1
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Ramírez-Piscina L, Sancho JM. Subconductance states in a semimicroscopic model for a tetrameric pore. Phys Rev E 2024; 109:044402. [PMID: 38755917 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.109.044402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
A physical model for a structured tetrameric pore is studied. The pore is modeled as a device composed of four subunits, each one exhibiting two possible states (open and closed). The pore is located within a membrane that separates two reservoirs with ionic solutions. All variables of the model follow physical dynamical equations accounting for the internal structure of the pore, derived from a single energy functional and supplemented with thermal noises. An extensive study of the resulting ionic intensity is performed for different values of the control parameters, mainly membrane potential and reservoir ion concentrations. Two possible physical devices are studied: voltage-gated (including a voltage sensor in each subunit) and non-voltage-gated pores. The ionic flux through the pore exhibits several distinct dynamical configurations, in particular subconductance states, which indicate very different dynamical internal states of the subunits. Such subconductance states become much easier to observe in sensorless pores. These results are compared with available experimental data on tetrameric K channels and analytical predictions.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Ramírez-Piscina
- Departament de Física Aplicada, EPSEB, Universitat Politécnica de Catalunya, Avinguda Doctor Marañón, 44, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - J M Sancho
- Universitat de Barcelona, Departament de Física de la Matèria Condensada, Martí i Franqués, 1, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain
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2
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The PLB measurement for the connector in Phi29 bacteriophage reveals the function of its channel loop. Biophys J 2021; 120:1650-1664. [PMID: 33684350 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2021.02.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2020] [Revised: 02/09/2021] [Accepted: 02/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The connector protein, also known as the portal protein, located at the portal vertex in the Phi29 bacteriophage has been found to play a key role in the genome DNA packaging motor. There is a disordered region, composed of 12 sets of 18-residue loops N229-N246, that has been assumed to serve as a "clamp" to retain the DNA within the pressurized capsid when DNA is fully packaged. However, the process remains undefined about how the clamping of DNA occurs and what signal is used to engage the channel loops to clamp the DNA near the end of DNA packaging. In this study, we use the planar lipid bilayer (PLB) membrane technique to study the connector with its loops cleaved. The channel properties are compared with those of the connector with corresponding wild-type loops at different membrane potentials. On the basis of the hypothesis of the Donnan effects in the flashing Brownian ratchet model, we associate the PLB experimental results with the outcomes from the relevant biochemical experiments on the proheads containing the connectors without the loops, which enables us to provide a clear picture about how the DNA clamping occurs. A mathematical relationship between the Donnan potential and the DNA packaging density is established, demonstrating that they are both in essence the same signal that is received and transmitted by the connector to dictate DNA clamping and the termination of DNA packaging. At the end of the study, the PLB technique is proposed as a viral research tool, and its potential use to study the functions of specific domains in a portal protein of the tailed bacteriophages is highlighted.
