title: Kinetics of inward-rectifier K+ channel block by quaternary alkylammonium ions. dimension and properties of the inner pore.
abstract: We examined block of two inward-rectifier K+ channels, IRK1 and ROMK1, by a series of intracellular symmetric quaternary alkylammonium ions (QAs) whose side chains contain one to five methylene groups. As shown previously, the ROMK1 channels bind larger QAs with higher affinity. In contrast, the IRK1 channels strongly select TEA over smaller or larger QAs. This remarkable difference in QA selectivity between the two channels results primarily from differing QA unbinding kinetics. The apparent rate constant for binding (kon) of all examined QAs is significantly smaller than expected for a diffusion-limited process. Furthermore, a large ( approximately 30-fold) drop in kon occurs when the number of methylene groups in QAs increases from three to four. These observations argue that between the intracellular solution and the QA-binding locus, there exists a constricted pathway, whose dimension ( approximately 9 A) is comparable to that of a K+ ion with a single H2O shell.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites / Q000502:physiology; D015640:Ion Channel Gating / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D007700:Kinetics; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D016296:Mutagenesis / Q000502:physiology; D009865:Oocytes / Q000502:physiology; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D015221:Potassium Channels / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D024661:Potassium Channels, Inwardly Rectifying; D020836:Protein Structure, Quaternary; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology; D019789:Tetraethylammonium / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014982:Xenopus laevis
chemical_list: D015221:Potassium Channels; D024661:Potassium Channels, Inwardly Rectifying; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds; C052377:tetrapropylammonium; D019789:Tetraethylammonium; C027917:tetramethylammonium