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Channel Complex (channel + complex)
Selected AbstractsEffect of Ganaxolone on Flurothyl Seizures in Developing RatsEPILEPSIA, Issue 7 2000a Liptáková Summary: Purpose: To determine the effects of a newly synthesized epalon, ganaxolone (GNX), on primarily generalized seizures in rats of various ages during development. Epalons are classified as neuroactive steroids that interact at unique site of the GABAA receptor-Cl, channel complex in the central nervous system. Methods: Sprague-Dawley male rats were used at 9, 15, 30, and 60 postnatal days (PN). GNX dissolved in 2-hydroxypropyl-,-cyclodextrine was administered intraperitoneally in different doses at various time points before flurothyl testing. The incidence and threshold of clonic and tonic-clonic flurothyl seizures were evaluated. Behavioral changes were also assessed. Results: In all age groups, the effects of GNX were dose dependent and more prominent 10 min after its administration. In PN 60 and PN 30 rats, GNX had dose-dependent anticon-vulsant effects; tonic-clonic seizures were more sensitive to GNX treatment than clonic seizures. In PN 15 and PN 9 rats, GNX demonstrated dose- and time-dependent anticonvulsant effects against both types of flurothyl-induced seizures. GNX was more effective in PN 15 rats than in other age groups, but at doses that altered motor behavior. Conclusions: GNX has anticonvulsant effects against flurothyl-induced seizures in all age groups tested. Its effects are more prominent in the two younger age groups, especially in PN 15 rats, but are associated with motor side effects. [source] Proteolytic cleavage of the voltage-gated Ca2+ channel ,2, subunit: structural and functional featuresEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 6 2007Arturo Andrade Abstract By mediating depolarization-induced Ca2+ influx, high-voltage-activated Ca2+ channels control a variety of cellular events. These heteromultimeric proteins are composed of an ion-conducting (,1) and three auxiliary (,2,, , and ,) subunits. The ,2, subunit enhances the trafficking of the channel complex to the cell surface and increases channel open probability. To exert these effects, ,2, must undergo important post-translational modifications, including a proteolytic cleavage that separates the extracellular ,2 from its transmembrane , domain. After this proteolysis both domains remain linked by disulfide bonds. In spite of its central role in determining the final conformation of the fully mature ,2,, almost nothing is known about the physiological implications of this structural modification. In the current report, by using site-directed mutagenesis, the proteolytic site of ,2, was mapped to amino acid residues Arg-941 and Val-946. Substitution of these residues renders the protein insensitive to proteolytic cleavage as evidenced by the lack of molecular weight shift upon treatment with a disulfide-reducing agent. Interestingly, these mutations significantly decreased whole-cell patch-clamp currents without affecting the voltage dependence or kinetics of the channels, suggesting a reduction in the number of channels targeted to the plasma membrane. [source] Confirmation of the anxiolytic-like effect of dihydrohonokiol following behavioural and biochemical assessmentsJOURNAL OF PHARMACY AND PHARMACOLOGY: AN INTERNATI ONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCE, Issue 5 2001Yuji Maruyama Previous studies in this laboratory revealed that dihydrohonokiol-B (DHH-B; 3,-(2 propenyl)-5-propyl-(1,1,-biphenyl)-2,4,-diol), a partially reduced derivative of honokiol, was an effective anxiolytic-like agent in mice at an oral dose of 0.04 mg kg,1, and at higher doses, when evaluated by the elevated plus-maze test. The aim of this study was to further confirm the anxiolytic-like effect of DHH-B using an additional behavioural procedure (Vogel's conflict test in mice) and a biochemical assessment (in-vitro determination of muscimol-stimulated 36Cl, uptake into mouse cortical synaptoneurosomes). As in earlier experiments, DHH-B (0.04,1 mg kg,1, p.o.) was shown to prolong the time spent in the open-sided arms of the elevated plus-maze in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, in the Vogel's conflict test, DHH-B (5 mg kg,1, p.o.) significantly increased punished water intake. In tests with mouse cerebral cortical synaptoneurosomes, 10 and 30 ,m of DHH-B significantly increased 36Cl, influx in the absence of muscimol. In the presence of 25 ,m muscimol, the addition of 1 ,m DHH-B led to significant enhancement of 36Cl, uptake, while 30 ,m DHH-B was required to further stimulate the 36Cl, uptake induced by 250 ,m muscimol. The results of these studies confirm that DHH-B is a potent anxiolytic-like agent and that GABAA receptor-gated Cl, -channel complex is involved in the anxiolytic-like efficacy of DHH-B. [source] Polycystins: what polycystic kidney disease tells us about spermMOLECULAR REPRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT, Issue 4 2004Abraham L. Kierszenbaum Abstract Experimental evidence indicates that the membrane-associated proteins polycystin-1 and polycystin-2 operate as a receptor-calcium channel complex that regulates signaling pathways essential for modulation of renal tubulogenesis. Polycystic kidney disease is characterized by defective renal tubular structure and results from mutations in either PKD1 or PKD2 genes. Recent data suggest that polycystin-1 and polycystin-2 might localize to primary cilium in principal cells of renal collecting tubules and are thought to act as mechanosensors of fluid flow and contents. Ciliary bending by fluid flow or mechanical stimulation induce Ca2+ release from intracellular stores, presumably