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3
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Nosyreva ED, Thompson D, Syeda R. Identification and functional characterization of the Piezo1 channel pore domain. J Biol Chem 2021; 296:100225. [PMID: 33361157 PMCID: PMC7948955 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra120.015905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2020] [Revised: 12/16/2020] [Accepted: 12/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Mechanotransduction is the process by which cells convert physical forces into electrochemical responses. On a molecular scale, these forces are detected by mechanically activated ion channels, which constitute the basis for hearing, touch, pain, cold, and heat sensation, among other physiological processes. Exciting high-resolution structural details of these channels are currently emerging that will eventually allow us to delineate the molecular determinants of gating and ion permeation. However, our structural-functional understanding across the family remains limited. Piezo1 is one of the largest and least understood of these channels, with various structurally identified features within its trimeric assembly. This study seeks to determine the modularity and function of Piezo1 channels by constructing deletion proteins guided by cryo EM structural knowledge. Our comprehensive functional study identified, for the first time, the minimal amino acid sequence of the full-length Piezo1 that can fold and function as the channel's pore domain between E2172 and the last residue E2547. While the addition of an anchor region has no effect on permeation properties. The Piezo1 pore domain is not pressure-sensitive and the appending of Piezo Repeat-A did not restore pressure-dependent gating, hence the sensing module must exist between residues 1 to 1952. Our efforts delineating the permeation and gating regions within this complex ion channel have implications in identifying small molecules that exclusively regulate the activity of the channel's pore module to influence mechanotransduction and downstream processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena D Nosyreva
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - David Thompson
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Ruhma Syeda
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
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4
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Barros F, Pardo LA, Domínguez P, Sierra LM, de la Peña P. New Structures and Gating of Voltage-Dependent Potassium (Kv) Channels and Their Relatives: A Multi-Domain and Dynamic Question. Int J Mol Sci 2019; 20:ijms20020248. [PMID: 30634573 PMCID: PMC6359393 DOI: 10.3390/ijms20020248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2018] [Revised: 12/30/2018] [Accepted: 01/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Voltage-dependent potassium channels (Kv channels) are crucial regulators of cell excitability that participate in a range of physiological and pathophysiological processes. These channels are molecular machines that display a mechanism (known as gating) for opening and closing a gate located in a pore domain (PD). In Kv channels, this mechanism is triggered and controlled by changes in the magnitude of the transmembrane voltage sensed by a voltage-sensing domain (VSD). In this review, we consider several aspects of the VSD–PD coupling in Kv channels, and in some relatives, that share a common general structure characterized by a single square-shaped ion conduction pore in the center, surrounded by four VSDs located at the periphery. We compile some recent advances in the knowledge of their architecture, based in cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) data for high-resolution determination of their structure, plus some new functional data obtained with channel variants in which the covalent continuity between the VSD and PD modules has been interrupted. These advances and new data bring about some reconsiderations about the use of exclusively a classical electromechanical lever model of VSD–PD coupling by some Kv channels, and open a view of the Kv-type channels as allosteric machines in which gating may be dynamically influenced by some long-range interactional/allosteric mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco Barros
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Universidad de Oviedo, Edificio Santiago Gascón, Campus de El Cristo, 33006 Oviedo, Asturias, Spain.
| | - Luis A Pardo
- Oncophysiology Group, Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine, Hermann-Rein-Strasse 3, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.
| | - Pedro Domínguez
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Universidad de Oviedo, Edificio Santiago Gascón, Campus de El Cristo, 33006 Oviedo, Asturias, Spain.
| | - Luisa Maria Sierra
- Departamento de Biología Funcional (Area de Genética), Instituto Universitario de Oncología del Principado de Asturias (IUOPA), Universidad de Oviedo, 33006 Oviedo, Asturias, Spain.
| | - Pilar de la Peña
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Universidad de Oviedo, Edificio Santiago Gascón, Campus de El Cristo, 33006 Oviedo, Asturias, Spain.
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5
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Hedrich R, Mueller TD, Becker D, Marten I. Structure and Function of TPC1 Vacuole SV Channel Gains Shape. MOLECULAR PLANT 2018; 11:764-775. [PMID: 29614320 DOI: 10.1016/j.molp.2018.03.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2017] [Revised: 03/12/2018] [Accepted: 03/22/2018] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Plants and animals in endosomes operate TPC1/SV-type cation channels. All plants harbor at least one TPC1 gene. Although the encoded SV channel was firstly discovered in the plant vacuole membrane two decades ago, its biological function has remained enigmatic. Recently, the structure of a plant TPC1/SV channel protein was determined. Insights into the 3D topology has now guided site-directed mutation approaches, enabling structure-function analyses of TPC1/SV channels to shed new light on earlier findings. Fou2 plants carrying a hyperactive mutant form of TPC1 develop wounding stress phenotypes. Recent studies with fou2 and mutants that lack functional TPC1 have revealed atypical features in local and long-distance stress signaling, providing new access to the previously mysterious biology of this vacuolar cation channel type in planta.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rainer Hedrich
- Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology and Biophysics, University of Würzburg, Julius-von-Sachs Platz 2, 97082 Würzburg, Germany.
