scholarly journals Mechanisms of IhERG/IKr Modulation by α1-Adrenoceptors in HEK293 Cells and Cardiac Myocytes

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 1261-1273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janire Urrutia ◽  
Aintzane Alday ◽  
Mónica Gallego ◽  
L. Layse Malagueta-Vieira ◽  
Ivan Arael Aréchiga-Figueroa ◽  
...  

Background: The rapid delayed rectifier K+ current (IKr), carried by the hERG protein, is one of the main repolarising currents in the human heart and a reduction of this current increases the risk of ventricular fibrillation. α1-adrenoceptors (α1-AR) activation reduces IKr but, despite the clear relationship between an increase in the sympathetic tone and arrhythmias, the mechanisms underlying the α1-AR regulation of the hERG channel are controversial. Thus, we aimed to investigate the mechanisms by which α1-AR stimulation regulates IKr. Methods: α1-adrenoceptors, hERG channels, auxiliary subunits minK and MIRP1, the non PIP2-interacting mutant D-hERG (with a deletion of the 883-894 amino acids) in the C-terminal and the non PKC-phosphorylable mutant N-terminal truncated-hERG (NTK-hERG) were transfected in HEK293 cells. Cell membranes were extracted by centrifugation and the different proteins were visualized by Western blot. Potassium currents were recorded by the patch-clamp technique. IKr was recorded in isolated feline cardiac myocytes. Results: Activation of the α1-AR reduces the amplitude of IhERG and IKr through a positive shift in the activation half voltage, which reduces the channel availability at physiological membrane potentials. The intracellular pathway connecting the α1-AR to the hERG channel in HEK293 cells includes activation of the Gαq protein, PLC activation and PIP2 hydrolysis, activation of PKC and direct phosphorylation of the hERG channel N-terminal. The PKC-mediated IKr channel phosphorylation and subsequent IKr reduction after α1-AR stimulation was corroborated in feline cardiac myocytes. Conclusions: These findings clarify the link between sympathetic nervous system hyperactivity and IKr reduction, one of the best characterized causes of torsades de pointes and ventricular fibrillation.

2005 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 832-840 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Guthrie ◽  
Frederick S. Livingston ◽  
Ueli Gubler ◽  
Ralph Garippa

Several commercially available pharmaceutical compounds have been shown to block the I Krcurrent of the cardiac action potential. This effect can cause a prolongation of the electrocardiogram QTinterval and a delay in ventricular repolarization. The Food and Drug Administration recommends that all new potential drug candidates be assessed for I Krblock to avoid a potentially lethal cardiac arrhythmia known as torsades de pointes. Direct compound interaction with the human ether-a-go-go– related gene (hERG) product, a delayed rectifier potassium channel, has been identified as a molecular mechanism of I Kr block. One strategy to identify compounds withh ERGliability is to monitor hERGcurrent inhibition using electrophysiology techniques. The authors describe the Ion Works HT ™instrument as a tool for screening cell lines expressing hERG channels. Based on current amplitude and stability criteria, a cell line was selected and used to perform a 300-compound screen. The screen was able to identify compounds with hERG activity within projects that spanned different therapeutic areas. The cell line selection and optimization, as well as the screening abilities of the Ion Works HT ™system, provide a powerful means of assessinghERGactive compounds early in the drug discovery pipeline.


1997 ◽  
Vol 273 (5) ◽  
pp. H2534-H2538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saeed Mohammad ◽  
Zhengfeng Zhou ◽  
Qiuming Gong ◽  
Craig T. January

