BACKGROUND Five children from two consanguineous families presented with epilepsy beginning in infancy and severe ataxia, moderate sensorineural deafness, and a renal salt-losing tubulopathy with normotensive hypokalemic metabolic alkalosis. We investigated the genetic basis of this autosomal recessive disease, which we call the EAST syndrome (the presence of epilepsy, ataxia, sensorineural deafness, and tubulopathy). METHODS Whole-genome linkage analysis was performed in the four affected children in one of the families. Newly identified mutations in a potassium-channel gene were evaluated with the use of a heterologous expression system. Protein expression and function were further investigated in genetically modified mice. RESULTS Linkage analysis identified a single significant locus on chromosome 1q23.2 with a lod score of 4.98. This region contained the KCNJ10 gene, which encodes a potassium channel expressed in the brain, inner ear, and kidney. Sequencing of this candidate gene revealed homozygous missense mutations in affected persons in both families. These mutations, when expressed heterologously in xenopus oocytes, caused significant and specific decreases in potassium currents. Mice with Kcnj10 deletions became dehydrated, with definitive evidence of renal salt wasting. CONCLUSIONS Mutations in KCNJ10 cause a specific disorder, consisting of epilepsy, ataxia, sensorineural deafness, and tubulopathy. Our findings indicate that KCNJ10 plays a major role in renal salt handling and, hence, possibly also in blood-pressure maintenance and its regulation.

Mutations of the KCNJ10 (Kir4.1) K + channel underlie autosomal recessive epilepsy, ataxia, sensorineural deafness, and (a salt-wasting) renal tubulopathy (EAST) syndrome. We investigated the localization of KCNJ10 and the homologous KCNJ16 in kidney and the functional consequences of KCNJ10 mutations found in our patients with EAST syndrome. Kcnj10 and Kcnj16 were found in the basolateral membrane of mouse distal convoluted tubules, connecting tubules, and cortical collecting ducts. In the human kidney, KCNJ10 staining was additionally observed in the basolateral membrane of the cortical thick ascending limb of Henle's loop. EM of distal tubular cells of a patient with EAST syndrome showed reduced basal infoldings in this nephron segment, which likely reflects the morphological consequences of the impaired salt reabsorption capacity. When expressed in CHO and HEK293 cells, the KCNJ10 mutations R65P, G77R, and R175Q caused a marked impairment of channel function. R199X showed complete loss of function. Single-channel analysis revealed a strongly reduced mean open time. Qualitatively similar results were obtained with coexpression of KCNJ10/KCNJ16, suggesting a dominance of KCNJ10 function in native renal KCNJ10/KCNJ16 heteromers. The decrease in the current of R65P and R175Q was mainly caused by a remarkable shift of pH sensitivity to the alkaline range. In summary, EAST mutations of KCNJ10 lead to impaired channel function and structural changes in distal convoluted tubules. Intriguingly, the metabolic alkalosis present in patients carrying the R65P mutation possibly improves residual function of KCNJ10, which shows higher activity at alkaline pH.Bartter | Gitelman | kidney | Kir4.1 | SeSAME

TASK1 (KCNK3) and TASK3 (KCNK9) are two-pore domain potassium channels highly expressed in adrenal glands. TASK1/TASK3 heterodimers are believed to contribute to the background conductance whose inhibition by angiotensin II stimulates aldosterone secretion. We used task1-/- mice to analyze the role of this channel in adrenal gland function. Task1-/- exhibited severe hyperaldosteronism independent of salt intake, hypokalemia, and arterial 'low-renin' hypertension. The hyperaldosteronism was fully remediable by glucocorticoids. The aldosterone phenotype was caused by an adrenocortical zonation defect. Aldosterone synthase was absent in the outer cortex normally corresponding to the zona glomerulosa, but abundant in the reticulo-fasciculata zone. The impaired mineralocorticoid homeostasis and zonation were independent of the sex in young mice, but were restricted to females in adults. Patch-clamp experiments on adrenal cells suggest that task3 and other K+ channels compensate for the task1 absence. Adrenal zonation appears as a dynamic process that even can take place in adulthood. The striking changes in the adrenocortical architecture in task1-/- mice are the first demonstration of the causative role of a potassium channel in development/differentiation.