| | - Thomas D Mueller
- Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology and Biophysics, University of Würzburg, Julius-von-Sachs Platz 2, 97082 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Dirk Becker
- Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology and Biophysics, University of Würzburg, Julius-von-Sachs Platz 2, 97082 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Irene Marten
- Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology and Biophysics, University of Würzburg, Julius-von-Sachs Platz 2, 97082 Würzburg, Germany
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6
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de la Peña P, Domínguez P, Barros F. Functional characterization of Kv11.1 (hERG) potassium channels split in the voltage-sensing domain. Pflugers Arch 2018; 470:1069-1085. [PMID: 29572566 PMCID: PMC6013512 DOI: 10.1007/s00424-018-2135-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2018] [Revised: 02/26/2018] [Accepted: 02/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Voltage-dependent KCNH family potassium channel functionality can be reconstructed using non-covalently linked voltage-sensing domain (VSD) and pore modules (split channels). However, the necessity of a covalent continuity for channel function has not been evaluated at other points within the two functionally independent channel modules. We find here that by cutting Kv11.1 (hERG, KCNH2) channels at the different loops linking the transmembrane spans of the channel core, not only channels split at the S4–S5 linker level, but also those split at the intracellular S2–S3 and the extracellular S3–S4 loops, yield fully functional channel proteins. Our data indicate that albeit less markedly, channels split after residue 482 in the S2–S3 linker resemble the uncoupled gating phenotype of those split at the C-terminal end of the VSD S4 transmembrane segment. Channels split after residues 514 and 518 in the S3–S4 linker show gating characteristics similar to those of the continuous wild-type channel. However, breaking the covalent link at this level strongly accelerates the voltage-dependent accessibility of a membrane impermeable methanethiosulfonate reagent to an engineered cysteine at the N-terminal region of the S4 transmembrane helix. Thus, besides that of the S4–S5 linker, structural integrity of the intracellular S2–S3 linker seems to constitute an important factor for proper transduction of VSD rearrangements to opening and closing the cytoplasmic gate. Furthermore, our data suggest that the short and probably rigid characteristics of the extracellular S3–S4 linker are not an essential component of the Kv11.1 voltage sensing machinery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pilar de la Peña
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Universidad de Oviedo, Edificio Santiago Gascón, Campus de El Cristo, 33006, Oviedo, Asturias, Spain.
| | - Pedro Domínguez
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Universidad de Oviedo, Edificio Santiago Gascón, Campus de El Cristo, 33006, Oviedo, Asturias, Spain
| | - Francisco Barros
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Universidad de Oviedo, Edificio Santiago Gascón, Campus de El Cristo, 33006, Oviedo, Asturias, Spain.