Cisapride, a gastrointestinal prokinetic agent, is known to cause long Q-T syndrome and ventricular arrhythmias. The cellular mechanism is not known. The human ether-á-go-go-related gene ( HERG), which encodes the rapidly activating delayed rectifier K+current and is important in cardiac repolarization, may serve as a target for the action of cisapride. We tested the hypothesis that cisapride blocks HERG. The whole cell patch-clamp recording technique was used to study HERG channels stably expressed heterologously in HEK293 cells. Under voltage-clamp conditions, cisapride block of HERG is dose dependent with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration of 6.5 nM at 22°C ( n = 25 cells). Currents rapidly recovered with drug washout. The onset of block by cisapride required channel activation indicative of open or inactivated state blockage. Block of HERG with cisapride after channel activation was voltage dependent. At −20 mV, 10 nM cisapride reduced HERG tail-current amplitude by 5%, whereas, at +20 mV, the tail-current amplitude was reduced by 45% ( n = 4 cells). At −20 and +20 mV, 100 nM cisapride reduced tail-current amplitude by 66 and 90%, respectively. We conclude that cisapride is a potent blocker of HERG channels expressed in HEK293 cells. This effect may account for the clinical occurrence of Q-T prolongation and ventricular arrhythmias observed with cisapride.


1998 ◽  
Vol 275 (1) ◽  
pp. L145-L154 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Vandier ◽  
M. Delpech ◽  
P. Bonnet

Single smooth muscle cells of rabbit intrapulmonary artery were voltage clamped using the perforated-patch configuration of the patch-clamp technique. We observed spontaneous transient outward currents (STOCs) and a steady-state outward current. Because STOCs were tetraethylammonium sensitive and activated by Ca2+ influx, they were believed to represent activation of Ca2+-activated K+ channels. The steady-state outward current, which was sensitive to 4-aminopyridine, was the delayed rectifier K+ current. In cells voltage clamped at 0 mV, we found that STOCs were not randomly distributed in amplitude but were composed of multiples of 1.57 ± 0.56 pA/pF. The mean frequency of STOCs was 5.51 ± 3.49 Hz. Ryanodine (10 μM), caffeine (5 mM), thapsigargin (200 nM), and hypoxia [Formula: see text] = 10 mmHg) decreased STOCs. The effect of hypoxia on STOCs was partially reversible only if the experiment was conducted in the presence of thapsigargin. Hypoxia and thapsigargin decrease steady-state outward current. Thapsigargin and removal of external Ca2+abolished the effect of hypoxia, suggesting that hypoxia decreases steady-state outward current by a Ca2+-dependent mechanism.


1997 ◽  
Vol 273 (3) ◽  
pp. C790-C803 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Takahira ◽  
B. A. Hughes

Outwardly rectifying K+ currents in freshly isolated bovine retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells were characterized using the whole cell and perforated-patch configurations of the patch-clamp technique. All cells exhibited a delayed rectifier type K+ current. This current had an activation threshold voltage of approximately -40 mV, activated with a sigmoidal trajectory, and inactivated completely over a period of several seconds. External tetraethylammonium (TEA) was an effective blocker of the delayed rectifier current [apparent dissociation constant (Kd) = 5.1 mM], but external Ba2+ was relatively ineffective. Approximately 24% of the cells also exhibited a sustained outwardly rectifying K+ current that became activated at voltages positive to approximately -80 mV. This current resembled the neuronal M-current. External Ba2+ was a potent blocker of this current (apparent Kd = 1.1 mM), but external TEA and Cs+ were relatively ineffective. These results indicate that freshly isolated bovine RPE cells express K+ currents of both the delayed rectifier and M types. The latter may contribute to the resting K+ conductances of the apical and basolateral membranes.


2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 284-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan-Qi Shi ◽  
Meng Yan ◽  
Li-Rong Liu ◽  
Xiao Zhang ◽  
Xue Wang ◽  
...  

