title: Functional expression of Drosophila para sodium channels. Modulation by the membrane protein TipE and toxin pharmacology.
abstract: The Drosophila para sodium channel alpha subunit was expressed in Xenopus oocytes alone and in combination with tipE, a putative Drosophila sodium channel accessory subunit. Coexpression of tipE with para results in elevated levels of sodium currents and accelerated current decay. Para/TipE sodium channels have biophysical and pharmacological properties similar to those of native channels. However, the pharmacology of these channels differs from that of vertebrate sodium channels: (a) toxin II from Anemonia sulcata, which slows inactivation, binds to Para and some mammalian sodium channels with similar affinity (Kd congruent with 10 nM), but this toxin causes a 100-fold greater decrease in the rate of inactivation of Para/TipE than of mammalian channels; (b) Para sodium channels are >10-fold more sensitive to block by tetrodotoxin; and (c) modification by the pyrethroid insecticide permethrin is >100-fold more potent for Para than for rat brain type IIA sodium channels. Our results suggest that the selective toxicity of pyrethroid insecticides is due at least in part to the greater affinity of pyrethroids for insect sodium channels than for mammalian sodium channels.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Molecular Biology, Merck Research Laboratories, Rahway, New Jersey 07065, USA.
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Warmke
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Reenan
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Arena
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wunderler
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Kaczorowski
authors.forename: L H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Van der Ploeg
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ganetzky
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Cohen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001923:Brain Chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D003064:Cnidarian Venoms / Q000633:toxicity; D015342:DNA Probes; D004330:Drosophila; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D004594:Electrophysiology; D005091:Exons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D007306:Insecticides / Q000633:toxicity; D015640:Ion Channel Gating / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D007700:Kinetics; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000378:metabolism; D009153:Mutagens / Q000633:toxicity; D009498:Neurotoxins / Q000633:toxicity*; D026023:Permethrin; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D011722:Pyrethrins / Q000633:toxicity; D051381:Rats; D015222:Sodium Channels / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D013779:Tetrodotoxin / Q000494:pharmacology; D014982:Xenopus laevis
chemical_list: D003064:Cnidarian Venoms; D015342:DNA Probes; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D007306:Insecticides; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D009153:Mutagens; D009498:Neurotoxins; D011722:Pyrethrins; D015222:Sodium Channels; C095833:TipE protein, Drosophila; D013779:Tetrodotoxin; D026023:Permethrin