Kelli McFarland

Domain–domain interactions determine the gating, permeation, pharmacology, and subunit modulation of the IKs ion channel

Voltage-gated ion channels generate electrical currents that control muscle contraction, encode neuronal information, and trigger hormonal release. Tissue-specific expression of accessory (β) subunits causes these channels to generate currents with distinct properties. In the heart, KCNQ1 voltage-gated potassium channels coassemble with KCNE1 β-subunits to generate the IKs current (Barhanin et al., 1996; Sanguinetti et al., 1996), an important current for maintenance of stable heart rhythms. KCNE1 significantly modulates the gating, permeation, and pharmacology of KCNQ1 (Wrobel et al., 2012; Sun et al., 2012; Abbott, 2014). These changes are essential for the physiological role of IKs (Silva and Rudy, 2005); however, after 18 years of study, no coherent mechanism explaining how KCNE1 affects KCNQ1 has emerged. Here we provide evidence of such a mechanism, whereby, KCNE1 alters the state-dependent interactions that functionally couple the voltage-sensing domains (VSDs) to the pore. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.03606.001

Intracellular ATP binding is required to activate the slowly activating K + channel I Ks

Significance We show that intracellular ATP at physiological concentrations acts as a signaling molecule to activate the slowly activating K+ channel IKs that regulates heart rate adaptation. ATP binding to the pore-forming α-subunit of IKs, KCNQ1, allows the channel to open. Congenital mutations that reduce ATP binding or subsequent opening of the IKs channel are associated with cardiac arrhythmias in human patients. Electrical abnormalities are often the cause of fatality in cardiovascular diseases, including ischemia and heart failure, in which ATP level is reduced in cardiac cells. Our results open up new possibilities to study and manage these diseases, and the ATP site provides a unique target for therapies. Gating of ion channels by ligands is fundamental to cellular function, and ATP serves as both an energy source and a signaling molecule that modulates ion channel and transporter functions. The slowly activating K+ channel IKs in cardiac myocytes is formed by KCNQ1 and KCNE1 subunits that conduct K+ to repolarize the action potential. Here we show that intracellular ATP activates heterologously coexpressed KCNQ1 and KCNE1 as well as IKs in cardiac myocytes by directly binding to the C terminus of KCNQ1 to allow the pore to open. The channel is most sensitive to ATP near its physiological concentration, and lowering ATP concentration in cardiac myocytes results in IKs reduction and action potential prolongation. Multiple mutations that suppress IKs by decreasing the ATP sensitivity of the channel are associated with the long QT (interval between the Q and T waves in electrocardiogram) syndrome that predisposes afflicted individuals to cardiac arrhythmia and sudden death. A cluster of basic and aromatic residues that may form a unique ATP binding site are identified; ATP activation of the wild-type channel and the effects of the mutations on ATP sensitivity are consistent with an allosteric mechanism. These results demonstrate the activation of an ion channel by intracellular ATP binding, and ATP-dependent gating allows IKs to couple myocyte energy state to its electrophysiology in physiologic and pathologic conditions.

Conopeptide Vt3.1 Preferentially Inhibits BK Potassium Channels Containing β4 Subunits via Electrostatic Interactions

Background: BK channel function is differentially modulated by tissue-specific β (β1–4) subunits. Results: Conopeptide Vt3.1 preferentially inhibits neuronal BK channels containing the β4 subunit. Conclusion: Electrostatic interactions between Vt3.1 and the extracellular loop of β4 decrease voltage-dependent activation of the channel. Significance: Vt3.1 is an excellent tool for studying the structure, function, and roles in neurophysiology of BK channels. BK channel β subunits (β1–β4) modulate the function of channels formed by slo1 subunits to produce tissue-specific phenotypes. The molecular mechanism of how the homologous β subunits differentially alter BK channel functions and the role of different BK channel functions in various physiologic processes remain unclear. By studying channels expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes, we show a novel disulfide-cross-linked dimer conopeptide, Vt3.1 that preferentially inhibits BK channels containing the β4 subunit, which is most abundantly expressed in brain and important for neuronal functions. Vt3.1 inhibits the currents by a maximum of 71%, shifts the G-V relation by 45 mV approximately half-saturation concentrations, and alters both open and closed time of single channel activities, indicating that the toxin alters voltage dependence of the channel. Vt3.1 contains basic residues and inhibits voltage-dependent activation by electrostatic interactions with acidic residues in the extracellular loops of the slo1 and β4 subunits. These results suggest a large interaction surface between the slo1 subunit of BK channels and the β4 subunit, providing structural insight into the molecular interactions between slo1 and β4 subunits. The results also suggest that Vt3.1 is an excellent tool for studying β subunit modulation of BK channels and for understanding the physiological roles of BK channels in neurophysiology.

