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SCHEME I.
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SCHEME II.
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Figure 1. . Sequence of NH2 termini of the BK auxiliary β subunit family. (A) NH2 termini of the four known auxiliary β subunits are shown. For the β3 subunit for which four alternatively spliced NH2 termini have been identified (Uebele et al., 2000), the rapidly inactivating β3b variant is shown. TM1 designates the proposed beginning of the first TM segment. Positive and negative residues in the β2 subunit are in blue and red, respectively. Boxed sets of β2 residues (11â17 and 20â30) are thought to adopt relatively helical structures in an isolated peptide, while other portions of the NH2 terminus are relatively disordered (Bentrop et al., 2001). (B) The initial 20 residues of several inactivating NH2 termini are compared, showing the common theme of a hydrophobic segment at the NH2 terminus and the downstream hydrophilic region.
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Figure 2. . Deletions spanning positions 5â36 do not abolish inactivation. In A1, currents resulting from α subunits coexpressed with wild-type β2 subunits were activated by the indicated voltage protocol. In A2, currents were activated by a paired pulse protocol (activation steps to 100 mV) separated by steps of different duration to â140 mV. Currents during the initial activation step were truncated to allow better visualization of the recovery time course. In B, removal of Phe, Ile, and Trp in positions 2â4 (ÎFIW) results in removal of inactivation. In C1 and C2, currents arising from a β2 subunit with amino acids in positions 5â16 deleted (Î5â16) are shown. The first 10 amino acids in this construct are MFIWEKRNIY. Note the steady-state current in this construct that may arise from the influence of charged residues in positions 5â7. In D1 and D2, currents arising from a construct with residues 16â25 deleted (Î16â25) are shown. In E1 and E2, currents are shown for a construct with residues 27â36 deleted (Î27â36). In F, the currents show that deletion of residues 5 through 35 (Î5â35) results in removal of inactivation. In Î5â35, the total length of the cytosolic portion of the NH2 terminus is 14. In G, inactivation time constants (Ïon) for β2 (â¢, 4 patches), Î5â16 (â, 3 patches), Î16â25 (â, 4 patches), and Î27â36 (â¦, 4 patches) are plotted as a function of activation potential showing a similar weak voltage-dependence of Ïon for each construct. Each point is the mean and SD of 4â7 patches. In H, the recovery time course at â140 mV defined from the paired pulse protocol is shown for a set of patches for each construct. For β2 (â¢, 4 patches), the fitted Ïoff is 23.4 ± 2.3 ms; for Î5â16 (â, 3 patches), Ïoff is 5.13 ± 0.19 ms; for Î16â25 (â, 4 patches), Ïoff is 9.30 ± 0.55 ms; for Î27â36 (â¦, 3 patches), Ïoff is 6.19 ± 0.33 ms. Vertical calibration bar corresponds to: A1, 3 nA; A2, 2 nA; B, 6 nA; C1, 4 nA; C2, 3 nA; D1, 6 nA; D2, 4 nA; E1, 1.5 nA; E2, 1.2 nA; F, 8 nA.
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Figure 3. . Deletions within positions 2â4 of the NH2 terminus reduce and abolish inactivation. In A1, activation of wild-type α + β2 currents are illustrated while, in A2, the time course of recovery from inactivation at â140 mV is shown. In B1 and B2, currents resulting from a construct with deletion of Phe in position 2 (ÎF) are shown, along with the time course of recovery from inactivation for that construct. Note the appearance of some steady-state current at all activation potentials. In C1 and C2, currents resulting from a construct with deletion of Phe and Ile in positions 2 and 3 (ÎFI) are shown. More substantial steady-state current is observed along with more rapid recovery from inactivation. In D, Ïon is plotted as a function of activation potential for each of the three inactivating constructs (β2: â¢, 4 patches; ÎF: â, 4 patches; ÎFI, â¦, 8 patches). In E, the time course of recovery from inactivation determined at â140 mV is illustrated for the three constructs. For β2, Ïoff is given in Fig. 2; for ÎF (3 patches), Ïoff is 4.5 ± 0.3 ms; for ÎFI (4 patches), Ïoff is 2.99 ± 0.33 ms.
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Figure 4. . Consequences of replacement or displacement of FIW residues with GGG. In A, currents arising from a construct in which residues FIW were replaced with GGG are shown. No inactivation is observed, and trypsin application resulted in no increase in outward current. In B, currents are shown for a construct in which GGG was appended to the initial FIW sequence. The apparent stability of inactivation is reduced, but inactivation still occurs. In C, currents are shown for a construct in which GGG was inserted between FIW and the remainder of the NH2 terminus. In this case, steady-state inactivation is than for wild-type, but still substantial.
