased the amplitude of the outward currents elicited by step depolarizations. Under current-clamp conditions, SKF97541 decreased the firing frequency of spontaneous action potential (AP) and changed the AP waveform. The amplitude and duration of AP were decreased, whereas the afterhyperpolarization of AP was increased. Resting membrane potential, however, was not significantly altered by SKF97541. Taken together, these results suggest that GABAB-like receptor is functionally coupled with both KNa and KCa channels and this coupling mechanism may serve to prevent AP formation and limit excitatory synaptic input.

2015 ◽  
Vol 114 (4) ◽  
pp. 2450-2459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Izumi Takahashi ◽  
Masami Yoshino

In this study, we examined the functional coupling between Na+-activated potassium (KNa) channels and Na+ influx through voltage-dependent Na+ channels in Kenyon cells isolated from the mushroom body of the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus. Single-channel activity of KNa channels was recorded with the cell-attached patch configuration. The open probability ( Po) of KNa channels increased with increasing Na+ concentration in a bath solution, whereas it decreased by the substitution of Na+ with an equimolar concentration of Li+. The Po of KNa channels was also found to be reduced by bath application of a high concentration of TTX (1 μM) and riluzole (100 μM), which inhibits both fast ( INaf) and persistent ( INaP) Na+ currents, whereas it was unaffected by a low concentration of TTX (10 nM), which selectively blocks INaf. Bath application of Cd2+ at a low concentration (50 μM), as an inhibitor of INaP, also decreased the Po of KNa channels. Conversely, bath application of the inorganic Ca2+-channel blockers Co2+ and Ni2+ at high concentrations (500 μM) had little effect on the Po of KNa channels, although Cd2+ (500 μM) reduced the Po of KNa channels. Perforated whole cell clamp analysis further indicated the presence of sustained outward currents for which amplitude was dependent on the amount of Na+ influx. Taken together, these results indicate that KNa channels could be activated by Na+ influx passing through voltage-dependent persistent Na+ channels. The functional significance of this coupling mechanism was discussed in relation to the membrane excitability of Kenyon cells and its possible role in the formation of long-term memory.


1997 ◽  
Vol 109 (3) ◽  
pp. 313-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Erxleben ◽  
Werner Rathmayer

Single-channel currents through calcium channels in muscle of a marine crustacean, the isopod Idotea baltica, were investigated in cell-attached patches. Inward barium currents were strongly voltage-dependent, and the channels were closed at the cell's resting membrane potential. The open probability (Po) increased e-fold for an 8.2 mV (±2.4, n = 13) depolarization. Channel openings were mainly brief (<0.3 ms) and evenly distributed throughout 100-ms pulses. Averaged, quasimacroscopic currents showed fast activation and deactivation and did not inactivate during 100-ms test pulses. Similarly, channel activity persisted at steadily depolarized holding potentials. With 200 mM Ba2+ as charge carrier, the average slope conductance from the unitary currents between +30 and +80 mV, was 20 pS (±2.6, n = 12). The proportion of long openings, which were very infrequent under control conditions, was greatly increased by preincubation of the muscle fibers with the calcium channel agonist, the dihydropyridine Bay K8644 (10–100 μM). Properties of these currents resemble those through the L-type calcium channels of mammalian nerve, smooth muscle, and cardiac muscle cells.


2009 ◽  
Vol 101 (3) ◽  
pp. 1151-1159 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Pezier ◽  
Y. V. Bobkov ◽  
B. W. Ache

The mechanism(s) of olfactory transduction in invertebrates remains to be fully understood. In lobster olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs), a nonselective sodium-gated cation (SGC) channel, a presumptive transient receptor potential (TRP)C channel homolog, plays a crucial role in olfactory transduction, at least in part by amplifying the primary transduction current. To better determine the functional role of the channel, it is important to selectively block the channel independently of other elements of the transduction cascade, causing us to search for specific pharmacological blockers of the SGC channel. Given evidence that the Na+/Ca2+ exchange inhibitor, KB-R7943, blocks mammalian TRPC channels, we studied this probe as a potential blocker of the lobster SGC channel. KB-R7943 reversibly blocked the SGC current in both inside- and outside-out patch recordings in a dose- and voltage-dependent manner. KB-R7943 decreased the channel open probability without changing single channel amplitude. KB-R7943 also reversibly and in a dose-dependent manner inhibited both the odorant-evoked discharge of lobster ORNs and the odorant-evoked whole cell current. Our findings strongly imply that KB-R7943 potently blocks the lobster SGC channel and likely does so directly and not through its ability to block the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger.


2007 ◽  
Vol 293 (1) ◽  
pp. F236-F244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ling Yu ◽  
Douglas C. Eaton ◽  
My N. Helms

To better understand how renal Na+ reabsorption is altered by heavy metal poisoning, we examined the effects of several divalent heavy metal ions (Zn2+, Ni2+, Cu2+, Pb2+, Cd2+, and Hg2+) on the activity of single epithelial Na+ channels (ENaC) in a renal epithelial cell line (A6). None of the cations changed the single-channel conductance. However, ENaC activity [measured as the number of channels ( N) × open probability ( Po)] was decreased by Cd2+ and Hg2+ and increased by Cu2+, Zn2+, and Ni2+ but was not changed by Pb2+. Of the cations that induced an increase in Na+ channel function, Zn2+ increased N, Ni2+ increased Po, and Cu2+ increased both. The cysteine modification reagent [2-(trimethylammonium)ethyl]methanethiosulfonate bromide also increased N, whereas diethylpyrocarbonate, which covalently modifies histidine residues, affected neither Po nor N. Cu2+ increased N and stimulated Po by reducing Na+ self-inhibition. Furthermore, we observed that ENaC activity is slightly voltage dependent and that the voltage dependence of ENaC is insensitive to extracellular Na+ concentration; however, apical application of Ni2+ or diethylpyrocarbonate reduced the channel voltage dependence. Thus the voltage sensor of Xenopus ENaC is different from that of typical voltage-gated channels, since voltage appears to be sensed by histidine residues in the extracellular loops of ENaC, rather than by charged amino acids in a transmembrane domain.


1993 ◽  
Vol 264 (3) ◽  
pp. F490-F495 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. W. Mangel ◽  
J. R. Raymond ◽  
J. G. Fitz

This study addresses the mechanisms responsible for regulation of high-conductance anion channels by GTP binding proteins in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. Single-channel currents were measured in inside-out membrane patches using patch-clamp techniques. Anion-selective channels with a unitary conductance of 381 +/- 8 pS activated spontaneously in 48% of excised patches. In patches with no spontaneous channel activity, addition of GppNHp, a nonhydrolyzable analogue of GTP, activated channels in 8 of 12 studies, and in patches with spontaneous channel activity, GppNHp increased open probability in 4 of 4 experiments. In contrast, GDP beta S, a nonhydrolyzable GDP analogue, inhibited both spontaneous and GppNHp-induced channel activity. In patches without spontaneous channel activity, addition of cholera toxin activated channels in five of eight studies. Interestingly, pertussis toxin had a similar effect, activating channels in five of seven previously quiescent patches. To further evaluate the possible role of inhibitory G proteins in channel regulation, activity was measured in cell-attached patches in cells transfected with the serotonin 5-HT1A receptor, which is coupled to effector mechanisms through a pertussis toxin-sensitive G protein. Stimulation of 5-HT1A-transfected cells with the receptor agonist (+/-)-8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin caused a transient decrease in open probability in either standard or high-potassium solutions. In aggregate, these findings suggest that both cholera and pertussis toxin-sensitive G proteins contribute to regulation of high-conductance anion channels in CHO cells.


2002 ◽  
Vol 120 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lai-Hua Xie ◽  
Scott A. John ◽  
James N. Weiss

Inward rectification in strong inward rectifiers such as Kir2.1 is attributed to voltage-dependent block by intracellular polyamines and Mg2+. Block by the polyamine spermine has a complex voltage dependence with shallow and steep components and complex concentration dependence. To understand the mechanism, we measured macroscopic Kir2.1 currents in excised inside-out giant patches from Xenopus oocytes expressing Kir2.1, and single channel currents in the inside-out patches from COS7 cells transfected with Kir2.1. We found that as spermine concentration or voltage increased, the shallow voltage-dependent component of spermine block at more negative voltages was caused by progressive reduction in the single channel current amplitude, without a decrease in open probability. We attributed this effect to spermine screening negative surface charges involving E224 and E299 near the inner vestibule of the channel, thereby reducing K ion permeation rate. This idea was further supported by experiments in which increasing ionic strength also decreased Kir2.1 single channel amplitude, and by mutagenesis experiments showing that this component of spermine block decreased when E224 and E299, but not D172, were neutralized. The steep voltage-dependent component of block at more depolarized voltages was attributed to spermine migrating deeper into the pore and causing fast open channel block. A quantitative model incorporating both features showed excellent agreement with the steady-state and kinetic data. In addition, this model accounts for previously described substate behavior induced by a variety of Kir2.1 channel blockers.