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7
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Trantidou T, Friddin M, Elani Y, Brooks NJ, Law RV, Seddon JM, Ces O. Engineering Compartmentalized Biomimetic Micro- and Nanocontainers. ACS NANO 2017; 11:6549-6565. [PMID: 28658575 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.7b03245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 135] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Compartmentalization of biological content and function is a key architectural feature in biology, where membrane bound micro- and nanocompartments are used for performing a host of highly specialized and tightly regulated biological functions. The benefit of compartmentalization as a design principle is behind its ubiquity in cells and has led to it being a central engineering theme in construction of artificial cell-like systems. In this review, we discuss the attractions of designing compartmentalized membrane-bound constructs and review a range of biomimetic membrane architectures that span length scales, focusing on lipid-based structures but also addressing polymer-based and hybrid approaches. These include nested vesicles, multicompartment vesicles, large-scale vesicle networks, as well as droplet interface bilayers, and double-emulsion multiphase systems (multisomes). We outline key examples of how such structures have been functionalized with biological and synthetic machinery, for example, to manufacture and deliver drugs and metabolic compounds, to replicate intracellular signaling cascades, and to demonstrate collective behaviors as minimal tissue constructs. Particular emphasis is placed on the applications of these architectures and the state-of-the-art microfluidic engineering required to fabricate, functionalize, and precisely assemble them. Finally, we outline the future directions of these technologies and highlight how they could be applied to engineer the next generation of cell models, therapeutic agents, and microreactors, together with the diverse applications in the emerging field of bottom-up synthetic biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatiana Trantidou
- Department of Chemistry and ‡Institute of Chemical Biology, Imperial College London , Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Mark Friddin
- Department of Chemistry and ‡Institute of Chemical Biology, Imperial College London , Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Yuval Elani
- Department of Chemistry and ‡Institute of Chemical Biology, Imperial College London , Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Nicholas J Brooks
- Department of Chemistry and ‡Institute of Chemical Biology, Imperial College London , Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Robert V Law
- Department of Chemistry and ‡Institute of Chemical Biology, Imperial College London , Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - John M Seddon
- Department of Chemistry and ‡Institute of Chemical Biology, Imperial College London , Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Oscar Ces
- Department of Chemistry and ‡Institute of Chemical Biology, Imperial College London , Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
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8
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Tomczak AP, Fernández-Trillo J, Bharill S, Papp F, Panyi G, Stühmer W, Isacoff EY, Pardo LA. A new mechanism of voltage-dependent gating exposed by K V10.1 channels interrupted between voltage sensor and pore. J Gen Physiol 2017; 149:577-593. [PMID: 28360219 PMCID: PMC5412533 DOI: 10.1085/jgp.201611742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2016] [Revised: 02/09/2017] [Accepted: 02/16/2017] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
A linker that connects the voltage-sensing domain and pore domain in voltage-gated K+ channels is thought to provide coupling during gating, but this view has been challenged in KCNH channels. Tomczak et al. investigate gating in KV10.1 channels with disrupted linkers and reveal multiple mechanisms. Voltage-gated ion channels couple transmembrane potential changes to ion flow. Conformational changes in the voltage-sensing domain (VSD) of the channel are thought to be transmitted to the pore domain (PD) through an α-helical linker between them (S4–S5 linker). However, our recent work on channels disrupted in the S4–S5 linker has challenged this interpretation for the KCNH family. Furthermore, a recent single-particle cryo-electron microscopy structure of KV10.1 revealed that the S4–S5 linker is a short loop in this KCNH family member, confirming the need for an alternative gating model. Here we use “split” channels made by expression of VSD and PD as separate fragments to investigate the mechanism of gating in KV10.1. We find that disruption of the covalent connection within the S4 helix compromises the ability of channels to close at negative voltage, whereas disconnecting the S4–S5 linker from S5 slows down activation and deactivation kinetics. Surprisingly, voltage-clamp fluorometry and MTS accessibility assays show that the motion of the S4 voltage sensor is virtually unaffected when VSD and PD are not covalently bound. Finally, experiments using constitutively open PD mutants suggest that the presence of the VSD is structurally important for the conducting conformation of the pore. Collectively, our observations offer partial support to the gating model that assumes that an inward motion of the C-terminal S4 helix, rather than the S4–S5 linker, closes the channel gate, while also suggesting that control of the pore by the voltage sensor involves more than one mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam P Tomczak
