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Unitary Conductance (unitary + conductance)
Selected AbstractsMelatonin ameliorates hippocampal nitric oxide production and large conductance calcium-activated potassium channel activity in chronic intermittent hypoxiaJOURNAL OF PINEAL RESEARCH, Issue 3 2008Y. W. Tjong Abstract:, Melatonin protects against hippocampal injury induced by intermittent hypoxia (IH). IH-induced oxidative stress is associated with decreases in constitutive production of nitric oxide (NO) and in the activity of large conductance calcium-activated potassium (BK) channels in hippocampal neurons. We tested the hypothesis that administration of melatonin alleviates the NO deficit and impaired BK channel activity in the hippocampus of IH rats. Sprague,Dawley rats were injected with melatonin (10 mg/kg, i.p.) or vehicle before daily IH exposure for 8 hr for 7 days. The NO and intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) levels in the CA1 region of hippocampal slices were measured by electrochemical microsenor and spectrofluorometry, respectively. The activity of BK channels was recorded by patch-clamping electrophysiology in dissociated CA1 neurons. Malondialdehyde levels were increased in the hippocampus of hypoxic rats and were lowered by the melatonin treatment. Levels of NO under resting and hypoxic conditions, and the protein expression of neuronal NO synthase (nNOS) were significantly reduced in the CA1 neurons of hypoxic animals compared with the normoxic controls. These deficits were mitigated in the melatonin-treated hypoxic rats with an improved [Ca2+]i response to acute hypoxia. The open probability of BK channels was decreased in the hypoxic rats and was partially restored in the melatonin-treated animals, without alterations in the expression of channel subunits and unitary conductance. Acute treatment of melatonin had no significant effects on the BK channel activity or on the [Ca2+]i response to hypoxia. Collectively, these results suggest that melatonin ameliorates the constitutive NO production and BK channel activity via an antioxidant mechanism against an IH-induced down-regulation of nNOS expression in hippocampal neurons. [source] Obligatory role for phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate in activation of native TRPC1 store-operated channels in vascular myocytesTHE JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY, Issue 3 2009Sohag N. Saleh In the present study the effect of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) was studied on a native TRPC1 store-operated channel (SOC) in freshly dispersed rabbit portal vein myocytes. Application of diC8-PIP2, a water soluble form of PIP2, to quiescent inside-out patches evoked single channel currents with a unitary conductance of 1.9 pS. DiC8-PIP2 -evoked channel currents were inhibited by anti-TRPC1 antibodies and these characteristics are identical to SOCs evoked by cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) and BAPTA-AM. SOCs stimulated by CPA, BAPTA-AM and the phorbol ester phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu) were reduced by anti-PIP2 antibodies and by depletion of tissue PIP2 levels by pre-treatment of preparations with wortmannin and LY294002. However, these reagents did not alter the ability of PIP2 to activate SOCs in inside-out patches. Co-immunoprecipitation techniques demonstrated association between TRPC1 and PIP2 at rest, which was greatly decreased by wortmannin and LY294002. Pre-treatment of cells with PDBu, which activates protein kinase C (PKC), augmented SOC activation by PIP2 whereas the PKC inhibitor chelerythrine decreased SOC stimulation by PIP2. Co-immunoprecipitation experiments provide evidence that PKC-dependent phosphorylation of TRPC1 occurs constitutively and was increased by CPA and PDBu but decreased by chelerythrine. These novel results show that PIP2 can activate TRPC1 SOCs in native vascular myocytes and plays an important role in SOC activation by CPA, BAPTA-AM and PDBu. Moreover, the permissive role of PIP2 in SOC activation requires PKC-dependent phosphorylation of TRPC1. [source] Control of the single channel conductance of K2P10.1 (TREK-2) by the amino-terminus: role of alternative translation initiationTHE JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY, Issue 23 2008Dina Simkin TREK-2 expressed in mammalian cells exhibits small (,52 pS) and large (,220 pS) unitary conductance levels. Here we tested the role of the N-terminus (69 amino acids long) in the control of the unitary conductance, and role of the alternative translation initiation as a mechanism that produces isoforms of TREK-2 that show different conductance levels. Deletion of the first half (,1,36) of the N-terminus had no effect. However, deletion of most of the N-terminus (,1,66) resulted in the appearance of only the large-conductance channel (,220 pS). In support of the critical function of the distal half of the N-terminus, the deletion mutants ,1,44 and ,1,54 produced ,90 pS and 188 pS channels, respectively. In Western blot analysis, TREK-2 antibody detected two immunoreactive bands at ,54 kDa and ,60 kDa from cells expressing wild-type TREK-2 that has three potential translation initiation sites (designated M1M2M3) within the N-terminus. Mutation of the second and third initiation sites from Met to Leu (M1L2L3) produced only the ,60 kDa isoform and the