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Reduced sodium channel density, altered voltage dependence of inactivation, and increased susceptibility to seizures in mice lacking sodium channel beta 2-subunits.

ABSTRACT: Sodium channel beta-subunits modulate channel gating, assembly, and cell surface expression in heterologous cell systems. We generated beta2(-/-) mice to investigate the role of beta2 in control of sodium channel density, localization, and function in neurons in vivo. Measurements of [(3)H]saxitoxin (STX) binding showed a significant reduction in the level of plasma membrane sodium channels in beta2(-/-) neurons. The loss of beta2 resulted in negative shifts in the voltage dependence of inactivation as well as significant decreases in sodium current density in acutely dissociated hippocampal neurons. The integral of the compound action potential in optic nerve was significantly reduced, and the threshold for action potential generation was increased, indicating a reduction in the level of functional plasma membrane sodium channels. In contrast, the conduction velocity, the number and size of axons in the optic nerve, and the specific localization of Na(v)1.6 channels in the nodes of Ranvier were unchanged. beta2(-/-) mice displayed increased susceptibility to seizures, as indicated by reduced latency and threshold for pilocarpine-induced seizures, but seemed normal in other neurological tests. Our observations show that beta2-subunits play an important role in the regulation of sodium channel density and function in neurons in vivo and are required for normal action potential generation and control of excitability.

SUBMITTER: Chen C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC139271 | biostudies-literature | 2002 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Reduced sodium channel density, altered voltage dependence of inactivation, and increased susceptibility to seizures in mice lacking sodium channel beta 2-subunits.

Chen Chunling C Bharucha Vandana V Chen Yuan Y Westenbroek Ruth E RE Brown Angus A Malhotra Jyoti Dhar JD Jones Dorothy D Avery Christy C Gillespie Patrick J PJ Kazen-Gillespie Kristin A KA Kazarinova-Noyes Katie K Shrager Peter P Saunders Thomas L TL Macdonald Robert L RL Ransom Bruce R BR Scheuer Todd T Catterall William A WA Isom Lori L LL

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20021212 26

Sodium channel beta-subunits modulate channel gating, assembly, and cell surface expression in heterologous cell systems. We generated beta2(-/-) mice to investigate the role of beta2 in control of sodium channel density, localization, and function in neurons in vivo. Measurements of [(3)H]saxitoxin (STX) binding showed a significant reduction in the level of plasma membrane sodium channels in beta2(-/-) neurons. The loss of beta2 resulted in negative shifts in the voltage dependence of inactiva ...[more]

PMID: 12481039

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Project description:The role of the voltage sensor positive charges in fast and slow inactivation of the rat brain IIA sodium channel was investigated by mutating the second and fourth conserved positive charges in the S4 segments of all four homologous domains. Both charge-neutralizing mutations (by glutamine substitution) and charge-conserving mutations were constructed in a cDNA encoding the sodium channel alpha subunit. To determine if fast inactivation altered the effects of the mutations on slow inactivation, the mutations were also constructed in a channel that had fast inactivation removed by the incorporation of the IFMQ3 mutation in the III-IV linker (West, J.W., D.E. Patton, T. Scheuer, Y. Wang, A.L. Goldin, and W.A. Catterall. 1992. 89:10910- 10914). Most of the mutations shifted the vof fast inactivation in the negative direction, with the largest effects resulting from mutations in domains I and II. These shifts were in the opposite direction compared with those observed for activation. The effects of the mutations on slow inactivation depended on whether fast inactivation was intact or not. When fast inactivation was eliminated, most of the mutations resulted in positive shifts in the v of slow inactivation. The largest effects again resulted from mutations in domains I and II. When fast inactivation was intact, the mutations in domains II and III resulted in negative shifts in the v of slow inactivation. Neutralization of the fourth charge in domain I or II resulted in the appearance of a second component in the voltage dependence of slow inactivation that was only observable when fast inactivation was intact. These results suggest the S4 regions of all four domains of the sodium channel are involved in the voltage dependence of inactivation, but to varying extents. Fast inactivation is not strictly coupled to activation, but it derives some independent voltage sensitivity from the charges in the S4 domains. Finally, there is an interaction between the fast and slow inactivation processes.

Project description:Background:Voltage-gated sodium (NaV) channels are heteromeric proteins consisting of a single pore forming ?-subunit associated with one or two auxiliary ?-subunits. These channels are classically known for being responsible of action potential generation and propagation in excitable cells; but lately they have been reported as widely expressed and regulated in several human cancer types. We have previously demonstrated the overexpression of NaV1.6 channel in cervical cancer (CeCa) biopsies and primary cultures, and its contribution to cell migration and invasiveness. Here, we investigated the expression of NaV channels ?-subunits (NaV?s) in the CeCa cell lines HeLa, SiHa and CaSki, and determined their contribution to cell proliferation, migration and invasiveness. Methods:We assessed the expression of NaV?s in CeCa cell lines by performing RT-PCR and western blotting experiments. We also evaluated CeCa cell lines proliferation, migration, and invasion by in vitro assays, both in basal conditions and after inducing changes in NaV?s levels by transfecting specific cDNAs or siRNAs. The potential role of NaV?s in modulating the expression of NaV ?-subunits in the plasma membrane of CeCa cells was examined by the patch-clamp whole-cell technique. Furthermore, we investigated the role of NaV?1 on cell cycle in SiHa cells by flow cytometry. Results:We found that the four NaV?s are expressed in the three CeCa cell lines, even in the absence of functional NaV ?-subunit expression in the plasma membrane. Functional in vitro assays showed differential roles for NaV?1 and NaV?4, the latter as a cell invasiveness repressor and the former as a migration abolisher in CeCa cells. In silico analysis of NaV?4 expression in cervical tissues corroborated the downregulation of this protein expression in CeCa vs normal cervix, supporting the evidence of NaV?4's role as a cell invasiveness repressor. Conclusions:Our results contribute to the recent conception about NaV?s as multifunctional proteins involved in cell processes like ion channel regulation, cell adhesion and motility, and even in metastatic cell behaviors. These non-canonical functions of NaV?s are independent of the presence of functional NaV ?-subunits in the plasma membrane and might represent a new therapeutic target for the treatment of cervical cancer.

Dataset Information

Reduced sodium channel density, altered voltage dependence of inactivation, and increased susceptibility to seizures in mice lacking sodium channel beta 2-subunits.

Publications

Reduced sodium channel density, altered voltage dependence of inactivation, and increased susceptibility to seizures in mice lacking sodium channel beta 2-subunits.

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