An evolutionarily-unique heterodimeric voltage-gated cation channel found in aphids

We describe the identification in aphids of a unique heterodimeric voltage-gated sodium channel which has an atypical ion selectivity filter and, unusually for insect channels, is highly insensitive to tetrodotoxin. We demonstrate that this channel has most likely arisen by adaptation (gene fission or duplication) of an invertebrate ancestral mono(hetero)meric channel. This is the only identifiable voltage-gated sodium channel homologue in the aphid genome(s), and the channel's novel selectivity filter motif (DENS instead of the usual DEKA found in other eukaryotes) may result in a loss of sodium selectivity, as indicated experimentally in mutagenised Drosophila channels

The T1-tetramerization domain of Kv1.2 rescues expression and preserves function of a truncated NaChBac Sodium Channel

Cytoplasmic domains frequently promote functional assembly of multimeric ion channels. To investigate structural determinants of this process, we generated the ‘T1-chimera’ construct of the NaChBac sodium channel by truncating the C-terminal domain and splicing the T1-tetramerisation domain of the Kv1.2 channel to the N-terminus. Purified T1-chimera channels were tetrameric, conducted Na+ when reconstituted into proteliposomes and were blocked by the drug mibefradil. Both the T1-chimera and full-length NaChBac had comparable expression in the membrane whereas a NaChBac mutant lacking a cytoplasmic domain had greatly-reduced membranal expression. Our findings support a model whereby bringing the transmembrane regions into close proximity enables their tetramerization. This phenomemon is found with other channels and thus our findings substantiate this as a common assembly mechanism. Nazzareno ‡, Andrew J. Miles2 ‡, Andrew M. Powl2, Colin G. Nichols3, B.A. Wallace2, Andrias O. O’Reilly4

Der derzeitige Stand unserer Kenntnis der Coccolithophoriden

Here you find raw data for a data set that was published in the journal "Data in Brief". The sensitivity of the human sodium channel Nav1.5 to the insecticide deltametrin was examined and conclusions were drawn on the biophysics of the channel

Role of hydrophobic residues in the voltage sensors of the voltage-gated sodium channel

The role of hydrophobic residues in voltage sensors S4 of voltage-sensitive ion channels is less documented than that of charged residues. We performed alanine-substitution of branched-sidechain residues contiguous to the third, fourth and fifth positively charged residues in S4s of the first three domains of the sodium channel expressed in HEK cells. These locations were selected because they are close to the arginines and lysines important in gating. Mutations in the first two domains (DIS4 and DIIS4) altered steady-state activation curves. In DIIIS4, the mutation L1131A next to the third arginine greatly slowed inactivation in a manner similar to that for substitutions of charged residues in DIVS4, whereas the mutation L1137A next to the fifth arginine preserved wild-type behaviour. Homology models of domain III, based on the structure of a crystallized mammalian potassium channel, shows that L1131 is located at the interface between S3 and S4 helices, whereas L1137, on the opposite side of S4, does not interact with the voltage sensor. The two mutated residues are closer to each other in domains I and II than in domain III, as may be corroborated by their different electrophysiological effects

A pore-blocking hydrophobic motif at the cytoplasmic aperture of the closed-state Na(v)17 channel is disrupted by the erythromelalgia-associated F1449V mutation

Sodium channel Nav1.7 has recently elicited considerable interest as a key contributor to human pain. Gain-of-function mutations of Nav1.7 produce painful disorders, whereas loss-of-function Nav1.7 mutations produce insensitivity to pain. The inherited erythromelalgia Nav1.7/F1449V mutation, within the C terminus of domain III/transmembrane helix S6, shifts channel activation by -7.2 mV and accelerates time to peak, leading to nociceptor hyperexcitability. We constructed a homology model of Nav1.7, based on the KcsA potassium channel crystal structure, which identifies four phylogenetically conserved aromatic residues that correspond to DIII/F1449 at the C-terminal end of each of the four S6 helices. The model predicted that changes in side-chain size of residue 1449 alter the pore's cytoplasmic aperture diameter and reshape inter-domain contact surfaces that contribute to closed state stabilization. To test this hypothesis, we compared activation of wild-type and mutant Nav1.7 channels F1449V/L/Y/W by whole cell patch clamp analysis. All but the F1449V mutation conserve the voltage dependence of activation. Compared with wild type, time to peak was shorter in F1449V, similar in F1449L, but longer for F1449Y and F1449W, suggesting that a bulky, hydrophobic residue is necessary for normal activation. We also substituted the corresponding aromatic residue of S6 in each domain individually with valine, to mimic the naturally occurring Nav1.7 mutation. We show that DII/F960V and DIII/F1449V, but not DI/Y405V or DIV/F1752V, regulate Nav1.7 activation, consistent with well established conformational changes in DII and DIII. We propose that the four aromatic residues contribute to the gate at the cytoplasmic pore aperture, and that their ring side chains form a hydrophobic plug which stabilizes the closed state of Nav1.7