small-conductance channel (,52 pS). Mutants designed to produce translation from the second (M2L3) or third (M3) initiation site produced the ,54 kDa isoform, and the large conductance channel (,185,224 pS). M1L2L3, M2L3 and M3 were relatively selectively permeable to K+, as judged by the 51,55 mV shifts in reversal potential following a 10-fold change in [K+]o. PNa/PK values were also similar for M1L2L3 (,0.02), M2L3 (,0.02) and M3 (,0.03). Arachidonic acid, proton and membrane stretch activated, whereas dibutyryl-cAMP inhibited all three isoforms of TREK-2, indicating that deletion of the N-terminus does not abolish modulation. These results show that the small and large conductance TREK-2 channels are produced as a result of alternative translation initiation, producing isoforms with long and short N-termini, and that the distal half of the N-terminus controls the unitary conductance. [source] Charges dispersed over the permeation pathway determine the charge selectivity and conductance of a Cx32 chimeric hemichannelTHE JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY, Issue 10 2008Seunghoon Oh Previous studies have shown that charge substitutions in the amino terminus of a chimeric connexin, Cx32*43E1, which forms unapposed hemichannels in Xenopus oocytes, can result in a threefold difference in unitary conductance and alter the direction and amount of open channel current rectification. Here, we determine the charge selectivity of Cx32*43E1 unapposed hemichannels containing negative and/or positive charge substitutions at the 2nd, 5th and 8th positions in the N-terminus. Unlike Cx32 intercellular channels, which are weakly anion selective, the Cx32*43E1 unapposed hemichannel is moderately cation selective. Cation selectivity is maximal when the extracellular surface of the channel is exposed to low ionic strength solutions implicating a region of negative charge in the first extracellular loop of Cx43 (Cx43E1) in influencing charge selectivity analogous to that reported. Negative charge substitutions at the 2nd, 5th and 8th positions in the intracellular N-terminus substantially increase the unitary conductance and cation selectivity of the chimeric hemichannel. Positive charge substitutions at the 5th position decrease unitary conductance and produce a non-selective channel while the presence of a positive charge at the 5th position and negative charge at the 2nd results in a channel with conductance similar to the parental channel but with greater preference for cations. We demonstrate that a cysteine substitution of the 8th residue in the N-terminus can be modified by a methanthiosulphonate reagent (MTSEA-biotin-X) indicating that this residue lines the aqueous pore at the intracellular entrance of the channel. The results indicate that charge selectivity of the Cx32*43E1 hemichannel can be determined by the combined actions of charges dispersed over the permeation pathway rather than by a defined region that acts as a charge selectivity filter. [source] Multiple regulation by calcium of murine homologues of transient receptor potential proteins TRPC6 and TRPC7 expressed in HEK293 cellsTHE JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY, Issue 2 2004Juan Shi We investigated, by using the patch clamp technique, Ca2+ -mediated regulation of heterologously expressed TRPC6 and TRPC7 proteins in HEK293 cells, two closely related homologues of the transient receptor potential (TRP) family and molecular candidates for native receptor-operated Ca2+ entry channels. With nystatin-perforated recording, the magnitude and time courses of activation and inactivation of carbachol (CCh; 100 ,m)-activated TRPC6 currents (ITRPC6) were enhanced and accelerated, respectively, by extracellular Ca2+ (Ca2o+) whether it was continuously present or applied after receptor stimulation. In contrast, Ca2o+ solely inhibited TRPC7 currents (ITRPC7). Vigorous buffering of intracellular Ca2+ (Ca2i+) under conventional whole-cell clamp abolished the slow potentiating (i.e. accelerated activation) and inactivating effects of Ca2o+, disclosing fast potentiation (EC50: ,0.4 mm) and inhibition (IC50: ,4 mm) of ITRPC6 and fast inhibition (IC50: ,0.4 mm) of ITRPC7. This inhibition of ITRPC6 and ITRPC7 seems to be associated with voltage-dependent reductions of unitary conductance and open probability at the single channel level, whereas the potentiation of ITRPC6 showed little voltage dependence and was mimicked by Sr2+ but not Ba2+. The activation process of ITRPC6 or its acceleration by Ca2o+ probably involves phosphorylation by calmodulin (CaM)-dependent kinase II (CaMKII), as pretreatment with calmidazolium (3 ,m), coexpression of Ca2+ -insesentive mutant CaM, and intracellular perfusion of the non-hydrolysable ATP analogue AMP-PNP and a CaMKII-specific inhibitory peptide all effectively prevented channel activation. However, this was not observed for TRPC7. Instead, single CCh-activated TRPC7 channel activity was concentration-dependently suppressed by nanomolar Ca2i+ via CaM and conversely enhanced by IP3. In addition, the inactivation time course of ITRPC6 was significantly retarded by pharmacological inhibition of protein kinase C (PKC). These results collectively suggest that TRPC6 and 7 channels are multiply regulated by Ca2+ from both sides of the membrane through differential Ca2+,CaM-dependent and -independent mechanisms. [source] | ||||||||||