Task2 K + channel expression in the central nervous system is surprisingly restricted to a few brainstem nuclei, including the retrotrapezoid (RTN) region. All Task2-positive RTN neurons were lost in mice bearing a Phox2b mutation that causes the human congenital central hypoventilation syndrome. In plethysmography, Task2 −/− mice showed disturbed chemosensory function with hypersensitivity to low CO 2 concentrations, leading to hyperventilation. Task2 probably is needed to stabilize the membrane potential of chemoreceptive cells. In addition, Task2 −/− mice lost the long-term hypoxia-induced respiratory decrease whereas the acute carotid-body-mediated increase was maintained. The lack of anoxia-induced respiratory depression in the isolated brainstemspinal cord preparation suggested a central origin of the phenotype. Task2 activation by reactive oxygen species generated during hypoxia could silence RTN neurons, thus contributing to respiratory depression. These data identify Task2 as a determinant of central O 2 chemoreception and demonstrate that this phenomenon is due to the activity of a small number of neurons located at the ventral medullary surface.breathing | central chemoreceptors | K2P | KCNK5 | ventral medullary surface S pontaneous breathing requires feedback controls in which detection of blood gases and pH is critical. At present, there is good understanding of the brainstem topology of respiratory centers, and functional measurements in vitro and in vivo have revealed the basic principles of the neuronal network required for respiratory rhythmogenesis and pattern generation. This network comprises several groups of respiratory neurons forming columns extending from the caudal ventrolateral medulla to the dorsolateral pons (1, 2). The activity of this network must be stable yet permanently adjusted to variations of O 2 , CO 2 , and pH during diverse physiological conditions, e.g., sleep, exercise, or high altitude (3). The precise physiological processes by which pH, CO 2 , and O 2 changes are sensed and translated into the appropriate respiratory neural output are important mechanisms that are still a matter of debate (4, 5). Changes in arterial CO 2 / pH are detected by peripheral chemoreceptors, mainly carotid bodies, and multiple chemoreceptive areas within the brainstem. Among the central chemoreceptive areas, two have attracted most attention: the raphe nuclei and the retrotrapezoid nucleus (RTN) (6, 7). The carotid bodies are the major sensors for acute O 2 changes. However, for longer periods of hypoxia, respiratory adaptation is substantially mediated by central mechanisms (8). The ventrolateral medullary surface comprising the RTN and the parafacial respiratory group (pFRG) has been proposed to contain intrinsically CO 2 -and O 2 -sensing neurons (9-12). Recently, a mouse model that carries a mutation of the transcription factor Phox2b, which causes congenital central hypoventilation syndrome in humans, was engineered. A specific loss of a population of Phox2b-expressing RTN/pFRG neurons ...

Abstract-Primary aldosteronism is the most frequent cause of endocrine hypertension. Three forms of familial hyperaldosteronism (FH) have been described, named FH-I to -III. Recently, a mutation of KCNJ5 has been shown to be associated with FH-III, whereas the cause of FH-II is still unknown. In this study we searched for mutations in KCNJ5 in 46 patients from 21 families with FH, in which FH-I was excluded. We identified a new germline G151E mutation in 2 primary aldosteronism-affected subjects from an Italian family and 3 somatic mutations in aldosterone-producing adenomas, T158A described previously as a germline mutation associated with FH-III, and G151R and L168R both described as somatic mutations in aldosterone-producing adenoma. The phenotype of the family with the G151E mutation was remarkably milder compared with the previously described American family, in terms of both clinical and biochemical parameters. Furthermore, patients with somatic KCNJ5 mutations displayed a phenotype indistinguishable from that of sporadic primary aldosteronism. The functional characterization of the effects of the G151E mutation in vitro showed a profound alteration of the channel function, with loss of K ϩ selectivity, Na ϩ influx, and membrane depolarization. These alterations have been postulated to be responsible for voltage gate Ca 2ϩ channel activation, increase in cytosolic calcium, and stimulation of aldosterone production and adrenal cell proliferation. In conclusion, we describe herein a new mutation in the KCNJ5 potassium channel associated with FH-III, responsible for marked alterations of channel function but associated with a mild clinical and hormonal phenotype. (Hypertension. 2012;59: 235-240.) • Online Data Supplement Key Words: familial hyperaldosteronism Ⅲ endocrine hypertension Ⅲ primary aldosteronism Ⅲ aldosterone Ⅲ KCNJ5 P rimary aldosteronism (PA) is the most frequent cause of secondary hypertension, and its prevalence increases with blood pressure severity. 1 PA diagnosis is of paramount importance for the patient, not only because specific therapy is available, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists for bilateral forms and adrenalectomy for unilateral forms, 2 but also because aldosterone causes detrimental effects on the cardiovascular system that are at least partly independent of blood pressure levels. 3,4 Current guidelines of the Endocrine Society recommend the confirmation or exclusion of PA in all groups of patients with an increased risk of the disease, 1 which include hypertensive patients with a family history of early onset hypertension or cerebrovascular events at a young age and all hypertensive first-degree relatives of patients with PA. These indications recognize the importance of testing for PA in patients at risk for familial hyperaldosteronism (FH). Three forms of FH have been described to date, named FH-I to -III. 5-8 FH-I, also known as glucocorticoid-remediable aldosteronism (GRA), is attributed to a chimeric CYP11B1/ CYP11B2 gene encoding a hybrid enzyme able to synthesize al...