title: Ultrasteep voltage dependence in a membrane channel.
abstract: A mechanism for regulating voltage-gated channels is presented. The treatment amplifies the effect of the applied membrane potential resulting in a dramatic increase in the channel's voltage dependence. Addition of a large polyvalent anion to the medium bathing a phospholipid bilayer containing the voltage-dependent channel from the mitochondrial outer membrane, VDAC, induced up to a 12-fold increase in the channel's voltage sensitivity. The highest polyvalent anion concentration tested resulted in an e-fold conductance change for a 0.36-mV change in membrane potential. On the low end, a concentration of 2 microM resulted in a 50% increase in VDAC voltage dependence. A mechanism based on polyvalent anion accumulation in the access resistance region at the mouth of the pore is consistent with all findings. Perhaps the voltage dependence of voltage-gated channels is amplified in vivo by polyvalent ions. If so, the control of excitable phenomena may be under much finer regulation than that provided by membrane potential alone.
mesh_terms: D000838:Anions / Q000494:pharmacology; D016264:Dextran Sulfate; D003911:Dextrans / Q000494:pharmacology; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D008564:Membrane Potentials; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000502:physiology*; D008956:Models, Chemical; D018272:Porins; D050994:Voltage-Dependent Anion Channels
chemical_list: D000838:Anions; D003911:Dextrans; D007473:Ion Channels; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D018272:Porins; D050994:Voltage-Dependent Anion Channels; D016264:Dextran Sulfate