2002 ◽  
Vol 120 (3) ◽  
pp. 369-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J. Prince ◽  
Richard A. Pennington ◽  
Steven M. Sine

We used single-channel kinetic analysis to study the inhibitory effects of tacrine on human adult nicotinic receptors (nAChRs) transiently expressed in HEK 293 cells. Single channel recording from cell-attached patches revealed concentration- and voltage-dependent decreases in mean channel open probability produced by tacrine (IC50 4.6 μM at −70 mV, 1.6 μM at −150 mV). Two main effects of tacrine were apparent in the open- and closed-time distributions. First, the mean channel open time decreased with increasing tacrine concentration in a voltage-dependent manner, strongly suggesting that tacrine acts as an open-channel blocker. Second, tacrine produced a new class of closings whose duration increased with increasing tacrine concentration. Concentration dependence of closed-times is not predicted by sequential models of channel block, suggesting that tacrine blocks the nAChR by an unusual mechanism. To probe tacrine's mechanism of action we fitted a series of kinetic models to our data using maximum likelihood techniques. Models incorporating two tacrine binding sites in the open receptor channel gave dramatically improved fits to our data compared with the classic sequential model, which contains one site. Improved fits relative to the sequential model were also obtained with schemes incorporating a binding site in the closed channel, but only if it is assumed that the channel cannot gate with tacrine bound. Overall, the best description of our data was obtained with a model that combined two binding sites in the open channel with a single site in the closed state of the receptor.


1995 ◽  
Vol 106 (4) ◽  
pp. 641-658 ◽  
Author(s):  
M E O'Leary ◽  
L Q Chen ◽  
R G Kallen ◽  
R Horn

A pair of tyrosine residues, located on the cytoplasmic linker between the third and fourth domains of human heart sodium channels, plays a critical role in the kinetics and voltage dependence of inactivation. Substitution of these residues by glutamine (Y1494Y1495/QQ), but not phenylalanine, nearly eliminates the voltage dependence of the inactivation time constant measured from the decay of macroscopic current after a depolarization. The voltage dependence of steady state inactivation and recovery from inactivation is also decreased in YY/QQ channels. A characteristic feature of the coupling between activation and inactivation in sodium channels is a delay in development of inactivation after a depolarization. Such a delay is seen in wild-type but is abbreviated in YY/QQ channels at -30 mV. The macroscopic kinetics of activation are faster and less voltage dependent in the mutant at voltages more negative than -20 mV. Deactivation kinetics, by contrast, are not significantly different between mutant and wild-type channels at voltages more negative than -70 mV. Single-channel measurements show that the latencies for a channel to open after a depolarization are shorter and less voltage dependent in YY/QQ than in wild-type channels; however the peak open probability is not significantly affected in YY/QQ channels. These data demonstrate that rate constants involved in both activation and inactivation are altered in YY/QQ channels. These tyrosines are required for a normal coupling between activation voltage sensors and the inactivation gate. This coupling insures that the macroscopic inactivation rate is slow at negative voltages and accelerated at more positive voltages. Disruption of the coupling in YY/QQ alters the microscopic rates of both activation and inactivation.


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.


2004 ◽  
Vol 286 (2) ◽  
pp. H749-H759 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhuren Wang ◽  
Jodene R. Eldstrom ◽  
Joshua Jantzi ◽  
Edwin D. Moore ◽  
David Fedida

Voltage-dependent potassium channel trafficking and localization are regulated by proteins of the cytoskeleton, but the mechanisms by which these occur are still unclear. Using human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells as a heterologous expression system, we tested the role of the actin cytoskeleton in modulating the function of Kv4.2 channels. Pretreatment (≥1 h) of HEK cells with 5 μM cytochalasin D to disrupt the actin microfilaments greatly augmented whole cell Kv4.2 currents at potentials positive to –20 mV. However, no changes in the voltage dependence of activation and inactivation of macroscopic currents were observed to account for this increase. Similarly, single channel recordings failed to reveal any significant changes in the single channel conductance, open probability, and kinetics. However, the mean patch current was increased from 0.9 ± 0.2 pA in control to 6.7 ± 3.0 pA in the presence of cytochalasin D. Imaging experiments revealed a clear increase in the surface expression of the channels and the appearance of “bright spot” features, suggesting that large numbers of channels were being grouped at specific sites. Our data provide clear evidence that increased numbers and altered distribution of Kv4.2 channels at the cell surface are primarily the result of reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton.


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