Substituted cysteine scanning in D1-S6 of the sodium channel hNav1.4 alters kinetics and structural interactions of slow inactivation

Publication date: Available online 15 November 2019Source: Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - BiomembranesAuthor(s): Jonathan M. Beard, Penny E. Shockett, John P. O'ReillyAbstractSlow inactivation in voltage-gated Na+ channels (Navs) plays an important physiological role in excitable tissues (muscle, heart, nerves) and mutations that disrupt Nav slow inactivation can result in pathophysiologies (myotonia, arrhythmias, epilepsy). While the molecular mechanisms responsible for slow inactivation remain elusive, previous studies have suggested a role for the pore-lining D1-S6 helix. The goals of this research were to determine if (1) cysteine substitutions in D1-S6 affect gating kinetics and (2) methanethiosulfonate ethylammonium (MTSEA) accessibility changes in different kinetic states. Site-directed mutagenesis in the human skeletal muscle isoform hNav1.4 was used to substitute cysteine for eleven amino acids in D1-S6 from L433 to L443. Mutants were expressed in HEK cells and recorded from with whole-cell patch clamp. All mutations affected one or more baseline kinetics of the sodium channel, including activation, fast inactivation, and slow inactivation. Substitution of cysteine (for nonpolar residues) adjacent to polar residues destabilized slow inactivation in G434C, F436C, I439C, and L441C. Cysteine substitution without adjacent polar residues enhanced slow inactivation in L438C and N440C, and disrupted possible H-bonds involving Y437:D4 S4-S5 and N440:D4-S6. MTSEA expos...
Source: Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) Biomembranes - Category: Biochemistry Source Type: research