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ECB-ART-48322
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018 Oct 02;11540:9923-9928. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1804560115.
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Regulatory γ1 subunits defy symmetry in functional modulation of BK channels.

Gonzalez-Perez V , Ben Johny M , Xia XM , Lingle CJ .


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Structural symmetry is a hallmark of homomeric ion channels. Nonobligatory regulatory proteins can also critically define the precise functional role of such channels. For instance, the pore-forming subunit of the large conductance voltage and calcium-activated potassium (BK, Slo1, or KCa1.1) channels encoded by a single KCa1.1 gene assembles in a fourfold symmetric fashion. Functional diversity arises from two families of regulatory subunits, β and γ, which help define the range of voltages over which BK channels in a given cell are activated, thereby defining physiological roles. A BK channel can contain zero to four β subunits per channel, with each β subunit incrementally influencing channel gating behavior, consistent with symmetry expectations. In contrast, a γ1 subunit (or single type of γ1 subunit complex) produces a functionally all-or-none effect, but the underlying stoichiometry of γ1 assembly and function remains unknown. Here we utilize two distinct and independent methods, a Forster resonance energy transfer-based optical approach and a functional reporter in single-channel recordings, to reveal that a BK channel can contain up to four γ1 subunits, but a single γ1 subunit suffices to induce the full gating shift. This requires that the asymmetric association of a single regulatory protein can act in a highly concerted fashion to allosterically influence conformational equilibria in an otherwise symmetric K+ channel.

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Genes referenced: LOC115919910 LOC115925415 LOC590297

References [+] :
Ben-Johny, Detecting stoichiometry of macromolecular complexes in live cells using FRET. 2016, Pubmed