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Figure 5. . Consequences of replacement of one or two residues in the FIW epitope. In A, inactivating currents resulting from wild-type β2 subunits are shown. In BâD, glycine was individually substituted for each residue in the FIW epitope. In each case, this resulted in a small weakening of inactivation, with the strongest effect arising from the F2G substitution. In EâG, two glycines were substituted for a pair of residues in the FIW epitope. In F, replacement of both F and W with G abolished inactivation, while the presence of a single F (E) or W (G) appears sufficient to maintain some fast inactivation. In HâK, the consequences of increasing the separation between F and W are illustrated. In H, the presence of two glycines between F and W results in currents similar to those with an FGW epitope, suggesting that W can still contribute to the stability of the inactivated state when there are two glycines interposed. In I and J, three and four glycines are interposed between F and W, in both cases resulting in currents in which steady-state inactivation is comparable to that resulting from FGG (E). This suggests that, in FGGGW (I) and FGGGGW (J), W may not substantially participate in defining the stability of the inactivated state. In K, the introduction of two negative charges between F and W abolishes inactivation.
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Figure 6. . Introduction of single charges in the inactivation segment reduces but does not abolish rapid inactivation. In AâC, each residue in the inactivation segment was replaced individually with glutamate. Replacement of F with E (A) produced the most marked disruption of inactivation, with substantial steady-state current observed at all potentials. In DâF, the consequences of replacing each residue with arginine are illustrated. Arginine is less effective in each case at disrupting inactivation than glutamate, although at each position arginine produces some reduction in the stability of the inactivated state. Similar to the action of glutamate, replacement of F with R (D) had the strongest effects in disrupting inactivation. Vertical calibration: A, 4 nA; B, 1.5 nA; C, 5 nA; D, 6 nA; E, 5 nA; F, 4 nA.
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Figure 7. . Relationship of inactivation parameters to alterations in the FIW triplet. In A, changes in Ïoff relative to inactivation mediated by wild-type β2 subunits is expressed kT units. Mutations are grouped into those at position 2 (F2), those at position 3 (I3), those at position 4 (W4), constructs with deletions or multiple glycines in the NH2 terminus, and then a set of repeated residues in the initial triplet (FFF, III, WWW). Error bars reflect standard errors for measurement of the mutant construct expressed relative to the mean β2 estimate. In B, changes in Ïon are shown for each construct. Except for the slowing in inactivation resulting from the WWW mutation, most mutations have minimal effects on inactivation onset. In C, effects of mutations are compared in terms of ln(Kmt/Kβ2), which is calculated based on the steady-state current at 100 mV (fss) and Ïon (see materials and methods).
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Figure 8. . Dependence of inactivation onset and recovery on properties of residues in the initial triplet. In A1, Ïon (on the left) and Ïoff (on the right) is plotted as a function of the mean surface area of the residue in position 2 that would be buried on transfer from solvent to a folded protein (Rose et al., 1985). In A2, Ïoff is plotted as a function of area what would be buried. The lines correspond to linear regressions [Ï(area) = B*exp(C*area)] fit through only the uncharged residues. In B1 and B2, Ïon and Ïoff are plotted with respect to area buried on transfer of a residue from solvent to a folded protein in regard to the residue in position 3 in the inactivation epitope. In C1 and C2, Ïon and Ïoff are plotted with respect to area buried on transfer of a residue from solvent to a folded protein in regard to the residue in position 4 in the inactivation epitope.
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Figure 9. . Dependence of inactivation parameters on bulk hydrophobicity within the initial triplet. In A, Ïoff for constructs with mutations within the FIW triplet is plotted as a function of the mean surface area (for the three residues in positions 2â4) that would be buried on transfer from solvent to a folded protein (Rose et al., 1985). The solid line is a linear regression [Ïoff(A) = 0.018 * exp(0.012*A)] for all constructs involving uncharged residues. Error bars are SD for a least three determinations. â¦, F2G, F2A, F2L; âª, I3T, I3A, I3G; â¾, W4G, W4A, W4L; âµ, FGG, GGW; â¢, FFF, III, WWW; red â, F2R, I3R, W4R; blue â, F2E, I3E, W4E; red â´, FWI, WIF, IWF. In B, Ïon is plotted as a function of area of residue buried on transfer to a folded protein. Symbols are as in A. The solid line was a fit to constructs with no charges in the initial triplet [Ïon(A) = 0.002 exp(0.016A) + 8.0].
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Figure 10. . NH2 termini with artificial polymeric linkers support inactivation of BK channels. In A and H, wild-type β2 currents are shown at two different time bases for comparison to mutant constructs. In B, an NH2 terminus with a polymeric chain length of 30 glutamine residues separating FIW from R46 results in currents that exhibit inactivation. In C, an NH2 terminus consisting solely of 30 glutamine residues (30Q) does not inactivate. In D, an NH2 terminus with a polymeric chain length with 10 glutamine residues separating FIW from R46 results in currents that do not inactivate. In E, when the chain length reaches 12 residues, fast time-dependent block is observed at potentials positive to 140 mV, while at more moderate potentials the fast kinetics of block result in an apparent increase in current activation rate. In F and G, traces show inactivating currents resulting from linkers of 14 and 20 glutamine residues, as indicated. In H, wild-type β2 currents are shown on a different time base. In I, the NH2 terminus contained a linker with 10 proline residues. In J, the linker contained 12 proline residues. In K, the linker contained 14 proline residues. In L, the linker contained 14 residues, an alternating sequence of 7 alanine-arginine pairs.
