Hydrophobic Interactions as Key Determinants to the KCa3.1 Channel Closed Configuration AN ANALYSIS OF KCa3.1 MUTANTS CONSTITUTIVELY ACTIVE IN ZERO Ca2+

In this study we present evidence that residue Val(282) in the S6 transmembrane segment of the calcium-activated KCa3.1 channel constitutes a key determinant of channel gating. A Gly scan of the S6 transmembrane segment first revealed that the substitutions A279G and V282G cause the channel to become constitutively active in zero Ca2+. Constitutive activity was not observed when residues extending from Cys(276) to Ala(286), other than Ala(279) and Val(282), were substituted to Gly. The accessibility of Cys engineered at Val(275) deep in the channel cavity was next investigated for the ion-conducting V275C/V282G mutant and closed V275C channel in zero Ca2+ using Ag+ as probe. These experiments demonstrated that internal Ag+ ions have free access to the channel cavity independently of the channel conducting state, arguing against an activation gate located at the S6 segment C-terminal end. Experiments were also conducted where Val(282) was substituted by residues differing in size and/or hydrophobicity. We found a strong correlation between constitutive activity in zero Ca2+ and the hydrophobic energy for side chain burial. Single channel recordings showed finally that constitutive activation in zero Ca2+ is better explained by a model where the channel is locked in a low conducting state with a high open probability rather than resulting from a change in the open/closed energy balance that would favor channel openings to a full conducting state in the absence of Ca2+. We conclude that hydrophobic interactions involving Val(282) constitute key determinants to KCa3.1 gating by modulating the ion conducting state of the selectivity filter through an effect on the S6 transmembrane segment.