Sodium permeability of a cloned small-conductance calcium-activated potassium channel

Comparison of K+ Channel Families

K⁺ channels enable potassium to flow across the membrane with great selectivity. There are four K⁺ channel families: voltage-gated K (K_v), calcium-activated (K_Ca), inwardly rectifying K (K_ir), and two-pore domain potassium (K_2P) channels. All four K⁺ channels are formed by subunits assembling into a classic tetrameric (4x1P = 4P for the K_v, K_Ca, and K_ir channels) or tetramer-like (2x2P = 4P for the K_2P channels) architecture. These subunits can either be the same (homomers) or different (heteromers), conferring great diversity to these channels. They share a highly conserved selectivity filter within the pore but show different gating mechanisms adapted for their function. K⁺ channels play essential roles in controlling neuronal excitability by shaping action potentials, influencing the resting membrane potential, and responding to diverse physicochemical stimuli, such as a voltage change (K_v), intracellular calcium oscillations (K_Ca), cellular mediators (K_ir), or temperature (K_2P).

Identification of a novel potassium channel (GiK) as a potential drug target in Giardia lamblia: Computational descriptions of binding sites

Background

The protozoan Giardia lamblia is the causal agent of giardiasis, one of the main diarrheal infections worldwide. Drug resistance to common antigiardial agents and incidence of treatment failures have increased in recent years. Therefore, the search for new molecular targets for drugs against Giardia infection is essential. In protozoa, ionic channels have roles in their life cycle, growth, and stress response. Thus, they are promising targets for drug design. The strategy of ligand-protein docking has demonstrated a great potential in the discovery of new targets and structure-based drug design studies.

Methods

In this work, we identify and characterize a new potassium channel, GiK, in the genome of Giardia lamblia. Characterization was performed in silico. Because its crystallographic structure remains unresolved, homology modeling was used to construct the three-dimensional model for the pore domain of GiK. The docking virtual screening approach was employed to determine whether GiK is a good target for potassium channel blockers.

Results

The GiK sequence showed 24–50% identity and 50–90% positivity with 21 different types of potassium channels. The quality assessment and validation parameters indicated the reliability of the modeled structure of GiK. We identified 110 potassium channel blockers exhibiting high affinity toward GiK. A total of 39 of these drugs bind in three specific regions.

Discussion

The GiK pore signature sequence is related to the small conductance calcium-activated potassium channels (SKCa). The predicted binding of 110 potassium blockers to GiK makes this protein an attractive target for biological testing to evaluate its role in the life cycle of Giardia lamblia and potential candidate for the design of novel antigiardial drugs.

An optimized and automated approach to quantifying channelrhodopsin photocurrent kinetics

Channelrhodopsins are light-activated ion channels that enable targetable activation or inhibition of excitable cells with light. Ion conductance can generally be described by a four step photocycle, which includes two open and two closed states. While a complete understanding of channelrhodopsin function cannot be understood in the absence of kinetic modeling, model fitting requires manual fitting, which is laborious and technically complicated for non-experts. To enhance analysis of photocurrent data, this manuscript describes a fitting program where electrophysiology data can be automatically and quantitatively analyzed. Significant improvement in this program when compared to our previous version includes 1) the ability to automatically find the experiment start time using the derivative of the current signal, 2) utilizing the Object Oriented Programing (OPP) paradigm which is significantly more reliable if the code is used by people with little to no programming experience and 3) the distribution of the code is simplified to sharing a single MATLAB file, including rigorous comments throughout. To demonstrate the utility of this program, we show automated fitting of photocurrents from two member proteins: channelrhodopsin-2 and a chimera between channelrhodopsin-1 and channelrhodopsin-2 (C1C2).

T2N as a new tool for robust electrophysiological modeling demonstrated for mature and adult-born dentate granule cells

Compartmental models are the theoretical tool of choice for understanding single neuron computations. However, many models are incomplete, built ad hoc and require tuning for each novel condition rendering them of limited usability. Here, we present T2N, a powerful interface to control NEURON with Matlab and TREES toolbox, which supports generating models stable over a broad range of reconstructed and synthetic morphologies. We illustrate this for a novel, highly detailed active model of dentate granule cells (GCs) replicating a wide palette of experiments from various labs. By implementing known differences in ion channel composition and morphology, our model reproduces data from mouse or rat, mature or adult-born GCs as well as pharmacological interventions and epileptic conditions. This work sets a new benchmark for detailed compartmental modeling. T2N is suitable for creating robust models useful for large-scale networks that could lead to novel predictions. We discuss possible T2N application in degeneracy studies.

