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To study conformational transitions at the muscle nicotinic acetylcholine (ACh) receptor (nAChR), a rhodamine fluorophore was tethered to a Cys side chain introduced at the ␤19 position in the M2 region of the nAChR expressed in Xenopus oocytes. This procedure led to only minor changes in receptor function. During agonist application, fluorescence increased by (⌬F͞F) Ϸ10%, and the emission peak shifted to lower wavelengths, indicating a more hydrophobic environment for the fluorophore. The dose-response relations for ⌬F agreed well with those for epibatidine-induced currents, but were shifted Ϸ100-fold to the left of those for ACh-induced currents. Because (i) epibatidine binds more tightly to the ␣␥-binding site than to the ␣␦ site and (ii) ACh binds with reverse-site selectivity, these data suggest that ⌬F monitors an event linked to binding specifically at the ␣␦-subunit interface. In experiments with flash-applied agonists, the earliest detectable ⌬F occurs within milliseconds, i.e., during activation. T he muscle nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) is a well studied member of the Cys-loop family of neurotransmittergated ion channels. A 4.6-Å structure (1) shows five Ϸ160-Å-long rod-shaped subunits surrounding a central channel. From the extracellular side the subunits have a counterclockwise order of ␣␥␣␦␤ (2, 3). Each subunit has a large extracellular Nterminal or ligand-binding domain followed by four transmembrane regions, M1-M4 (4). The structure of the extracellular ligand-binding sites, at the ␣␥ and ␣␦ interfaces, resembles that of a homologous molluscan ACh-binding protein (3). Numerous biochemical and electrophysiological experiments indicate that M2 lines the channel (5).The nAChR exists in at least four distinct, interconvertible conformational states: resting, open, fast-onset-desensitized, and slow-onset-desensitized (6). The open and the fast-onsetdesensitized states presumably have moderate affinity for ACh, are metastable (on millisecond time scales), and are present in low concentrations at equilibrium. The supralinear doseresponse relation (Hill coefficient Ͼ1) suggests that the open state of the channel is much more likely to be associated with the presence of two bound agonist molecules than with a single bound agonist (7). In the prevailing kinetic scheme, receptors in the resting state bind two agonist molecules, isomerize to the open state, and in the continued presence of agonist, desensitize.After removal of agonist, the agonist-receptor complex dissociates and the channel closes within milliseconds; but desensitized receptors isomerize more slowly to the resting state (tens of milliseconds to hundreds of seconds). Thermodynamic considerations suggest that the resting state has low affinity for agonist, whereas the slow-onset-desensitized state is the most stable state in the presence of agonist because of its high affinity.Kinetic analyses of single-channel and macroscopic function suggests that in the resting state, the affinity of ACh for the two sites differs by a factor of...

The epithelial sodium channel (ENaC), a heterotrimeric complex composed of ␣, ␤, and ␥ subunits, belongs to the ENaC/ degenerin family of ion channels and forms the principal route for apical Na ؉ entry in many reabsorbing epithelia. Although high affinity ENaC blockers, including amiloride and derivatives, have been described, potent and specific small molecule ENaC activators have not been reported. Here we describe compound S3969 that fully and reversibly activates human ENaC (hENaC) in an amiloride-sensitive and dose-dependent manner in heterologous cells. Mechanistically, S3969 increases hENaC open probability through interactions requiring the extracellular domain of the ␤ subunit. hENaC activation by S3969 did not require cleavage by the furin protease, indicating that nonproteolyzed channels can be opened. Function of ␣␤G37S␥ hENaC, a channel defective in gating that leads to the salt-wasting disease pseudohypoaldosteronism type I, was rescued by S3969. Small molecule activation of hENaC may find application in alleviating human disease, including pseudohypoaldosteronism type I, hypotension, and neonatal respiratory distress syndrome, when improved Na ؉ flux across epithelial membranes is clinically desirable.

Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) chloride channels are regulated tightly by protein kinases and phosphatases. The regulatory domain of CFTR has about 20 potential sites for phosphorylation by protein kinases A (PKA) and C (PKC). The reason for this large number of sites is not known, however their conservation from fish to humans implies that they play important roles in vivo. PKA is an important activator, and its stimulation of CFTR is enhanced by PKC via mechanisms which are not fully understood. The physiological stimuli of CFTR are not known for some epithelia, and it appears likely that other serine/ threonine and even tyrosine kinases also regulate CFTR in particular tissues. Phosphatases that deactivate CFTR have yet to be identified definitively at the molecular level, however CFTR is regulated by a membrane-bound form of protein phosphatase-2C (PP2C) in several cell types. Patch-clamp studies of channel rundown, coimmunoprecipitation, chemical cross-linking studies, and pull-down assays all indicate that CFTR and PP2C are closely associated within a stable regulatory complex. Understanding the regulation of CFTR by PP2C is a priority due to its potential as a target for pharmacotherapies in the treatment of cystic fibrosis.

The major surface-located protein in the outer membrane of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) is porin, molecular mass, 38 kDa, 341 amino acids. To define precisely the molecular reactivities of nine mouse monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against Hib porin, overlapping hexapeptides corresponding to the entire sequence of porin were synthesized. The epitopes recognized by the MAbs were mapped by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to stretches of 6 to 11 amino acids. Antigenic sites between amino acids 112 and 126, 148 and 153, 162 and 172, and 318 and 325 were identified. The antigenic sites between amino acids 162 and 172 and between amino acids 318 and 325 were determined by flow cytometry to be on the bacterial cell surface. Four MAbs, POR.2, POR.3, POR.4, and POR.5, that react with amino acids 162 to 172 were able to discriminate among porins from the three major outer membrane protein subtypes of Hib, i.e., 1H, 2L, and 6U. A model for the topological organization of Hib porin was created by calculating the hydrophobicity, amphiphilicity, and turn propensity in its amino acid sequence. Determination of the molecular reactivities of the anti-Hib porin MAbs provided substantive evidence for the orientation of selected regions of porin in the outer membrane of Hib.

Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) chloride channels are rapidly deactivated by a membrane-bound phosphatase activity. The efficiency of this regulation suggests CFTR and protein phosphatases may be associated within a regulatory complex. In this paper we test that possibility using coimmunoprecipitation and cross-linking experiments. A monoclonal anti-CFTR antibody co-precipitated type 2C protein phosphatase (PP2C) from baby hamster kidney cells stably expressing CFTR but did not co-precipitate PP1, PP2A, or PP2B. Conversely, a polyclonal anti-PP2C antibody co-precipitated CFTR from baby hamster kidney membrane extracts. Exposing baby hamster kidney cell lysates to dithiobis (sulfosuccinimidyl propionate) caused the cross-linking of histidine-tagged CFTR (CFTR His10 ) and PP2C into high molecular weight complexes that were isolated by chromatography on Ni 2؉ -nitrilotriacetic acid-agarose. Chemical cross-linking was specific for PP2C, because PP1, PP2A, and PP2B did not co-purify with CFTR His10 after dithiobis (sulfosuccinimidyl propionate) exposure. These results suggest CFTR and PP2C exist in a stable complex that facilitates regulation of the channel.

A series of tethered quaternary ammonium derivatives of Tyr have been incorporated into the binding site of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) using the in vivo nonsense suppression method, producing constitutively active (self-gating) receptors. We have incorporated primary, secondary, and tertiary amine tethered agonists to give receptors whose constitutive activity can be modulated by pH. Lowering the pH protonates the tethered amine, giving it a positive charge and allowing it to reversibly activate the receptor. Tertiary and secondary tethered amines, TyrO3T and TyrO3S, have been successfully incorporated at alpha149 in the nAChR. Constitutive currents at pH 5.5 are 6 times those at pH 9.0. The pKa of TyrO3T in the binding site appears to be 6 or lower, differing substantially from its pKa in solution ( approximately 9.3). This local pKa perturbation has substantial implications for pharmacological research on the nAChR: of the tertiary agonists considered, noracetylcholine experiences this pKa perturbation, while nicotine does not.

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