Large conductance calcium-and voltage-gated potassium (BK) channels are important regulators of physiological homeostasis and their function is potently modulated by protein kinase A (PKA) phosphorylation. PKA regulates the channel through phosphorylation of residues within the intracellular C terminus of the poreforming ␣-subunits. However, the molecular mechanism(s) by which phosphorylation of the ␣-subunit effects changes in channel activity are unknown. Inhibition of BK channels by PKA depends on phosphorylation of only a single ␣-subunit in the channel tetramer containing an alternatively spliced insert (STREX) suggesting that phosphorylation results in major conformational rearrangements of the C terminus. Here, we define the mechanism of PKA inhibition of BK channels and demonstrate that this regulation is conditional on the palmitoylation status of the channel. We show that the cytosolic C terminus of the STREX BK channel uniquely interacts with the plasma membrane via palmitoylation of evolutionarily conserved cysteine residues in the STREX insert. PKA phosphorylation of the serine residue immediately upstream of the conserved palmitoylated cysteine residues within STREX dissociates the C terminus from the plasma membrane, inhibiting STREX channel activity. Abolition of STREX palmitoylation by site-directed mutagenesis or pharmacological inhibition of palmitoyl transferases prevents PKA-mediated inhibition of BK channels. Thus, palmitoylation gates BK channel regulation by PKA phosphorylation. Palmitoylation and phosphorylation are both dynamically regulated; thus, cross-talk between these 2 major posttranslational signaling cascades provides a mechanism for conditional regulation of BK channels. Interplay of these distinct signaling cascades has important implications for the dynamic regulation of BK channels and physiological homeostasis.L arge conductance calcium-and voltage-gated potassium (BK) channels are potently regulated by protein phosphorylation (1) and are important determinants of neuronal, cardiovascular, endocrine, and epithelial function where channel dysfunction may lead to major disorders such as hypertension (2, 3), ataxia (4), epilepsy (5, 6), and incontinence (7). BK channels are potently regulated by phosphorylation, and several putative phosphorylation motifs on the pore-forming ␣-subunit have been identified (8-12). However, as for other potassium channels, the molecular basis through which phosphorylation of the ␣-subunit effects changes in BK channel activity is essentially unknown.BK channel pore-forming ␣-subunits are encoded by a single gene, KCNMA1 (13), and native BK channels show functional heterogeneity in their response to protein kinase A (PKA)-mediated phosphorylation. This diversity results, in large part, from the extensive alternative pre-mRNA splicing of the pore-forming ␣-subunits (10, 12). Previous studies have demonstrated that PKA phosphorylation of a conserved C-terminal phosphorylation motif. RQPS 899 results in BK channel activation (9,10,14). Inclusion of ...
Cellular responses to hypoxia are tissue-specific and dynamic. However, the mechanisms that underlie this differential sensitivity to hypoxia are unknown. Large conductance voltage-and Caactivated K (BK) channels are important mediators of hypoxia responses in many systems. Although BK channels are ubiquitously expressed, alternative pre-mRNA splicing of the single gene encoding their pore-forming ␣-subunits provides a powerful mechanism for generating functional diversity. Here, we demonstrate that the hypoxia sensitivity of BK channel ␣-subunits is splicevariant-specific. Sensitivity to hypoxia is conferred by a highly conserved motif within an alternatively spliced cysteine-rich insert, the stress-regulated exon (STREX), within the intracellular C terminus of the channel. Hypoxic inhibition of the STREX variant is Ca-sensitive and reversible, and it rapidly follows the change in oxygen tension by means of a mechanism that is independent of redox or CO regulation. Hypoxia sensitivity was abolished by mutation of the serine (S24) residue within the STREX insert. Because STREX splice-variant expression is tissue-specific and dynamically controlled, alternative splicing of BK channels provides a mechanism to control the plasticity of cellular responses to hypoxia.alternative splicing ͉ KCNMA1 ͉ oxygen sensing M ammalian cell survival depends on the presence of oxygen. The lowering of oxygen tension (hypoxia) (whether from the disruption of blood flow, inhibition of gaseous exchange, or changes in cellular metabolism) can trigger a range of physiological responses that attempt to minimize the detrimental effects of hypoxia. Large-conductance Ca-and voltage-activated K (BK) channels have been identified as one of the key mediators of the response of the body to hypoxia. BK channels are important for the ''oxygen-sensing'' function of specialized tissues, such as the carotid body and neuroepithelia (1-3), as well as for determining cellular excitability in smooth muscle and neurons (4, 5). However, the responsiveness of native BK channels to changes in oxygen tension is as diverse as the tissues in which they are expressed, with some being completely insensitive to hypoxia (6) and others being potently inhibited by hypoxia (1-3). Also, cellular and tissue sensitivity to hypoxia are highly plastic (7-9), with adaptive responses that depend on prior and prevailing conditions, which may involve changes in BK channel expression (10), although the underlying mechanisms are essentially unknown.The pore-forming ␣-subunits of BK channels are encoded by a single gene (11), KCNMA1, which undergoes extensive alternative pre-mRNA splicing (12, 13). The ␣-subunits assemble as tetramers to form functional channels (14, 15). Distinct splicevariant mRNAs of ␣-subunits may be expressed in the same cell or differentially expressed between tissues or even neighboring cells (16,17). Dynamic modification of splice-variant mRNA expression (18, 19) allows plasticity in BK channel phenotype and cellular regulation (20)(21)(22). Functional ...
S-Palmitoylation is rapidly emerging as an important post-translational mechanism to regulate ion channels. We have previously demonstrated that large conductance calcium- and voltage-activated potassium (BK) channels are palmitoylated within an alternatively spliced (STREX) insert. However, these studies also revealed that additional site(s) for palmitoylation must exist outside of the STREX insert, although the identity or the functional significance of these palmitoylated cysteine residues are unknown. Here, we demonstrate that BK channels are palmitoylated at a cluster of evolutionary conserved cysteine residues (Cys-53, Cys-54, and Cys-56) within the intracellular linker between the S0 and S1 transmembrane domains. Mutation of Cys-53, Cys-54, and Cys-56 completely abolished palmitoylation of BK channels lacking the STREX insert (ZERO variant). Palmitoylation allows the S0-S1 linker to associate with the plasma membrane but has no effect on single channel conductance or the calcium/voltage sensitivity. Rather, S0-S1 linker palmitoylation is a critical determinant of cell surface expression of BK channels, as steady state surface expression levels are reduced by ∼55% in the C53:54:56A mutant. STREX variant channels that could not be palmitoylated in the S0-S1 linker also displayed significantly reduced cell surface expression even though STREX insert palmitoylation was unaffected. Thus our work reveals the functional independence of two distinct palmitoylation-dependent membrane interaction domains within the same channel protein and demonstrates the critical role of S0-S1 linker palmitoylation in the control of BK channel cell surface expression.
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