Background/Aims: Abnormal QT prolongation is the most prominent cardiac electrical disturbance in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). It is well known that the human ether-ago-go-related gene (hERG) controls the rapid delayed rectifier K+ current (IKr) in cardiac cells. The expression of the hERG channel is severely down-regulated in diabetic hearts, and this down-regulation is a critical contributor to the slowing of repolarization and QT prolongation. However, the intracellular mechanisms underlying the diabetes-induced hERG deficiency remain unknown. Methods: The expression of the hERG channel was assessed via western blot analysis, and the hERG current was detected with a patch-clamp technique. Results: The results of our study revealed that the expression of the hERG protein and the hERG current were substantially decreased in high-glucose-treated hERG-HEK cells. Moreover, we demonstrated that the high-glucose-mediated damage to the hERG channel depended on the down-regulation of protein levels but not the alteration of channel kinetics. These discoveries indicated that high glucose likely disrupted hERG channel trafficking. From the western blot and immunoprecipitation analyses, we found that high glucose induced trafficking inhibition through an effect on the expression of Hsp90 and its interaction with hERG. Furthermore, the high-glucose-induced inhibition of hERG channel trafficking could activate the unfolded protein response (UPR) by up-regulating the expression levels of activating transcription factor-6 (ATF-6) and the ER chaperone protein calnexin. In addition, we demonstrated that 100 nM insulin up-regulated the expression of the hERG channel and rescued the hERG channel repression caused by high glucose. Conclusion: The results of our study provide the first evidence of a high-glucose-induced hERG channel deficiency resulting from the inhibition of channel trafficking. Furthermore, insulin promotes the expression of the hERG channel and ameliorates the high-glucose-induced inhibition of the hERG channel.


Medicina ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 45 (7) ◽  
pp. 516
Author(s):  
Vytenis Skeberdis ◽  
Vida Gendvilienė ◽  
Danguolė Zablockaitė ◽  
Irma Martišienė ◽  
Antanas Stankevičius

Aminopyridines are known to inhibit acetylcholine-activated K+ current (IKACh) in cardiac myocytes. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of 2-aminopyridine sulfonylcarbamide derivative 2-AP27 on isoprenaline-stimulated L-type Ca2+ current (ICaL) and to identify whether 2-AP27 acts via blocking of muscarinic M2-receptors in frog cardiomyocytes. The whole-cell configuration of the patch-clamp technique was used to record ICaL in enzymatically isolated cardiac myocytes. Isoprenaline (0.1 μM), an agonist of β1-β2-adrenoreceptors, stimulated the ICaL up to 475±61% (n=4) (P<0.05) vs. control. Then, in the first series of experiments, carbachol (0.01 μM), an agonist of M2 muscarinic receptors, reduced the stimulatory effect of isoprenaline to 42±15% vs. isoprenaline alone. 2- AP27 (100 μM) alone completely abolished the inhibitory effect of carbachol on isoprenaline-stimulated ICaL, which recovered to 95±5.8% of the effect of isoprenaline. In the second series of experiments, adenosine (1 μM), an agonist of A1-adenosine receptors, reduced the stimulatory effect of isoprenaline on ICaL to 56±10% (n=3) (P<0.05). Then 2-AP27 (100 μM) applied in the presence of adenosine, had no effect on ICaL, which remained at 51±7.9% (n=3) (P<0.05) of the effect of isoprenaline. These results suggest that 2-AP27, a new derivative of 2-AP, containing 4-toluolsulfonylcarbamide instead of amino group and quaternizated nitrogen by 4-nitrobenzylbromide in pyridine ring, is acting as an antagonist of muscarinic M2 receptors in frog ventricular myocytes.


1996 ◽  
Vol 270 (6) ◽  
pp. H2088-H2093 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Wang ◽  
H. J. Duff

Although the genetics of mammalian cardiac K+ channels have been most intensively investigated in mice, there are limited data available from the electrophysiological studies of the K+ currents in native mouse cardiac myocytes, especially in fetal mouse heart. The present study utilized whole cell patch-clamp techniques to assess the delayed rectifier K+ current (IK) in fetal (18th day of gestation) mouse ventricular myocytes. IK in fetal mouse ventricular myocytes activated rapidly, displayed a negative slope conductance of the current-voltage relationships at test potentials > 0 mV, satisfied the envelope of IK-tail test for a single component, and was very sensitive to dofetilide. These characteristics confirm that this current is the rapidly activating component of IK known as IK,r. In addition, dofetilide dramatically prolonged action potential duration in single ventricular myocytes as well as in ventricular myocardium, suggesting that IK,r plays a dominant role in action potential repolarization in fetal mouse heart. From these data we can conclude that fetal mouse cardiac myocytes express IK,r, which functions as a dominant repolarizing K+ current.


