Reconstitution of native and cloned channels into planar bilayers

Drop-in-well chamber for droplet interface bilayer with built-in electrodes

Various methods have been developed for the formation of planar lipid bilayers, and recent techniques using water-in-oil droplets, such as droplet interface bilayer (DIB) and contact bubble bilayer (CBB) methods, allow the ready formation of bilayers with arbitrary lipid compositions. Here, we developed a simple and portable DIB system using drop-in-wells, shaping two merging wells for settling electrolyte droplets. An aliquot of the electrolyte solution (1μL) is dropped into an organic solvent, and the droplet sinks to the drop-in-well at the bottom, where two monolayer-lined droplets come in contact to form the bilayer. Pre-installed electrodes allow electrophysiological measurements. The detailed drop-in-well method is presented, and some variations of the method, such as the use of microelectrodes and a sheet with a small hole for low-noise recordings, are extended. Examples of single channel current recordings of the KcsA potassium channel are demonstrated.

Highly efficient integration of the viral portal proteins from different types of phages into planar bilayers for the black lipid membrane analysis

The planar lipid bilayer technology is a technique that yields incredibly useful structural function information about a single channel protein. It is also currently actively utilized as a powerful platform using biological protein nanopores for the development of single-molecule nanopore sensing technology, as well as ultrafast DNA sequencing technology. The portal protein, GP10, from the bacteriophage Φ29 was the first phage portal protein shown to be successfully inserted into planar bilayer membranes, thereby it may inspire more researchers to apply the techniques to portal proteins from the other bacteriophages. However, the technology is far from perfect since the insertion of the channel proteins into planar bilayer membranes is not only technically difficult but also time-consuming. For the fusion of phage portal proteins, vesicles are typically needed to be reconstituted with the portal proteins to form proteoliposomes. However, most of the phage portal proteins have low solubility, and may self-aggregate during the preparation of the proteoliposomes. Furthermore, the fusion of the formed proteoliposomes is sporadic, unpredictable and varied from person to person. Due to the lack of experimental consistency between labs, the results from different methodologies reported for generating fusible proteoliposomes are highly variable. In this research, we propose a new method for the preparation of the fusible proteoliposomes containing portal proteins from bacteriophages, to circumvent the problems aforementioned. Compared to the conventional methods, this method was able to avoid the protein aggregation issues during the vesicle preparation by eliminating the need for detergents and the subsequent time-consuming step for detergent removal. The proteoliposomes prepared by the method were shown to be more efficiently and rapidly inserted into planar bilayer membranes bathed in different conducting buffer solutions including those with nonelectrolytes such as glycerol and PEG. In addition, the method of forming proteoliposomes has significantly extended the shelf life of the proteoliposomes. To further explore its potentials, we have successfully applied the method to the insertion of a mutant portal protein, GP20, from T4 bacteriophage, a hydrophobic portal protein that has not been explored using the planar lipid bilayer membrane technique. The results suggest that this method could be used to prepare proteoliposomes formed by hydrophobic portal proteins from other bacteriophages.

Ionic Interactions Are Everywhere

Ionic solutions are dominated by interactions because they must be electrically neutral, but classical theory assumes no interactions. Biological solutions are rather like seawater, concentrated enough so that the diameter of ions also produces important interactions. In my view, the theory of complex fluids is needed to deal with the interacting reality of biological solutions.

