Cyclic AMP-modulated potassium channels in murine B cells and their precursors

A voltage-dependent potassium current (the delayed rectifier) has been found in murine B cells and their precursors with the whole-cell patch-clamp technique. The type of channel involved in the generation of this current appears to be present throughout all stages of pre-B-cell differentiation, since it is detected in pre-B cell lines infected with Abelson murine leukemia virus; these cell lines represent various phases of B-cell development. Thus, the presence of this channel is not obviously correlated with B-cell differentiation. Although blocked by Co2+, the channel, or channels, does not appear to be activated by Ca2+ entry. It is, however, inactivated by high intracellular Ca2+ concentrations. In addition, elevation of intracellular adenosine 3', 5'-monophosphate induces at all potentials a rapid decrease in the peak potassium conductance and increased rates of activation and inactivation. Therefore, potassium channels can be physiologically modulated by second messengers in lymphocytes.     

Occult Drosophila calcium channels and twinning of calcium and voltage-activated potassium channels

In the membrane of the flight muscle cells of developing Drosophila a large calcium-sensitive potassium current, IKc, was found. It was present before the development of voltage-activated potassium channels and seems to be the first potassium current to develop in the membrane. Also present in these early cells were large numbers of occult (hidden) calcium channels, which remained inactive until the end of pupal development. These inactive calcium channels could be made to function by injecting adenosine triphosphate or ethyleneglycol tetraacetic acid into the early cells. IKc has kinetic properties resembling the later developing voltage-sensitive current IKv, and is distinct from the fast, transient calcium-dependent outward current IAc, which appears much later in development. IAc closely resembles the voltage-sensitive current IAv, also present in these cells. Thus, both of the voltage-sensitive potassium channel types, IAv and IKv, have similar calcium-sensitive counterparts, IAc and IKc, that are present in the same cells.     

Expression of a cloned rat brain potassium channel in Xenopus oocytes

Potassium channels are ubiquitous membrane proteins with essential roles in nervous tissue, but little is known about the relation between their function and their molecular structure. A complementary DNA library was made from rat hippocampus, and a complementary DNA clone (RBK-1) was isolated. The predicted sequence of the 495-amino acid protein is homologous to potassium channel proteins encoded by the Shaker locus of Drosophila and differs by only three amino acids from the expected product of a mouse clone MBK-1. Messenger RNA transcribed from RBK-1 in vitro directed the expression of potassium channels when it was injected into Xenopus oocytes. The potassium current through the expressed channels resembles both the transient (or A) and the delayed rectifier currents reported in mammalian neurons and is sensitive to both 4-aminopyridine and tetraethylammonium.     

Mutations affecting internal TEA blockade identify the probable pore-forming region of a K+ channel

The active site of voltage-activated potassium channels is a transmembrane aqueous pore that permits ions to permeate the cell membrane in a rapid yet highly selective manner. A useful probe for the pore of potassium-selective channels is the organic ion tetraethylammonium (TEA), which binds with millimolar affinity to the intracellular opening of the pore and blocks potassium current. In the potassium channel encoded by the Drosophila Shaker gene, an amino acid residue that specifically affects the affinity for intracellular TEA has now been identified by site-directed mutagenesis. This residue is in the middle of a conserved stretch of 18 amino acids that separates two locations that are both near the external opening of the pore. These findings suggest that this conserved region is intimately involved in the formation of the ion conduction pore of voltage-activated potassium channels. Further, a stretch of only eight amino acid residues must traverse 80 percent of the transmembrane electric potential difference.     