1991 ◽  
Vol 261 (2) ◽  
pp. C218-C223 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Kato ◽  
P. M. Lledo ◽  
J. D. Vincent

Extracellular Li+ has been known to facilitate the basal secretion of growth hormone from anterior pituitary cells and of catecholamine from chromaffin cells. In both cases, the intracellular accumulation of Li+ seems to be the prerequisite, and the presence of extracellular Ca2+ is indispensable. In this series of experiments, we examined whether Li+ blocked K+ currents by using primary cultured anterior pituitary cells from male rats. K+ currents were measured in the whole cell configuration of the patch-clamp technique. Extracellular Li+ (140 mM) suppressed both the delayed rectifier K+ current (IK) and the transient outward K+ current to 71 and 69% of control, respectively, in a reversible manner. IK elicited by a voltage step to +70 mV from holding potential of -70 mV was suppressed by 32.5 mM internal Li+ to 28% of control. Half-maximal suppression of K+ conductance by internal Li+ was 16 mM. Furthermore, Ca(2+)-channel blocker methoxyverapamil potently suppressed Li(+)-induced growth hormone secretion. From these results we propose that the blockade by Li+ of K+ channels could depolarize the cells and activate Ca2+ channels, thereby promoting the influx of Ca2+ and hormone secretion as a mechanism of Li(+)-induced hormone secretion.


1995 ◽  
Vol 269 (1) ◽  
pp. C179-C187 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. A. Hughes ◽  
M. Takahira ◽  
Y. Segawa

Currents in freshly dissociated adult human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells were studied using the perforated patch-clamp technique. The zero-current potential (V0) averaged -48.9 +/- 7.7 mV (n = 50). Depolarizing voltage pulses from -70 mV evoked an outward current that activated with first-order kinetics and that did not inactivate during prolonged depolarizations. Repolarizing the membrane potential produced tail currents that reversed near the K+ equilibrium potential, indicating that the sustained outward current was carried mainly by K+. The outwardly rectifying K+ conductance (gK) had an activation threshold voltage near -60 mV and was half-maximal at -37 mV. Approximately 25% of gK was active at the average V0. The K+ current was nearly completely blocked by 2 mM Ba2+ but was relatively insensitive to 20 mM tetraethylammonium. The kinetics, voltage dependence, and blocker sensitivity of this current clearly distinguish it from delayed rectifier K+ currents previously identified in RPE cells. We conclude that the sustained outward K+ current may help establish the resting potential of the apical and/or basolateral membranes and may also participate in K+ transport across the RPE.


2003 ◽  
Vol 81 (5) ◽  
pp. 436-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clemente Vásquez ◽  
Ricardo A Navarro-Polanco ◽  
Miguel Huerta ◽  
Xóchitl Trujillo ◽  
Felipa Andrade ◽  
...  

Effects of cannabinoids on endogenous potassium and calcium currents in HEK293 cells were studied using the whole-cell variant of the patch-clamp technique. The cannabinoid agonists WIN 55,212-2, methanandamide, and anandamide (1 μM) decreased the calcium current by 53.1 ± 2.6, 47.5 ± 1.2, and 38.8 ± 3.1%, respectively, after transfection of human CB1 cannabinoid receptor (hCB1) cDNA into HEK293 cells. The delayed rectifier-like current was not changed after application of these agonists, but the inward rectifier was increased by 94.0 ± 3.6, 83.7 ± 5.1, and 63.0 ± 2.5% after application of WIN 55,212-2, methanandamide, and anandamide, respectively. The effects of the cannabinoid antagonists (AM251, AM281, and AM630) on the inward rectifier and calcium currents were the opposite of those seen with cannabinoid agonists; thus, these compounds act as inverse agonists in this preparation. These results suggest that endogenous inward rectifier and calcium currents are modulated by cannabinoids in HEK293 cells, and that some expressed receptors may be constitutively active.Key words: cannabinoids, WIN 55,212-2, anandamide, methanandamide, inverse agonists.


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