title: Selective regulation of xSlo splice variants during Xenopus embryogenesis.
abstract: Calcium-activated potassium channels regulate excitability of the adult nervous system. In contrast, little is known about the contribution of calcium-activated potassium channels to excitability of the embryonic nervous system when electrical membrane properties and intracellular calcium levels show dramatic changes. Embryonic Xenopus spinal neurons exhibit a well-characterized developmental program of excitability that involves several different currents including calcium-activated ones. Here, we show that a molecular determinant of calcium-activated potassium channels, xSlo, is expressed during Xenopus embryogenesis even prior to differentiation of excitable tissues. Five different xSlo variants are expressed in embryonic tissues as a consequence of alternative exon usage at a single splice site. One of these variants, xSlo59, is neural-specific, and its expression is limited to late stages of neuronal differentiation. However, expression of the four other variants occurs in both muscle and neurons at all stages of development examined. Electrophysiological analysis of recombinant xSlo channels reveals that the xSlo59 exon serves as a gain-of-function module and allows physiologically relevant levels of membrane potential and intracellular calcium to activate effectively the resultant channel. These results suggest that xSlo59 channels play a unique role in sculpting the excitable membrane properties of Xenopus spinal neurons.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Fisiología y Biofísica, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Independencia 1027 Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kukuljan
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: Hilary
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chouinard
authors.forename: Patricio
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Olguin
authors.forename: Cecilia V
authors.initials: CV
authors.lastname: Rojas
authors.forename: Angeles B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Ribera
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000235:genetics; D017398:Alternative Splicing; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D046508:Culture Techniques; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D014644:Genetic Variation; D051036:Large-Conductance Calcium-Activated Potassium Channels; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D024681:Potassium Channels, Calcium-Activated / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D014982:Xenopus laevis / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D051036:Large-Conductance Calcium-Activated Potassium Channels; D024681:Potassium Channels, Calcium-Activated