- Oncophysiology Group, Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Jorge Fernández-Trillo
- Oncophysiology Group, Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Shashank Bharill
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720.,Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720
| | - Ferenc Papp
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary.,MTA-DE-NAP B Ion Channel Structure-Function Research Group, RCMM, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Gyorgy Panyi
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary.,MTA-DE-NAP B Ion Channel Structure-Function Research Group, RCMM, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Walter Stühmer
- Department of Molecular Biology of Neuronal Signals, Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Ehud Y Isacoff
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720.,Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720
| | - Luis A Pardo
- Oncophysiology Group, Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
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9
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Findlay HE, Harris NJ, Booth PJ. In vitro synthesis of a Major Facilitator Transporter for specific active transport across Droplet Interface Bilayers. Sci Rep 2016; 6:39349. [PMID: 27996025 PMCID: PMC5172200 DOI: 10.1038/srep39349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2016] [Accepted: 11/22/2016] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Nature encapsulates reactions within membrane-bound compartments, affording sequential and spatial control over biochemical reactions. Droplet Interface Bilayers are evolving into a valuable platform to mimic this key biological feature in artificial systems. A major issue is manipulating flow across synthetic bilayers. Droplet Interface Bilayers must be functionalised, with seminal work using membrane-inserting toxins, ion channels and pumps illustrating the potential. Specific transport of biomolecules, and notably transport against a concentration gradient, across these bilayers has yet to be demonstrated. Here, we successfully incorporate the archetypal Major Facilitator Superfamily transporter, lactose permease, into Droplet Interface Bilayers and demonstrate both passive and active, uphill transport. This paves the way for controllable transport of sugars, metabolites and other essential biomolecular substrates of this ubiquitous transporter superfamily in DIB networks. Furthermore, cell-free synthesis of lactose permease during DIB formation also results in active transport across the interface bilayer. This adds a specific disaccharide transporter to the small list of integral membrane proteins that can be synthesised via in vitro transcription/translation for applications of DIB-based artificial cell systems. The introduction of a means to promote specific transport of molecules across Droplet Interface Bilayers against a concentration gradient gives a new facet to droplet networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather E Findlay
- Department of Chemistry, Kings College London, Britannia House, 7 Trinity Street, London, SE1 1DB, UK
| | - Nicola J Harris
- Department of Chemistry, Kings College London, Britannia House, 7 Trinity Street, London, SE1 1DB, UK
| | - Paula J Booth
- Department of Chemistry, Kings College London, Britannia House, 7 Trinity Street, London, SE1 1DB, UK
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10
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Grafting voltage and pharmacological sensitivity in potassium channels. Cell Res 2016; 26:935-45. [PMID: 27174053 DOI: 10.1038/cr.2016.57] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2015] [Revised: 03/04/2016] [Accepted: 03/29/2016] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
A classical voltage-gated ion channel consists of four voltage-sensing domains (VSDs). However, the roles of each VSD in the channels remain elusive. We developed a GVTDT (Graft VSD To Dimeric TASK3 channels that lack endogenous VSDs) strategy to produce voltage-gated channels with a reduced number of VSDs. TASK3 channels exhibit a high host tolerance to VSDs of various voltage-gated ion channels without interfering with the intrinsic properties of the TASK3 selectivity filter. The constructed channels, exemplified by the channels grafted with one or two VSDs from Kv7.1 channels, exhibit classical voltage sensitivity, including voltage-dependent opening and closing. Furthermore, the grafted Kv7.1 VSD transfers the potentiation activity of benzbromarone, an activator that acts on the VSDs of the donor channels, to the constructed channels. Our study indicates that one VSD is sufficient to voltage-dependently gate the pore and provides new insight into the roles of VSDs.