The molecular mystique of tetrodotoxin

In many respects tetrodotoxin (TTX) is the quintessential natural toxin. It is unequivocally toxic to mammals with LD(50) values for mice in the range of 10 μg/kg (intraperitoneal), 16 μg/kg (subcutaneous), and 332 μg/kg (oral) (Kao, 1966). Its biothreat status is recognized by its listing as a "Select Agent" by the US Department of Health and Human Services which includes regulated agents "determined to have the potential to pose a severe threat to both human and animal health" (http://www.selectagents.gov/). It has a well-defined cellular target (i.e., NaV channels) and pharmacological mode of action (i.e., block of nerve and muscle action potentials), and it is an indispensable chemical tool in neuroscience. It is widely distributed in marine and terrestrial ecosystems where it plays a role in the chemical ecology of predator-prey relationships and drives evolutionary selection of TTX-resistance (Hanifin, 2010; Williams, 2010; Zimmer and Ferrer, 2007). Lastly, TTX has acquired a certain mystique in scientific lore attributable to many fascinating aspects of its natural history and molecular interactions as presented in selected summary below. Additional information may be found in other excellent reviews (Fozzard and Lipkind, 2010; Kao, 1966; Lee and Ruben, 2008; Narahashi, 2001, 2008).

Planar patch clamp approach to characterize ionic currents from intact lysosomes

Since its launch in the early 1980s, the patch clamp method has been extensively used to study ion channels in the plasma membrane, but its application to the study of intracellular ion channels has been limited. Unlike the plasma membrane, intracellular membranes are usually not stable enough to withstand mechanical manipulation by glass electrodes during seal formation and rupturing of the membrane. To circumvent these problems, we developed a method involving the immobilization of isolated organelles on a solid matrix planar glass chip. This glass chip contains a microstructured hole that supports the formation of gigaseals and subsequent electrophysiological recordings despite the high fragility of intracellular membranes. Here, we report the experimental details of this method using lysosomes, which are the smallest cellular organelles, as a model system. We demonstrate that we can record endogenous ionic currents from wild-type lysosomes, as well as from lysosomes overexpressing ion channels, and expect that this method will provide electrophysiological access to a broad range of intracellular ion channels.

Simultaneous optical and electrical single channel recordings on a PEG glass

Single molecule imaging of working ion-channels is much more difficult than that of water-soluble proteins because of the fragile nature of membranes and lateral diffusion of particles in the membranes, which does not allow fluorescent contamination for optical single channel recording. In this report, we reconstituted maxi-potassium channels from porcine uterine smooth muscle into artificial planar bilayers formed on poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) modified glass and performed simultaneous optical and electrical recording of the single channels. The channels were immobilized in the membranes by anchoring to PEG molecules on the glass. The technique developed in this study should pave the way for single molecule pharmacology of ion-channels.

Synthesis of an iberiotoxin derivative by chemical ligation: a method for improved yields of cysteine-rich scorpion toxin peptides

Automated and manual solid phase peptide synthesis techniques were combined with chemical ligation to produce a 37-residue peptide toxin derivative of iberiotoxin which contained: (i) substitution of Val(16) to Ala, to facilitate kinetic feasibility of native chemical ligation, and; (ii) substitution of Asp(19) to orthogonally protected Cys-4-MeOBzl for chemical conjugate derivatization following peptide folding and oxidation. This peptide ligation approach increased synthetic yields approximately 12-fold compared to standard linear peptide synthesis. In a functional inhibition assay, the ligated scorpion toxin derivative, iberiotoxin V16A/D19-Cys-4-MeOBzl, exhibited 'native-like' affinity (K(d)=1.9 nM) and specificity towards the BK Ca(2+)-activated K(+) Channel (K(Ca)1.1). This was characterized by the rapid association and slow dissociation rates (k(on)=4.59 x 10(5)M(-1)s(-1); k(off)=8.65 x 10(-4) s(-1)) as determined by inhibition of macroscopic whole-cell currents of cloned human K(Ca)1.1 channel. These results illustrate the successful application of peptide chemical ligation to improve yield of cysteine-rich peptide toxins over traditional solid phase peptide synthesis. Native chemical ligation is a promising method for improving production of biologically active disulfide containing peptide toxins, which have diverse applications in studies of ion-channel function.

