Site-directed mutagenesis was used to mutate alpha Cys418 and beta Cys447 in the M4 domain of Torpedo californica acetylcholine receptor expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes. The M4 region is a transmembrane domain thought to be located at the lipid-protein interface. By whole-cell voltage clamp analysis, mutation of both alpha subunits to alpha Trp418 increased maximal channel activity approximately threefold, increased the desensitization rate compared with wild-type receptor, and shifted the EC50 for acetylcholine from 32 microM to 13 microM. Patch measurements of single-channel currents revealed that the alpha Trp418 increased channel open times approximately 28-fold at 13 degrees C with no effect on channel conductance. All of our measured functional changes in the alpha Trp418 mutant are consistent with a simple kinetic model of the acetylcholine receptor in which only the channel closing rate is altered by the mutation. Our results show that changes in protein structure at the putative lipid-protein interface can dramatically affect receptor function.

We studied the functional effects of single amino acid substitutions in the postulated M4 transmembrane domains of Torpedo californica nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) expressed in Xenopus oocytes at the single-channel level. At low ACh concentrations and cold temperatures, the replacement of wild-type alpha418Cys residues with the large, hydrophobic amino acids tryptophan or phenylalanine increased mean open times 26-fold and 3-fold, respectively. The mutation of a homologous cysteine in the beta subunit (beta447Trp) had similar but smaller effects on mean open time. Coexpression of alpha418Trp and beta447Trp had the largest effect on channel open time, increasing mean open time 58-fold. No changes in conductance or ion selectivity were detected for any of the single subunit amino acid substitutions tested. However, the coexpression of the alpha418Trp and beta447Trp mutated subunits also produced channels with at least two additional conductance levels. Block by acetylcholine was apparent in the current records from alpha418Trp mutants. Burst analysis of the alpha418Trp mutations showed an increase in the channel open probability, due to a decrease in the apparent channel closing rate and a probable increase in the effective opening rate. Our results show that modifications in the primary structure of the alpha- and beta subunit M4 domain, which are postulated to be at the lipid-protein interface, can significantly alter channel gating, and that mutations in multiple subunits act additively to increase channel open time.

The hypothalamic-neurohypophysial system (HNS) controls diuresis and parturition through the release of arginine-vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin (OT). These neuropeptides are chiefly synthesized in hypothalamic magnocellular somata in the supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei and are released into the blood stream from terminals in the neurohypophysis. These HNS neurons develop specific electrical activity (bursts) in response to various physiological stimuli. The release of AVP and OT at the level of neurohypophysis is directly linked not only to their different burst patterns, but is also regulated by the activity of a number of voltage-dependent channels present in the HNS nerve terminals and by feedback modulators. We found that there is a different complement of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels (VGCC) in the two types of HNS terminals: L, N, and Q in vasopressinergic terminals vs. L, N, and R in oxytocinergic terminals. These channels, however, do not have sufficiently distinct properties to explain the differences in release efficacy of the specific burst patterns. However, feedback by both opioids and ATP specifically modulate different types of VGCC and hence the amount of AVP and/or OT being released. Opioid receptors have been identified in both AVP and OT terminals. In OT terminals, μ-receptor agonists inhibit all VGCC (particularly R-type), whereas, they induce a limited block of L-, and P/Q-type channels, coupled to an unusual potentiation of the N-type Ca2+ current in the AVP terminals. In contrast, the N-type Ca2+ current can be inhibited by adenosine via A1 receptors leading to the decreased release of both AVP and OT. Furthermore, ATP evokes an inactivating Ca2+/Na+-current in HNS terminals able to potentiate AVP release through the activation of P2X2, P2X3, P2X4 and P2X7 receptors. In OT terminals, however, only the latter receptor type is probably present. We conclude by proposing a model that can explain how purinergic and/or opioid feedback modulation during bursts can mediate differences in the control of neurohypophysial AVP vs. OT release.

Cultured brown fat cells have both voltage- and Ca(2+)-activated potassium channels. We tested whether potassium channel activity is necessary for brown fat proliferation by growing adipocytes and preadipocytes from neonatal rat brown fat in the presence of potassium channel blockers. Whole cell patch-clamp experiments showed that verapamil, nifedipine, and quinine block the voltage-gated potassium current (IK,V) with micromolar affinity. Ca(2+)-activated currents (IK,NE) could be activated by micromolar intracellular Ca2+ concentrations and were blocked by nanomolar concentrations of apamin. Both IK,V and IK,NE are blocked by millimolar concentrations of tetraethylammonium (TEA). Under standard culture conditions, the number of cells showing the multilocular morphology characteristic of brown fat cells doubled in 3-5 days. Continuous exposure to 100 nM norepinephrine had no effect on this process. Cell proliferation was inhibited by TEA, quinine, or verapamil. The inhibition was dose dependent, with concentrations for half-block of cell proliferation similar to the Kd values for block of IK,V. Apamin, which selectively blocks IK,NE, had no effect on cell growth. These results suggest that functional voltage-gated potassium channels, but not Ca(2+)-activated potassium channels, may be necessary for the normal proliferation of brown fat cells in culture.

The activation of opioid receptors in neurones of the central nervous system leads to a variety of effects including the modulation of diuresis and parturition, processes that are directly controlled by the hypothalamic-neurohypophysial system (HNS). The effects of mu-opioid receptor activation on peptide release, voltage-gated Ca2+ currents and intracellular calcium levels ([Ca2+]i) were studied in isolated nerve terminals of the HNS. The mu-receptor agonist, DAMGO ([d-Ala2,N-Me-Phe4,Gly5-ol]-enkephalin) inhibited high K+-induced peptide release in a dose-dependent manner, with oxytocin release being more sensitive to block than vasopressin release at all concentrations tested. The addition of the mu-receptor antagonist CTOP (d-Phe-Cys-Tyr-d-Trp-Orn-Thr-Pen-Thr amide) was able to overcome the inhibitory effects of DAMGO. By contrast to previous results, voltage-gated Ca2+ currents were sensitive to blockage by DAMGO and this inhibition was also prevented by CTOP. Furthermore, [Ca2+]i measurements with Fura-2 corroborated the inhibition by DAMGO of calcium entry and its reversal by the micro -receptor antagonist in these nerve terminals. Thus, the decrease in neuropeptide release, particularly for oxytocin, induced by the activation of mu-opioid receptors in neurohypophysial terminals is mediated, at least in part, by a corresponding decrease in Ca2+ entry due to the inhibition of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels.