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XB-ART-4816
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2003 Sep 02;10018:10534-9. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1832721100.
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Gating currents associated with intramembrane charge displacement in HERG potassium channels.

Piper DR , Varghese A , Sanguinetti MC , Tristani-Firouzi M .


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HERG (human ether-a-go-go-related gene) encodes a delayed rectifier K+ channel vital to normal repolarization of cardiac action potentials. Attenuation of repolarizing K+ current caused by mutations in HERG or channel block by common medications prolongs ventricular action potentials and increases the risk of arrhythmia and sudden death. The critical role of HERG in maintenance of normal cardiac electrical activity derives from its unusual gating properties. Opposite to other voltage-gated K+ channels, the rate of HERG channel inactivation is faster than activation and appears to be intrinsically voltage dependent. To investigate voltage sensor movement associated with slow activation and fast inactivation, we characterized HERG gating currents. When the cut-open oocyte voltage clamp technique was used, membrane depolarization elicited gating current with fast and slow components that differed 100-fold in their kinetics. Unlike previously studied voltage-gated K+ channels, the bulk of charge movement in HERG was protracted, consistent with the slow rate of ionic current activation. Despite similar kinetic features, fast inactivation was not derived from the fast gating component. Analysis of an inactivation-deficient mutant HERG channel and a Markov kinetic model suggest that HERG inactivation is coupled to activation.

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Species referenced: Xenopus
Genes referenced: gnao1 kcnh1 kcnh2

References [+] :
Armstrong, Inactivation of the sodium channel. II. Gating current experiments. 1977, Pubmed