title: The voltage dependence of gating currents of the neuronal CA(v)3.3 channel is determined by the gating brake in the I-II loop.
abstract: Low-voltage-activated Ca(v)3 Ca(2+) channels have an activation threshold around -60 mV, which is lower than the activation threshold of other voltage-dependent calcium channels (VDCCs). The kinetics of their activation at membrane voltages just above the activation threshold is much slower than the activation kinetics of other VDCCs. It was demonstrated recently that the intracellular loop connecting repeats I and II of all three Ca(v)3 channels contains a so-called gating brake. Disruption of this brake yields channels that activate at even more hyperpolarized potentials with significantly accelerated kinetics. We have compared gating of a wild-type Ca(v)3.3 channel and a mutated ID12 channel, in which the putative gating brake at the proximal part of the I-II loop was removed. Voltage dependence of the gating current activation was shifted by 34.6 mV towards more hyperpolarized potentials in ID12 channel. ON-charge movement was significantly faster in the ID12 channel, while the kinetics of the off-charge was not altered by the mutation. We conclude that the putative gating brake in I-II loop hinders not only the opening of the conducting pore but also the activating movement of voltage-sensing S4 segments, stabilizing the channel in its closed state.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Physiology and Genetics, Centre of Excellence for Cardiovascular Research, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Mária
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Karmažínová
authors.forename: Joel P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Baumgart
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Perez-Reyes
authors.forename: Lubica
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lacinová
mesh_terms: D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000502:physiology*; D020747:Calcium Channels, T-Type / Q000502:physiology*; D004594:Electrophysiology; D025461:Feedback, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006801:Humans; D015640:Ion Channel Gating / Q000502:physiology*; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques
chemical_list: C469757:CACNA1I protein, human; D015220:Calcium Channels; D020747:Calcium Channels, T-Type