title: Evidence for voltage-dependent S4 movement in sodium channels.
abstract: The mutation R1448C substitutes a cysteine for the outermost arginine in the fourth transmembrane segment (S4) of domain 4 in skeletal muscle sodium channels. We tested the accessibility of this cysteine residue to hydrophilic methanethiosulfonate reagents applied to the extracellular surface of cells expressing these mutant channels. The reagents irreversibly increase the rate of inactivation of R1448C, but not wild-type, channels. Cysteine modification is voltage dependent, as if depolarization extends this residue into the extracellular space. The rate of cysteine modification increases with depolarization and has the voltage dependence and kinetics expected for the movement of a voltage sensor controlling channel gating.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107, USA.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Horn
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001120:Arginine / Q000235:genetics; D003545:Cysteine / Q000235:genetics; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D004594:Electrophysiology; D006801:Humans; D015640:Ion Channel Gating / Q000502:physiology*; D007700:Kinetics; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000648:ultrastructure; D017354:Point Mutation / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D015222:Sodium Channels / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D015222:Sodium Channels; D001120:Arginine; D003545:Cysteine