A Charged Residue in S4 Regulates Coupling among the Activation Gate, Voltage, and Ca2+ Sensors in BK Channels

Coupling between the activation gate and sensors of physiological stimuli during ion channel activation is an important, but not well-understood, molecular process. One difficulty in studying sensor–gate coupling is to distinguish whether a structural perturbation alters the function of the sensor, the gate, or their coupling. BK channels are activated by membrane voltage and intracellular Ca2+ via allosteric mechanisms with coupling among the activation gate and sensors quantitatively defined, providing an excellent model system for studying sensor–gate coupling. By studying BK channels expressed in Xenopus oocytes, here we show that mutation E219R in S4 alters channel function by two independent mechanisms: one is to change voltage sensor activation, shifting voltage dependence, and increase valence of gating charge movements; the other is to regulate coupling among the activation gate, voltage sensor, and Ca2+ binding via electrostatic interactions with E321/E324 located in the cytosolic side of S6 in a neighboring subunit, resulting in a shift of the voltage dependence of channel opening and increased Ca2+ sensitivity. These results suggest a structural arrangement of the inner pore of BK channels differing from that in other voltage gated channels.

Deletion of cytosolic gating ring decreases gate and voltage sensor coupling in BK channels

Large conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels (BK channels) gate open in response to both membrane voltage and intracellular Ca2+. The channel is formed by a central pore-gate domain (PGD), which spans the membrane, plus transmembrane voltage sensors and a cytoplasmic gating ring that acts as a Ca2+ sensor. How these voltage and Ca2+ sensors influence the common activation gate, and interact with each other, is unclear. A previous study showed that a BK channel core lacking the entire cytoplasmic gating ring (Core-MT) was devoid of Ca2+ activation but retained voltage sensitivity (Budelli et al. 2013. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1313433110). In this study, we measure voltage sensor activation and pore opening in this Core-MT channel over a wide range of voltages. We record gating currents and find that voltage sensor activation in this truncated channel is similar to WT but that the coupling between voltage sensor activation and gating of the pore is reduced. These results suggest that the gating ring, in addition to being the Ca2+ sensor, enhances the effective coupling between voltage sensors and the PGD. We also find that removal of the gating ring alters modulation of the channels by the BK channel’s &bgr;1 and &bgr;2 subunits.

Inactivation of KCNQ1 potassium channels reveals dynamic coupling between voltage sensing and pore opening

In voltage-activated ion channels, voltage sensor (VSD) activation induces pore opening via VSD-pore coupling. Previous studies show that the pore in KCNQ1 channels opens when the VSD activates to both intermediate and fully activated states, resulting in the intermediate open (IO) and activated open (AO) states, respectively. It is also well known that accompanying KCNQ1 channel opening, the ionic current is suppressed by a rapid process called inactivation. Here we show that inactivation of KCNQ1 channels derives from the different mechanisms of the VSD-pore coupling that lead to the IO and AO states, respectively. When the VSD activates from the intermediate state to the activated state, the VSD-pore coupling has less efficacy in opening the pore, producing inactivation. These results indicate that different mechanisms, other than the canonical VSD-pore coupling, are at work in voltage-dependent ion channel activation.KCNQ1 is a voltage-gated potassium channel that is important in cardiac and epithelial function. Here the authors present a mechanism for KCNQ1 activation and inactivation in which voltage sensor activation promotes pore opening more effectively in the intermediate open state than the fully open state, generating inactivation.