to modulate ion influx in response to tubular fluid flow. Polycystins are also emerging as playing a significant role in sperm development and function. Drosophila polycystin-2 is associated with the head and tail of mature sperm. Targeted disruption of the PKD2 homolog results in nearly complete male sterility without disrupting spermatogenesis. Mutant sperm are motile but are unable to reach the female storage organs (seminal receptacles and spermathecae). The sea urchin polycystin-1-equivalent suPC2 colocalizes with the polycystin-1 homolog REJ3 to the plasma membrane over the acrosomal vesicle. This localization site suggests that the suPC2-REJ3 complex may function as a cation channel mediating acrosome reaction when sperm contact the jelly layer surrounding the egg at fertilization. Future studies leading to the identification of specific ligands for polycystins, including the signaling pathways, might define the puzzling relationship between renal tubular morphogenesis and sperm development and function. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 67: 385,388, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Subunit-specific desensitization of heteromeric kainate receptorsTHE JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY, Issue 4 2010David D. Mott Kainate receptor subunits can form functional channels as homomers of GluK1, GluK2 or GluK3, or as heteromeric combinations with each other or incorporating GluK4 or GluK5 subunits. However, GluK4 and GluK5 cannot form functional channels by themselves. Incorporation of GluK4 or GluK5 into a heteromeric complex increases glutamate apparent affinity and also enables receptor activation by the agonist AMPA. Utilizing two-electrode voltage clamp of Xenopus oocytes injected with cRNA encoding kainate receptor subunits, we have observed that heteromeric channels composed of GluK2/GluK4 and GluK2/GluK5 have steady state concentration,response curves that were bell-shaped in response to either glutamate or AMPA. By contrast, homomeric GluK2 channels exhibited a monophasic steady state concentration,response curve that simply plateaued at high glutamate concentrations. By fitting several specific Markov models to GluK2/GluK4 heteromeric and GluK2 homomeric concentration,response data, we have determined that: (a) two strikingly different agonist binding affinities exist; (b) the high-affinity binding site leads to channel opening; and (c) the low-affinity agonist binding site leads to strong desensitization after agonist binding. Model parameters also approximate the onset and recovery kinetics of desensitization observed for macroscopic currents measured from HEK-293 cells expressing GluK2 and GluK4 subunits. The GluK2(E738D) mutation lowers the steady state apparent affinity for glutamate by 9000-fold in comparison to GluK2 homomeric wildtype receptors. When this mutant subunit was expressed with GluK4, the rising phase of the glutamate steady state concentration,response curve overlapped with the wildtype curve, whereas the declining phase was right-shifted toward lower affinity. Taken together, these data are consistent with a scheme whereby high-affinity agonist binding to a non-desensitizing GluK4 subunit opens the heteromeric channel, whereas low-affinity agonist binding to GluK2 desensitizes the whole channel complex. [source] Mg2+ and memantine block of rat recombinant NMDA receptors containing chimeric NR2A/2D subunits expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytesTHE JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY, Issue 1 2008David C. Wrighton N -methyl- d -aspartate receptors (NMDARs) display differences in their sensitivity to the channel blockers Mg2+ and memantine that are dependent on the identity of the NR2 subunit present in the receptor,channel complex. This study used two-electrode voltage-clamp recordings from Xenopus laevis oocytes expressing recombinant NMDARs to investigate the actions of Mg2+ and memantine at the two NMDARs displaying the largest differences in sensitivity to these blockers, namely NR1/NR2A and NR1/NR2D NMDARs. In addition, NR2A/2D chimeric subunits have been employed to examine the effects of pore-forming elements and ligand-binding domains (LBD) on the potency of the block produced by each of these inhibitors. Our results show that, as previously documented, NR2D-containing NMDARs are less sensitive to voltage-dependent Mg2+ block than their NR2A-containing counterparts. The reduced sensitivity is determined by the M1M2M3 membrane-associated regions, as replacing these regions in NR2A subunits with those found in NR2D subunits results in a ,10-fold reduction in Mg2+ potency. Intriguingly, replacing the NR2A LBD with that from NR2D subunits results in a ,2-fold increase in Mg2+ potency. Moreover, when responses mediated by NR1/NR2A NMDARs are evoked by the partial agonist homoquinolinate, rather than glutamate, Mg2+ also displays an increased potency. Memantine block of glutamate-evoked currents is most potent at NR1/NR2D NMDARs, but no differences are observed in its ability to inhibit NR2A-containing or NR2A/2D chimeric NMDARs. We suggest that the potency of block of NMDARs by Mg2+ is influenced not only by pore-forming regions but also the LBD and the resulting conformational changes that occur following agonist binding. [source] Evidence for a Single Nucleotide Polymorphism in the KCNQ1 Potassium Channel that Underlies Susceptibility to Life-Threatening ArrhythmiasJOURNAL OF CARDIOVASCULAR ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY, Issue 11 2001TOMOYUKI KUBOTA M.D. Ion Channel Polymorphism and Cardiac Arrhythmia. Introduction: Congenital long QT syndrome (LQTS) is a genetically heterogeneous arrhythmogenic disorder caused by