title: Modulation of C-type inactivation by K+ at the potassium channel selectivity filter.
abstract: With prolonged or repetitive activation, voltage-gated K+ channels undergo a slow (C-type) inactivation mechanism, which decreases current flow through the channel. Previous observations suggest that C-type inactivation results from a localized constriction in the outer mouth of the channel pore and that the rate of inactivation is controlled by the-rate at which K+ leaves an unidentified binding site in the pore. We have functionally identified two K+ binding sites in the conduction pathway of a chimeric K+ channel that conducts Na+ in the absence of K+. One site has a high affinity for K+ and contributes to the selectivity filter mechanism for K+ over Na+. Another site, external to the high-affinity site, has a lower affinity for K+ and is not involved in channel selectivity. Binding of K+ to the high-affinity binding site slowed inactivation. Binding of cations to the external low-affinity site did not slow inactivation directly but could slow it indirectly, apparently by trapping K+ at the high-affinity site. These data support a model whereby C-type inactivation involves a constriction at the selectivity filter, and the constriction cannot proceed when the selectivity filter is occupied by K+.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Neurobiology, University of Connecticut, Storrs 06269, USA.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kiss
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Korn
mesh_terms: D001665:Binding Sites; D055592:Biophysical Phenomena; D001703:Biophysics; D002460:Cell Line; D051668:Delayed Rectifier Potassium Channels; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D051664:Kv1.3 Potassium Channel; D008564:Membrane Potentials; D011188:Potassium / Q000378:metabolism; D026902:Potassium Channel Blockers; D015221:Potassium Channels / Q000378:metabolism; D024642:Potassium Channels, Voltage-Gated; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D012964:Sodium / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D051668:Delayed Rectifier Potassium Channels; C496973:KCNA3 protein, human; D051664:Kv1.3 Potassium Channel; D026902:Potassium Channel Blockers; D015221:Potassium Channels; D024642:Potassium Channels, Voltage-Gated; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D012964:Sodium; D011188:Potassium