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11
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Syeda R, Santos JS, Montal M. The Sensorless Pore Module of Voltage-gated K+ Channel Family 7 Embodies the Target Site for the Anticonvulsant Retigabine. J Biol Chem 2015; 291:2931-7. [PMID: 26627826 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m115.683185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2015] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
KCNQ (voltage-gated K(+) channel family 7 (Kv7)) channels control cellular excitability and underlie the K(+) current sensitive to muscarinic receptor signaling (the M current) in sympathetic neurons. Here we show that the novel anti-epileptic drug retigabine (RTG) modulates channel function of pore-only modules (PMs) of the human Kv7.2 and Kv7.3 homomeric channels and of Kv7.2/3 heteromeric channels by prolonging the residence time in the open state. In addition, the Kv7 channel PMs are shown to recapitulate the single-channel permeation and pharmacological specificity characteristics of the corresponding full-length proteins in their native cellular context. A mutation (W265L) in the reconstituted Kv7.3 PM renders the channel insensitive to RTG and favors the conductive conformation of the PM, in agreement to what is observed when the Kv7.3 mutant is heterologously expressed. On the basis of the new findings and homology models of the closed and open conformations of the Kv7.3 PM, we propose a structural mechanism for the gating of the Kv7.3 PM and for the site of action of RTG as a Kv7.2/Kv7.3 K(+) current activator. The results validate the modular design of human Kv channels and highlight the PM as a high-fidelity target for drug screening of Kv channels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruhma Syeda
- From the Section of Neurobiology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093
| | - Jose S Santos
- From the Section of Neurobiology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093
| | - Mauricio Montal
- From the Section of Neurobiology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093
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12
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Syeda R, Santos JS, Montal M. Lipid bilayer modules as determinants of K+ channel gating. J Biol Chem 2013; 289:4233-43. [PMID: 24362039 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m113.530055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The crystal structure of the sensorless pore module of a voltage-gated K(+) (Kv) channel showed that lipids occupy a crevice between subunits. We asked if individual lipid monolayers of the bilayer embody independent modules linked to channel gating modulation. Functional studies using single channel current recordings of the sensorless pore module reconstituted in symmetric and asymmetric lipid bilayers allowed us to establish the deterministic role of lipid headgroup on gating. We discovered that individual monolayers with headgroups that coat the bilayer-aqueous interface with hydroxyls stabilize the channel open conformation. The hydroxyl need not be at a terminal position and the effect is not dependent on the presence of phosphate or net charge on the lipid headgroup. Asymmetric lipid bilayers allowed us to determine that phosphoglycerides with glycerol or inositol on the extracellular facing monolayer stabilize the open conformation of the channel. This indirect effect is attributed to a change in water structure at the membrane interface. By contrast, inclusion of the positively charged lysyl-dioleoyl-phosphatidylglycerol exclusively on the cytoplasmic facing monolayer of the bilayer increases drastically the probability of finding the channel open. Such modulation is mediated by a π-cation interaction between Phe-19 of the pore module and the lysyl moiety anchored to the phosphatidylglycerol headgroup. The new findings imply that the specific chemistry of the lipid headgroup and its selective location in either monolayer of the bilayer dictate the stability of the open conformation of a Kv pore module in the absence of voltage-sensing modules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruhma Syeda
- From the Section of Neurobiology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093
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13
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Santos JS, Syeda R, Montal M. Stabilization of the conductive conformation of a voltage-gated K+ (Kv) channel: the lid mechanism. J Biol Chem 2013; 288:16619-16628. [PMID: 23609443 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m113.468728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Voltage-gated K(+) (Kv) channels are molecular switches that sense membrane potential and in response open to allow K(+) ions to diffuse out of the cell. In these proteins, sensor and pore belong to two distinct structural modules. We previously showed that the pore module alone is a robust yet dynamic structural unit in lipid membranes and that it senses potential and gates open to conduct K(+) with unchanged fidelity. The implication is that the voltage sensitivity of K(+) channels is not solely encoded in the sensor. Given that the coupling between sensor and pore remains elusive, we asked whether it is then possible to convert a pore module characterized by brief openings into a conductor with a prolonged lifetime in the open state. The strategy involves selected probes targeted to the filter gate of the channel aiming to modulate the probability of the channel being open assayed by single channel recordings from the sensorless pore module reconstituted in lipid bilayers. Here we show that the premature closing of the pore is bypassed by association of the filter gate with two novel open conformation stabilizers: an antidepressant and a peptide toxin known to act selectively on Kv channels. Such stabilization of the conductive conformation of the channel is faithfully mimicked by the covalent attachment of fluorescein at a cysteine residue selectively introduced near the filter gate. This modulation prolongs the occupancy of permeant ions at the gate. It is this longer embrace between ion and gate that we conjecture underlies the observed stabilization of the conductive conformation. This study provides a new way of thinking about gating.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose S Santos
- Section of Neurobiology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093
| | - Ruhma Syeda
- Section of Neurobiology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093
| | - Mauricio Montal
- Section of Neurobiology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093.