Altered and dynamic ion selectivity of K+ channels in cell development and excitability

K(+) channels play a key role in regulating cellular excitability. It was thought that the strong K(+) selectivity of these channels was static, only altered by mutations in their selectivity filter, which can cause severe genetic disorders. Recent studies demonstrate that selectivity of K(+) channels can also exhibit dynamic changes. Under acidic conditions or in low extracellular K(+) concentrations, the two-pore domain K(+) channel (K2P) TWIK1 becomes permeable to Na(+), shifting from an inhibitory role to an excitatory role. This phenomenon is responsible for the paradoxical depolarization of human cardiomyocytes in pathological hypokalemia, and therefore may contribute to cardiac arrhythmias. In other cell types, TWIK1 produces depolarizing leak currents under physiological conditions. Dynamic ion selectivity also occurs in other K2P channels. Here we review evidence that dynamic selectivity of K2P channels constitutes a new regulatory mechanism of cellular excitability, whose significance is only now becoming appreciated.

Structural correlates of selectivity and inactivation in potassium channels

Potassium channels are involved in a tremendously diverse range of physiological applications requiring distinctly different functional properties. Not surprisingly, the amino acid sequences for these proteins are diverse as well, except for the region that has been ordained the "selectivity filter". The goal of this review is to examine our current understanding of the role of the selectivity filter and regions adjacent to it in specifying selectivity as well as its role in gating/inactivation and possible mechanisms by which these processes are coupled. Our working hypothesis is that an amino acid network behind the filter modulates selectivity in channels with the same signature sequence while at the same time affecting channel inactivation properties. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Membrane protein structure and function.

K2P potassium channels, mysterious and paradoxically exciting

New evidence reveals that the common electrolyte disorder hypokalemia can induce K2P1 channels that are normally selective for K+ to break the rules and conduct Na+. This defiant behavior leads to paradoxical depolarization of many cells in the heart, increasing the risk for lethal arrhythmia. The new research resolves a mystery uncovered 50 years ago and bestows an array of new riddles. Here, I discuss how K2P1 might achieve this alchemy--through stable residence of the K+ selectivity filter in a Na+-conductive state between its open and C-inactive configurations--and predict that other K+ channels and environmental stimuli will be discovered to produce the same excitatory misconduct.

Burst-timing-dependent plasticity of NMDA receptor-mediated transmission in midbrain dopamine neurons

Bursts of spikes triggered by sensory stimuli in midbrain dopamine neurons evoke phasic release of dopamine in target brain areas, driving reward-based reinforcement learning and goal-directed behavior. NMDA-type glutamate receptors (NMDARs) play a critical role in the generation of these bursts. Here we report LTP of NMDAR-mediated excitatory transmission onto dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra. Induction of LTP requires burst-evoked Ca2+ signals amplified by preceding metabotropic neurotransmitter inputs in addition to the activation of NMDARs themselves. PKA activity gates LTP induction by regulating the magnitude of Ca2+ signal amplification. This form of plasticity is associative, input specific, reversible, and depends on the relative timing of synaptic input and postsynaptic bursting in a manner analogous to the timing rule for cue-reward learning paradigms in behaving animals. NMDAR plasticity might thus represent a potential neural substrate for conditioned dopamine neuron burst responses to environmental stimuli acquired during reward-based learning.

Intermediate conductance Ca2+-activated potassium channel (KCa3.1) in the inner mitochondrial membrane of human colon cancer cells

Patch-clamping mitoplasts isolated from human colon carcinoma 116 cells has allowed the identification and characterization of the intermediate conductance Ca(2+)-activated K(+)-selective channel K(Ca)3.1, previously studied only in the plasma membrane of various cell types. Its identity has been established by its biophysical and pharmacological properties. Its localisation in the inner membrane of mitochondria is indicated by Western blots of subcellular fractions, by recording of its activity in mitochondria made fluorescent by a mitochondria-targeted fluorescent protein and by the co-presence of channels considered to be markers of the inner membrane. Moderate increases of mitochondrial matrix [Ca(2+)] will cause mtK(Ca)3.1 opening, thus linking inner membrane K(+) permeability and transmembrane potential to Ca(2+) signalling.

Alternative translation initiation in rat brain yields K2P2.1 potassium channels permeable to sodium

K(2P) channels mediate potassium background currents essential to central nervous system function, controlling excitability by stabilizing membrane potential below firing threshold and expediting repolarization. Here, we show that alternative translation initiation (ATI) regulates function of K(2P)2.1 (TREK-1) via an unexpected strategy. Full-length K(2P)2.1 and an isoform lacking the first 56 residues of the intracellular N terminus (K(2P)2.1Delta1-56) are produced differentially in a regional and developmental manner in the rat central nervous system, the latter passing sodium under physiological conditions leading to membrane depolarization. Control of ion selectivity via ATI is proposed to be a natural, epigenetic mechanism for spatial and temporal regulation of neuronal excitability.