Single-channel and genetic analyses reveal two distinct A-type potassium channels in Drosophila

Whole-cell and single-channel voltage-clamp techniques were used to identify and characterize the channels underlying the fast transient potassium current (A current) in cultured myotubes and neurons of Drosophila. The myotube (A1) and neuronal (A2) channels are distinct, differing in conductance, voltage dependence, and gating kinetics. The myotube currents have a faster and more voltage-dependent macroscopic inactivation rate, a larger steady-state component, and a less negative steady-state inactivation curve than the neuronal currents. The myotube channels have a conductance of 12 to 16 picosiemens, whereas the neuronal channels have a conductance of 5 to 8 picosiemens. In addition, the myotube channel is affected by Shaker mutations, whereas the neuronal channel is not. Together, these data suggest that the two channels are separate molecular structures, the expression of which is controlled, at least in part, by different genes.     

Ca2+ and Ca2+-activated K+ currents in mammalian gastric smooth muscle cells

Inward movement of calcium through voltage-dependent channels in muscle is thought to initiate the action potential and trigger contraction. Calcium-activated potassium channels carry large outward potassium currents that may be responsible for membrane repolarization. Calcium and calcium-activated potassium currents were identified in enzymatically isolated mammalian gastric myocytes. These currents were blocked by cadmium and nifedipine but were not substantially affected by diltiazem or D600. No evidence for a tetrodotoxin-sensitive sodium current or an inwardly rectifying potassium current was found.     

External calcium ions are required for potassium channel gating in squid neurons

The effects of calcium removal on the voltage-dependent potassium channels of isolated squid neurons were studied with whole cell patch-clamp techniques. When the calcium ion concentration was lowered from 10 to 0 millimolar (that is, no added calcium), potassium channel activity, identified from its characteristic time course, disappeared within a few seconds and there was a parallel increase in resting membrane conductance and in the holding current. The close temporal correlation of the changes in the three parameters suggests that potassium channels lose their ability to close in the absence of calcium and simultaneously lose their selectivity. If potassium channels were blocked by barium ion before calcium ion was removed, the increases in membrane conductance and holding current were delayed or prevented. Thus calcium is an essential cofactor in the gating of potassium channels in squid neurons.     

Stretch-inactivated ion channels coexist with stretch-activated ion channels

Stretch-activated ion channels of animal, plant, bacterial, and fungal cells are implicated in mechanotransduction and osmoregulation. A new class of channel has now been described that is stretch-inactivated. These channels occur in neurons, where they coexist with stretch-activated channels. Both channels are potassium selective. The differing stretch sensitivities of the two channels minimize potassium conductance over an intermediate range of tension, with the consequence that, over this same range, voltage-gated calcium channels are most readily opened. Thus, by setting the relation between membrane tension and transmembrane calcium fluxes, stretch-sensitive potassium channels may participate in the control of calcium-dependent motility in differentiating, regenerating, or migrating neurons.     

K+ current diversity is produced by an extended gene family conserved in Drosophila and mouse

The Drosophila Shaker gene on the X chromosome has three sister genes, Shal, Shab, and Shaw, which map to the second and third chromosomes. This extended gene family encodes voltage-gated potassium channels with widely varying kinetics (rate of macroscopic current activation and inactivation) and voltage sensitivity of steady-state inactivation. The differences in the currents of the various gene products are greater than the differences produced by alternative splicing of the Shaker gene. In Drosophila, the transient (A current) subtype of the potassium channel (Shaker and Shal) and the delayed-rectifier subtype (Shab and Shaw) are encoded by homologous genes, and there is more than one gene for each subtype of channel. Homologs of Shaker, Shal, Shab, and Shaw are present in mammals; each Drosophila potassium-channel gene may be represented as a multigene subfamily in mammals.     

Regulation of a heart potassium channel by protein kinase A and C

The enzymes adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase (protein kinase A) and protein kinase C regulate the activity of a diverse group of cellular proteins including membrane ion channel proteins. When protein kinase A was stimulated in cardiac ventricular myocytes with the membrane-soluble cAMP analog 8-chlorphenylthio cAMP (8-CPT cAMP), the amplitude of the delayed-rectifier potassium current (IK) doubled when recorded at 32 degrees C but was not affected at 22 degrees C. In contrast, modulation of the calcium current (ICa) by 8-CPT cAMP was independent of temperature with similar increases in ICa occurring at both temperatures. Stimulation of protein kinase C by phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate also enhanced IK in a temperature-dependent manner but failed to increase ICa at either temperature. Thus, cardiac delayed-rectifier potassium but not calcium channels are regulated by two distinct protein kinases in a similar temperature-dependent fashion.     