mutations in at least five different genes encoding cardiac ion channels. It was suggested recently that common polymorphisms of LQTS-associated genes might modify arrhythmia susceptibility in potential gene carriers. Methods and Results: We examined the known LQTS genes in 95 patients with definitive or suspected LQTS. Exon-specific polymerase chain reaction single-strand conformation polymorphism and direct sequence analyses identified six patients who carried only a single nucleotide polymorphism in KCNQ1 that is found in , 11% of the Japanese population. This 1727G> A substitution that changes the sense of its coding sequence from glycine to serine at position 643 (G643S) was mostly associated with a milder phenotype, often precipitated by hypokalemia and bradyarrhythmias. When heterologously examined by voltage-clamp experiments, the in vitro cellular phenotype caused by the single nucleotide polymorphism revealed that G643S- KCNQ1 forms functional homomultimeric channels, producing a significantly smaller current than that of the wild-type (WT) channels. Coexpression of WT- KCNQ1 and G643S- KCNQ1 with KCNE1 resulted in , 30% reduction in the slow delayed rectifier K+ current IKs without much alteration in the kinetic properties except its deactivation process, suggesting that the G643S substitution had a weaker dominant-negative effect on the heteromultimeric channel complexes. Conclusion: We demonstrate that a common polymorphism in the KCNQ1 potassium channel could be a molecular basis for mild IKs dysfunction that, in the presence of appropriate precipitating factors, might predispose potential gene carriers to life-threatening arrhythmias in a specific population. [source] Multiple functions of the paranodal junction of myelinated nerve fibers,JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH, Issue 15 2009Jack Rosenbluth Abstract Myelin sheaths include an extraordinary structure, the "paranodal axoglial junction" (PNJ), which attaches the sheath to the axon at each end of each myelin segment. Its size is enormous and its structure unique. Here we review past and current studies showing that this junction can serve multiple functions in maintaining reliable saltatory conduction. The present evidence points to three functions in particular. 1) It seals the myelin sheath to the axon to prevent major shunting of nodal action currents beneath the myelin sheath while still leaving a narrow channel interconnecting the internodal periaxonal space with the perinodal space. This pathway represents a potential route through which juxtaparanodal and internodal channels can influence nodal activity and through which nutrients, such as glucose, and other metabolites can diffuse to and from the internodal periaxonal space. 2) It serves as a mechanism for maintaining discrete, differentiated axolemmal domains at and around the node of Ranvier by acting as a barrier to the lateral movement of ion channel complexes within the axolemma, thus concentrating voltage-gated sodium channels at the node and segregating fast voltage-gated potassium channels to the juxtaparanode under the myelin sheath. 3) It attaches the myelin sheath to the axon on either side of the node and can thus maintain nodal dimensions in the face of mechanical stresses associated with stretch or other local factors that might cause disjunction. It is therefore the likely means for maintaining constancy of nodal surface area and electrical parameters essential for consistency in conduction. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Regulation by FK506 and rapamycin of Ca2+ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum in vascular smooth muscle: the role of FK506 binding proteins and mTORBRITISH JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY, Issue 4 2009D MacMillan Background and purpose:, The sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), regulates the cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]cyto) in vascular smooth muscle. Release from the SR is controlled by two intracellular receptor/channel complexes, the ryanodine receptor (RyR) and the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP3R). These receptors may be regulated by the accessory FK506-binding protein (FKBP) either directly, by binding to the channel, or indirectly via FKBP modulation of two targets, the phosphatase, calcineurin or the kinase, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). Experimental approach:, Single portal vein myocytes were voltage-clamped in whole cell configuration and [Ca2+]cyto measured using fluo-3. IP3Rs were activated by photolysis of caged IP3 and RyRs activated by hydrostatic application of caffeine. Key results:, FK506 which displaces FKBP from each receptor (to inhibit calcineurin) increased the [Ca2+]cyto rise evoked by activation of either RyR or IP3R. Rapamycin which displaces FKBP (to inhibit mTOR) also increased the amplitude of the caffeine-evoked, but reduced the IP3 -evoked [Ca2+]cyto rise. None of the phosphatase inhibitors, cypermethrin, okadaic acid or calcineurin inhibitory peptide, altered either caffeine- or IP3 -evoked [Ca2+]cyto release; calcineurin did not contribute to FK506-mediated potentiation of RyR- or IP3R-mediated Ca2+ release. The mTOR inhibitor LY294002, like rapamycin, decreased IP3 -evoked Ca2+ release. Conclusions and implications:, Ca2+ release in portal vein myocytes, via RyR, was modulated directly by FKBP binding to the channel; neither calcineurin nor mTOR contributed to this regulation. However, IP3R-mediated Ca2+ release, while also modulated directly by FKBP may be additionally regulated by mTOR. Rapamycin inhibition of IP3 -mediated Ca2+ release may be explained by mTOR inhibition. [source] | |||||||||||||