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Figure 11. . Dependence of inactivation properties on lengths of artificial NH2 termini and altered β2 NH2 termini. In A, Ïon for poly-glutamine (Poly-Q) and poly-proline (poly-P) linkers is plotted as a function of linker length. In B, Ïoff for poly-Q and poly-P linkers is plotted as a function of linker length. In C, ln(K*mt/K*β2) is plotted as a function of linker length. In D, Ïoff is plotted as a function of the length of the β2 NH2-terminal linker for various deletion constructs, as indicated. In E, Ïoff is plotted as a function of β2 linker length for various deletion constructs. In F, ln(K*mt/K*β2) is plotted as a function of linker length for deletion constructs. Dotted lines correspond to values for the wild-type β2 construct.
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Figure 12. . Mutations of charged residues have little impact on inactivation mediated by the β2 auxiliary subunit. For AâJ, currents were activated by the indicated voltage-protocol, although in D longer activation steps were employed. In A, wild-type β2 currents are illustrated. In B, currents resulted from construct R8QR14QK18QR19Q. In C, currents are from construct R8Q R14QK18QR19QK24QR26QK35QK41Q; in D, D16RE17K; in E, neutralization of all charge in first 26 amino acids, R8QR14QK18QR19QK24QR26QD16NE17Q. In F, currents resulted from a construct with deletion of two of the residues in the inactivation epitope, FI (ÎFI). In G, currents resulted from mutation of R8QR14QK18QR19Q in a background of ÎFI; in H, ÎFI-R8QR14QK18QR19QK24QR26QK35QK41Q; in I, ÎFI-D16RE17K; in J, ÎFI-R8QR14QK18QR19QK24QR26QD16NE17Q. Vertical calibration: A, 3 nA; B, 0.6 nA; C, 1.5 nA; D, 1.5 nA; E, 2 nA; F, 2.5 nA; G, 1.3 nA; H, 5 nA; I, 2.5 nA; J, 1.5 nA.
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Figure 13. . Dependence of inactivation properties on net charge in first 30 amino acids of NH2 terminus. In A, Ïoff is plotted as a function of net charge in the first 30 amino acids of the NH2 terminus. Constructs in which residues K33, R34K35, and K41 were mutated were not included in these plots, since shifts in activation V0.5 in these constructs resulted in shifts in Ïoff because of coupling of inactivation to activation. The filled circle corresponds to the wild-type β2 NH2 terminus. In B, Ïon is plotted as a function of net charge. With decreases in net charge, Ïon shows little change while increases in net charge result in a slowing of Ïon. In C, Ïoff for constructs with a ÎFI background is plotted as a function of net charge, revealing little dependence of recovery from inactivation on net charge in the linker. In D, Ïon is plotted as a function of net charge for constructs with a ÎFI background.
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Figure 14. . Effects of insertions in the β2 NH2 terminus. A fourteen residue insert (6QSG6Q) was introduced into the β2 NH2 terminus beginning at positions 9, 16, 27, 36, and 46. In A, inactivation onset for wild-type β2 currents is shown on the left for activation potentials from â100 through 140 mV. On the right, wild-type β2 currents resulting from a paired pulse protocol to define the time course of recovery from inactivation are shown. The duration of the initial inactivation pulse varied for different constructs to ensure that inactivation was essentially complete before the onset of a recovery interval (Ïon â¼22 ms; Ïoff â¼24 ms). In B, inactivation onset (on the left) and recovery from inactivation for an NH2 terminus with the 14 amino acid insert at position 9 (INS@9) are shown. Inactivation onset is slowed about fourfold (Ïon â¼183 ms), while recovery from inactivation (Ïoff â¼34 ms) is only slightly affected. In C, currents resulted from an NH2 terminus with the insert at position 16 (INS@16). Both inactivation onset (Ïon â¼174 ms) and recovery (Ïoff â¼36.7 ms) are slowed relative to wild-type currents. In D, currents resulted from an insert at position 27 (INS@27), with both the onset (Ïon â¼26.2 ms) and recovery (Ïoff â¼31 ms) from inactivation being similar to wild-type currents. In E, in construct INS@36, onset (Ïon â¼52 ms) and recovery (Ïoff â¼17 ms) from inactivation are similar to wild-type currents. In F, in construct INS@46, a shift in the V0.5 of activation is observed, along with an increase in recovery rate (Ïon â¼49 ms; Ïoff â¼13.4 ms).
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