Membrane currents examined under voltage clamp in cultured neuroblastoma cells

Examination of ionic membrane currents in a voltage-clamped neuronal cell line derived from the mouse C1300 neuroblastoma disclosed four kinetically different components: sodium, potassium, calcium, and leakage current. The kinetics, voltage dependence, and pharmacological properties of the sodium and potassium currents qualitatively resemble those of the corresponding currents in squid giant axon and frog myelinated nerve fiber, suggesting that the molecular structures of the sodium and potassium channels in neuroblastoma are similar to those of the non-mammalian preparations.     

Stereospecific effects of inhalational general anesthetic optical isomers on nerve ion channels

Although it is generally agreed that general anesthetics ultimately act on neuronal ion channels, there is considerable controversy over whether this occurs by direct binding to protein or secondarily by nonspecific perturbation of lipids. Very pure optical isomers of the inhalational general anesthetic isoflurane exhibited clear stereoselectivity in their effects on particularly sensitive ion channels in identified molluscan central nervous system neurons. At the human median effect dose (ED50) for general anesthesia, the (+)-isomer was about twofold more effective than the (-)-isomer both in eliciting the anesthetic-activated potassium current IK(An) and in inhibiting a current mediated by neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. For inhibiting the much less sensitive transient potassium current IA, the (-)-isomer was marginally more potent than the (+)-isomer. Both isomers were equally effective at disrupting lipid bilayers.     

Crystal structure of the human K2P TRAAK, a lipid- and mechano-sensitive K+ ion channel

TRAAK channels, members of the two-pore domain K(+) (potassium ion) channel family K2P, are expressed almost exclusively in the nervous system and control the resting membrane potential. Their gating is sensitive to polyunsaturated fatty acids, mechanical deformation of the membrane, and temperature changes. Physiologically, these channels appear to control the noxious input threshold for temperature and pressure sensitivity in dorsal root ganglia neurons. We present the crystal structure of human TRAAK at a resolution of 3.8 angstroms. The channel comprises two protomers, each containing two distinct pore domains, which create a two-fold symmetric K(+) channel. The extracellular surface features a helical cap, 35 angstroms tall, that creates a bifurcated pore entryway and accounts for the insensitivity of two-pore domain K(+) channels to inhibitory toxins. Two diagonally opposed gate-forming inner helices form membrane-interacting structures that may underlie this channel's sensitivity to chemical and mechanical properties of the cell membrane.     

A family of three mouse potassium channel genes with intronless coding regions

To understand the molecular mechanisms responsible for generating physiologically diverse potassium channels in mammalian cells, mouse genomic clones have been isolated with a potassium channel complementary DNA, MBK1, that is homologous to the Drosophila potassium channel gene, Shaker. A family of three closely related potassium channel genes (MK1, MK2, and MK3) that are encoded at distinct genomic loci has been isolated. Sequence analysis reveals that the coding region of each of these three genes exists as a single uninterrupted exon in the mouse genome. This organization precludes the generation of multiple forms of the protein by alternative RNA splicing, a mechanism known to characterize the Drosophila potassium channel genes Shaker and Shab. Thus, mammals may use a different strategy for generating diverse K+ channels by encoding related genes at multiple distinct genomic loci, each of which produces only a single protein.     

A distinct potassium channel polypeptide encoded by the Drosophila eag locus.

