title: Point mutations in alpha bENaC regulate channel gating, ion selectivity, and sensitivity to amiloride.
abstract: We have generated two site-directed mutants, K504E and K515E, in the alpha subunit of an amiloride-sensitive bovine epithelial Na+ channel, alpha bENaC. The region in which these mutations lie is in the large extracellular loop immediately before the second membrane-spanning domain (M2) of the protein. We have found that when membrane vesicles prepared from Xenopus oocytes expressing either K504E or K515E alpha bENaC are incorporated into planar lipid bilayers, the gating pattern, cation selectivity, and amiloride sensitivity of the resultant channel are all altered as compared to the wild-type protein. The mutated channels exhibit either a reduction or a complete lack of its characteristic burst-type behavior, significantly reduced Na+:K+ selectivity, and an approximately 10-fold decrease in the apparent inhibitory equilibrium dissociation constant (Ki) for amiloride. Single-channel conductance for Na+ was not affected by either mutation. On the other hand, both K504E and K515E alpha bENaC mutants were significantly more permeable to K+, as compared to wild type. These observations identify a lysine-rich region between amino acid residues 495 and 516 of alpha bENaC as being important to the regulation of fundamental channel properties.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Alabama at Birmingham 35294, USA. fuller@phybio.bhs.uab.edu
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Fuller
authors.forename: B K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Berdiev
authors.forename: V G
authors.initials: VG
authors.lastname: Shlyonsky
authors.forename: I I
authors.initials: II
authors.lastname: Ismailov
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Benos
mesh_terms: D000584:Amiloride / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D004232:Diuretics / Q000494:pharmacology; D004594:Electrophysiology; D053503:Epithelial Sodium Channels; D015870:Gene Expression; D015640:Ion Channel Gating / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D007700:Kinetics; D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D008081:Liposomes / Q000378:metabolism; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D009865:Oocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D017354:Point Mutation; D011188:Potassium / Q000378:metabolism; D015222:Sodium Channels / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D014981:Xenopus
chemical_list: D004232:Diuretics; D053503:Epithelial Sodium Channels; D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D008081:Liposomes; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D015222:Sodium Channels; D000584:Amiloride; D011188:Potassium