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Modulation of BK channel voltage gating by different auxiliary ? subunits.

ABSTRACT: Calcium- and voltage-activated potassium channels (BK) are regulated by a multiplicity of signals. The prevailing view is that different BK gating mechanisms converge to determine channel opening and that these gating mechanisms are allosterically coupled. In most instances the pore forming ? subunit of BK is associated with one of four alternative ? subunits that appear to target specific gating mechanisms to regulate the channel activity. In particular, ?1 stabilizes the active configuration of the BK voltage sensor having a large effect on BK Ca(2+) sensitivity. To determine the extent to which ? subunits regulate the BK voltage sensor, we measured gating currents induced by the pore-forming BK ? subunit alone and with the different ? subunits expressed in Xenopus oocytes (?1, ?2IR, ?3b, and ?4). We found that ?1, ?2, and ?4 stabilize the BK voltage sensor in the active conformation. ?3 has no effect on voltage sensor equilibrium. In addition, ?4 decreases the apparent number of charges per voltage sensor. The decrease in the charge associated with the voltage sensor in ? ?4 channels explains most of their biophysical properties. For channels composed of the ? subunit alone, gating charge increases slowly with pulse duration as expected if a significant fraction of this charge develops with a time course comparable to that of K(+) current activation. In the presence of ?1, ?2, and ?4 this slow component develops in advance of and much more rapidly than ion current activation, suggesting that BK channel opening proceeds in two steps.

SUBMITTER: Contreras GF

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3503226 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Modulation of BK channel voltage gating by different auxiliary β subunits.

Contreras Gustavo F GF Neely Alan A Alvarez Osvaldo O Gonzalez Carlos C Latorre Ramon R

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20121029 46

Calcium- and voltage-activated potassium channels (BK) are regulated by a multiplicity of signals. The prevailing view is that different BK gating mechanisms converge to determine channel opening and that these gating mechanisms are allosterically coupled. In most instances the pore forming α subunit of BK is associated with one of four alternative β subunits that appear to target specific gating mechanisms to regulate the channel activity. In particular, β1 stabilizes the active configuration o ...[more]

PMID: 23112204

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Project description:In most mammalian tissues, Ca2+i/voltage-gated, large conductance K+ (BK) channels consist of channel-forming slo1 and auxiliary (β1-β4) subunits. When Ca2+i (3-20 µM) reaches the vicinity of BK channels and increases their activity at physiological voltages, β1- and β4-containing BK channels are, respectively, inhibited and potentiated by intoxicating levels of ethanol (50 mM). Previous studies using different slo1s, lipid environments, and Ca2+i concentrations-all determinants of the BK response to ethanol-made it impossible to determine the specific contribution of β subunits to ethanol action on BK activity. Furthermore, these studies measured ethanol action on ionic current under a limited range of stimuli, rendering no information on the gating processes targeted by alcohol and their regulation by βs. Here, we used identical experimental conditions to obtain single-channel and macroscopic currents of the same slo1 channel ("cbv1" from rat cerebral artery myocytes) in the presence and absence of 50 mM ethanol. First, we assessed the role five different β subunits (1,2,2-IR, 3-variant d, and 4) in ethanol action on channel function. Thus, two phenotypes were identified: (1) ethanol potentiated cbv1-, cbv1+β3-, and cbv1+β4-mediated currents at low Ca2+i while inhibiting current at high Ca2+i, the potentiation-inhibition crossover occurring at 20 µM Ca2+i; (2) for cbv1+β1, cbv1+wt β2, and cbv1+β2-IR, this crossover was shifted to ∼3 µM Ca2+i Second, applying Horrigan-Aldrich gating analysis on both phenotypes, we show that ethanol fails to modify intrinsic gating and the voltage-dependent parameters under examination. For cbv1, however, ethanol (a) drastically increases the channel's apparent Ca2+ affinity (nine-times decrease in Kd) and (b) very mildly decreases allosteric coupling between Ca2+ binding and channel opening (C). The decreased Kd leads to increased channel activity. For cbv1+β1, ethanol (a) also decreases Kd, yet this decrease (two times) is much smaller than that of cbv1; (b) reduces C; and (c) decreases coupling between Ca2+ binding and voltage sensing (parameter E). Decreased allosteric coupling leads to diminished BK activity. Thus, we have identified critical gating modifications that lead to the differential actions of ethanol on slo1 with and without different β subunits.

Project description:Large conductance calcium-activated potassium (BK) channels play a key role in the control of neuronal activity. Ethanol is a potent activator of BK channel gating, but how this action may impact ethanol drinking still remains poorly understood. Auxiliary ? subunits are known to modulate ethanol-induced potentiation of BK currents. In the present study, we investigated whether BK ?1 and ?4 subunits influence voluntary ethanol consumption using knockout (KO) mice. In a first experiment, mice were first subjected to continuous two-bottle choice (2BC) and were then switched to intermittent 2BC, which progressively increased ethanol intake as previously described in wildtype mice. BK ?1 or ?4 subunit deficiency did not affect ethanol self-administration under either schedule of access. In a second experiment, mice were first trained to drink ethanol in a limited-access 2BC paradigm. BK ?1 or ?4 deletion did not affect baseline consumption. Weeks of 2BC were then alternated with weeks of chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) or air inhalation. As expected, a gradual escalation of ethanol drinking was observed in dependent wildtype mice, while intake remained stable in non-dependent wildtype mice. However, CIE exposure only produced a mild augmentation of ethanol consumption in BK ?4 KO mice. Conversely, ethanol drinking increased after fewer CIE cycles in BK ?1 KO mice than in wildtype mice. In conclusion, BK ?1 or ?4 did not influence voluntary ethanol drinking in non-dependent mice, regardless of the pattern of access to ethanol. However, deletion of BK ?4 attenuated, while deletion of BK ?1 accelerated, the escalation of ethanol drinking during withdrawal from CIE. Our data suggest that BK ?1 and ?4 subunits have an opposite influence on the negative reinforcing properties of ethanol withdrawal. Modulating the expression, distribution or interactions of BK channel auxiliary subunits may therefore represent a novel avenue for the treatment of alcoholism.

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Modulation of BK channel voltage gating by different auxiliary ? subunits.

Publications

Modulation of BK channel voltage gating by different auxiliary β subunits.

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