Nanopore unitary permeability measured by electrochemical and optical single transporter recording

For the analysis of membrane transport processes two single molecule methods are available that differ profoundly in data acquisition principle, achievable information, and application range: the widely employed electrical single channel recording and the more recently established optical single transporter recording. In this study dense arrays of microscopic horizontal bilayer membranes between 0.8 microm and 50 microm in diameter were created in transparent foils containing either microholes or microcavities. Prototypic protein nanopores were formed in bilayer membranes by addition of Staphylococcus aureus alpha-hemolysin (alpha-HL). Microhole arrays were used to monitor the formation of bilayer membranes and single alpha-HL pores by confocal microscopy and electrical recording. Microcavity arrays were used to characterize the formation of bilayer membranes and the flux of fluorescent substrates and inorganic ions through single transporters by confocal microscopy. Thus, the unitary permeability of the alpha-HL pore was determined for calcein and Ca(2+) ions. The study paves the way for an amalgamation of electrical and optical single transporter recording. Electro-optical single transporter recording could provide so far unresolved kinetic data of a large number of cellular transporters, leading to an extension of the nanopore sensor approach to the single molecule analysis of peptide transport by translocases.

Simultaneous optical and electrical recording of a single ion-channel

In recent years, the single-molecule imaging technique has proven to be a valuable tool in solving many basic problems in biophysics. The technique used to measure single-molecule functions was initially developed to study electrophysiological properties of channel proteins. However, the technology to visualize single channels at work has not received as much attention. In this study, we have for the first time, simultaneously measured the optical and electrical properties of single-channel proteins. The large conductance calcium-activated potassium channel (BK-channel) labeled with fluorescent dye molecules was incorporated into a planar bilayer membrane and the fluorescent image captured with a total internal reflection fluorescence microscope simultaneously with single-channel current recording. This innovative technology will greatly advance the study of channel proteins as well as signal transduction processes that involve ion permeation processes.

Simultaneous binding of basic peptides at intracellular sites on a large conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channel. Equilibrium and kinetic basis of negatively coupled ligand interactions

The homologous Kunitz inhibitor proteins, bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (BPTI) and dendrotoxin I (DTX-I), interact with large conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels (maxi-KCa) by binding to an intracellular site outside of the pore to produce discrete substate events. In contrast, certain homologues of the Shaker ball peptide produce discrete blocking events by binding within the ion conduction pathway. In this study, we investigated ligand interactions of these positively charged peptide molecules by analysis of single maxi-KCa channels in planar bilayers recorded in the presence of DTX-I and BPTI, or DTX-I and a high-affinity homologue of ball peptide. Both DTX-I (Kd, 16.5 nM) and BPTI (Kd, 1, 490 nM) exhibit one-site binding kinetics when studied alone; however, records in the presence of DTX-I plus BPTI demonstrate simultaneous binding of these two molecules. The affinity of BPTI (net charge, +6) decreases by 11.7-fold (Kd, 17,500 nM) when DTX-I (net charge, +10) is bound and, conversely, the affinity of DTX-I decreases by 10.8-fold (Kd, 178 nM) when BPTI is bound. The ball peptide homologue (BP; net charge, +6) exhibits high blocking affinity (Kd, 7.2 nM) at a single site when studied alone, but has 8.0-fold lower affinity (Kd, 57 nM) for blocking the DTX-occupied channel. The affinity of DTX-I likewise decreases by 8.4-fold (Kd, 139 nM) when BP is bound. These results identify two types of negatively coupled ligand-ligand interactions at distinct sites on the intracellular surface of maxi-KCa channels. Such antagonistic ligand interactions explain how the binding of BPTI or DTX-I to four potentially available sites on a tetrameric channel protein can exhibit apparent one-site kinetics. We hypothesize that negatively coupled binding equilibria and asymmetric changes in transition state energies for the interaction between DTX-I and BP originate from repulsive electrostatic interactions between positively charged peptide ligands on the channel surface. In contrast, there is no detectable binding interaction between DTX-I on the inside and tetraethylammonium or charybdotoxin on the outside of the maxi-KCa channel.