Thermal stability of the K+ channel tetramer: cation interactions and the conserved threonine residue at the innermost site (S4) of the KcsA selectivity filter

The selectivity filter of most K+ channels contains a highly conserved Thr residue that uniquely forms the S4 binding site for K+ by dual coordination with the backbone carbonyl oxygen and side chain hydroxyl of the same residue. This study examines the effect of mutations of Thr75 in the S4 site of theKcsA K+ channel on the cation dependence of the thermal stability of the tetramer, a phenomenon that reflects the structural role of cations in the filter. Conservative mutations of Thr75 destabilize the tetramer and alter its temperature dependence. Replacement of Thr with Ala or Cys lowers the apparent affinity ofK+, Rb+, and Cs+ for tetramer stabilization by factors ranging from 4- to 14-fold. These same mutations lower the apparent affinity of Ba2+ by approximately 10(3)- or approximately 10(4)-fold for Ala and Cys substitution, respectively,consistent with the known preference of the S4 site for Ba2+. In contrast, substitution of Ala or Cys at T75 anomalously enhances the ability of Na+ to stabilize the tetramer, suggesting that the native Thr residue at S4 is important for ultrahigh K+/Na+ selectivity of K+ channel pores. Elevated temperature orCu2+ cation catalyzes formation of covalent dimers of the T75C mutant of KcsA via formation of disulfide bonds between Cys residues of adjacent subunits. Thiophilic cations such as Hg2+ and Ag+ specifically protect the T75C tetramer against heat-induced dimer formation, demonstrating the contribution of cation interactions to tetramer stability in a channel with a non-native S4 site engineered to bind foreign cations.

Calcium- and calmodulin-dependent inactivation of calcium channels in inner hair cells of the rat cochlea

Modulation of voltage-gated calcium channels was studied in inner hair cells (IHCs) in an ex vivo preparation of the apical turn of the rat organ of Corti. Whole cell voltage clamp in the presence of potassium channel blockers showed inward calcium currents with millisecond activation and deactivation kinetics. When temperature was raised from 22 to 37 degrees C, the calcium currents of immature IHCs [<12 days postnatal (P12)] increased threefold in amplitude, and developed more pronounced inactivation. This was determined to be calcium-dependent inactivation (CDI) on the basis of its reliance on external calcium (substitution with barium), sensitivity to internal calcium-buffering, and voltage dependence (reflecting the calcium driving force). After the onset of hearing at P12, IHC calcium current amplitude and the extent of inactivation were greatly reduced. Although smaller than in prehearing IHCs, CDI remained significant in the mature IHC near the resting membrane potential. CDI in mature IHCs was enhanced by application of the endoplasmic calcium pump blocker, benzo-hydroquinone. Conversely, CDI in immature IHCs was reduced by calmodulin inhibitors. Thus voltage-gated calcium channels in mammalian IHCs are subject to a calmodulin-mediated process of CDI. The extent of CDI depends on the balance of calcium buffering mechanisms and may be regulated by calmodulin-specific processes. CDI provides a means for the rate of spontaneous transmitter release to be adjusted to variations in hair cell resting potential and steady state calcium influx.

Electrostatic interactions in the channel cavity as an important determinant of potassium channel selectivity

Potassium channels are membrane proteins that allow the passage of potassium ions at near diffusion rates while severely limiting the flux of the slightly smaller sodium ions. Although studies thus far have focused on the narrowest part of the channel, known as the selectivity filter, channels are long pores with multiple ions that traverse the selectivity filter, the water-filled central cavity, and the rest of the pore formed by cytoplasmic domains. Here, we present experimental analyses on Kir3.2 (GIRK2), a G protein-activated inwardly rectifying potassium (Kir) channel, showing that a negative charge introduced at a pore-facing position in the cavity (N184) below the selectivity filter restores both K(+) selectivity and inward rectification properties to the nonselective S177W mutant channel. Molecular modeling demonstrates that the negative residue has no effect on the geometry of the selectivity filter, suggesting that it has a local effect on the cavity ion. Moreover, restoration of selectivity does not depend on the exact location of the charge in the central cavity as long as this residue faces the pore, where it is in close contact with permeant ions. Our results indicate that interactions between permeant ions and the channel cavity can influence ion selectivity and channel block by means of an electrostatic effect.