Many of the signaling properties of neurons and other electrically excitable cells are determined by a diverse family of potassium channels. A number of genes that encode potassium channel polypeptides have been cloned from various organisms on the basis of their sequence similarity to the Drosophila Shaker (Sh) locus. As an alternative strategy, a molecular analysis of other Drosophila genes that were defined by mutations that perturb potassium channel function was undertaken. Sequence analysis of complementary DNA from the ether à go-go (eag) locus revealed that it encodes a structural component of potassium channels that is related to but is distinct from all identified potassium channel polypeptides.     

Spatial buffering of light-evoked potassium increases by retinal Müller (glial) cells

Activity-dependent variations in extracellular potassium concentration in the central nervous system may be regulated, in part, by potassium spatial buffering currents in glial cells. The role of spatial buffering in the retina was assessed by measuring light-evoked potassium changes in amphibian eyecups. The amplitude of potassium increases in the vitreous humor was reduced to approximately 10 percent by 50 micromolar barium, while potassium increases in the inner plexiform layer were largely unchanged. The decrease in the vitreal potassium response was accurately simulated with a numerical model of potassium current flow through Müller cells, the principal glial cells of the retina. Barium also substantially increased the input resistance of Müller cells and blocked the Müller cell-generated M-wave, indicating that barium blocks the potassium channels of Müller cells. Thus, after a light-evoked potassium increase within the retina, there is a substantial transfer of potassium from the retina to the vitreous humor by potassium current flow through Müller cells.     

植物KUP/HAK/KT家族钾转运体研究进展

钾是植物必不可缺的大量元素,作为细胞内的主要溶质,参与植物的生长发育过程。植物通过钾通道和钾转运体两种方式吸收钾营养。钾转运体包括4个家族,其中KUP/HAK/KT家族成员最多,且研究最为深入。其成员是广泛存在于植物细胞质膜和液泡膜上的一种跨膜蛋白,多具有高亲和性钾吸收功能的转运体。KUP/HAK/KT转运体不仅在植物对K+的吸收与转运过程中发挥作用,也参与调节植物的生长发育。综述了植物KUP/HAK/KT家族的分类、组织定位、功能和表达调控等方面的研究进展,以期为研究植物的钾营养吸收机制提供理论参考。     

A component of calcium-activated potassium channels encoded by the Drosophila slo locus.

Calcium-activated potassium channels mediate many biologically important functions in electrically excitable cells. Despite recent progress in the molecular analysis of voltage-activated K+ channels, Ca(2+)-activated K+ channels have not been similarly characterized. The Drosophila slowpoke (slo) locus, mutations of which specifically abolish a Ca(2+)-activated K+ current in muscles and neurons, provides an opportunity for molecular characterization of these channels. Genomic and complementary DNA clones from the slo locus were isolated and sequenced. The polypeptide predicted by slo is similar to voltage-activated K+ channel polypeptides in discrete domains known to be essential for function. Thus, these results indicate that slo encodes a structural component of Ca(2+)-activated K+ channels.     

Newly identified brain potassium channels gated by the guanine nucleotide binding protein Go

Potassium channels in neurons are linked by guanine nucleotide binding (G) proteins to numerous neurotransmitter receptors. The ability of Go, the predominant G protein in the brain, to stimulate potassium channels was tested in cell-free membrane patches of hippocampal pyramidal neurons. Four distinct types of potassium channels, which were otherwise quiescent, were activated by both isolated brain G0 and recombinant Go alpha. Hence brain Go can couple diverse brain potassium channels to neurotransmitter receptors.     

Organization of ion channels in the myelinated nerve fiber

The functional organization of the mammalian myelinated nerve fiber is complex and elegant. In contrast to nonmyelinated axons, whose membranes have a relatively uniform structure, the mammalian myelinated axon exhibits a high degree of regional specialization that extends to the location of voltage-dependent ion channels within the axon membrane. Sodium and potassium channels are segregated into complementary membrane domains, with a distribution reflecting that of the overlying Schwann or glial cells. This complexity of organization has important implications for physiology and pathophysiology, particularly with respect to the development of myelinated fibers.