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Friddin MS, Morgan H, de Planque MRR. Cell-free protein expression systems in microdroplets: Stabilization of interdroplet bilayers. BIOMICROFLUIDICS 2013; 7:14108. [PMID: 24404000 PMCID: PMC3579860 DOI: 10.1063/1.4791651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2012] [Accepted: 01/29/2013] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Cell-free protein expression with bacterial lysates has been demonstrated to produce soluble proteins in microdroplets. However, droplet assays with expressed membrane proteins require the presence of a lipid bilayer. A bilayer can be formed in between lipid-coated aqueous droplets by bringing these into contact by electrokinetic manipulation in a continuous oil phase, but it is not known whether such interdroplet bilayers are compatible with high concentrations of biomolecules. In this study, we have characterized the lifetime and the structural integrity of interdroplet bilayers by measuring the bilayer current in the presence of three different commercial cell-free expression mixtures and their individual components. Samples of pure proteins and of a polymer were included for comparison. It is shown that complete expression mixtures reduce the bilayer lifetime to several minutes or less, and that this is mainly due to the lysate fraction itself. The fraction that contains the molecules for metabolic energy generation does not reduce the bilayer lifetime but does give rise to current steps that are indicative of lipid packing defects. Gel electrophoresis confirmed that proteins are only present at significant amounts in the lysate fractions and, when supplied separately, in the T7 enzyme mixture. Interestingly, it was also found that pure-protein and pure-polymer solutions perturb the interdroplet bilayer at higher concentrations; 10% (w/v) polyethylene glycol 8000 (PEG 8000) and 3 mM lysozyme induce large bilayer currents without a reduction in bilayer lifetime, whereas 3 mM albumin causes rapid bilayer failure. It can, therefore, be concluded that the high protein content of the lysates and the presence of PEG polymer, a typical lysate supplement, compromise the structural integrity of interdroplet bilayers. However, we established that the addition of lipid vesicles to the cell-free expression mixture stabilizes the interdroplet bilayer, allowing the exposure of interdroplet bilayers to cell-free expression solutions. Given that cell-free expressed membrane proteins can insert in lipid bilayers, we envisage that microdroplet technology may be extended to the study of in situ expressed membrane receptors and ion channels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark S Friddin
- Electronics and Computer Science and Institute for Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom
| | - Hywel Morgan
- Electronics and Computer Science and Institute for Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom
| | - Maurits R R de Planque
- Electronics and Computer Science and Institute for Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom
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Jarecki BW, Makino SI, Beebe ET, Fox BG, Chanda B. Function of Shaker potassium channels produced by cell-free translation upon injection into Xenopus oocytes. Sci Rep 2013; 3:1040. [PMID: 23301161 PMCID: PMC3539143 DOI: 10.1038/srep01040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2012] [Accepted: 12/06/2012] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Voltage-gated ion channels are a class of membrane proteins that temporally orchestrate the ion flux critical for chemical and electrical signaling in excitable cells. Current methods to investigate the function of these channels rely on heterologous expression in living systems or reconstitution into artificial membranes; however these approaches have inherent drawbacks which limit potential biophysical applications. Here, we describe a new integrated approach combining cell-free translation of membrane proteins and in vivo expression using Xenopus laevis oocytes. In this method, proteoliposomes containing Shaker potassium channels are synthesized in vitro and injected into the oocytes, yielding functional preparations as shown by electrophysiological and fluorescence measurements within few hours. This strategy for studying eukaryotic ion channels is contrasted with existing, laborious procedures that require membrane protein extraction and reconstitution into synthetic lipid systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian W Jarecki
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
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