Ion channels in nerve ending

The modern data about the structure and function of the nerve ending ion channels are generalized and systematized. Ion channels of nerve endings provide the forming of the rest membrane potential, excitability, generation of action potential, regulate the intracellular concentration of calcium ions, take part in exocytosis of synaptic vesicules, participate in short-term and long-term synaptic plasticity, ensure the modulation of presynaptic functions. Methods of investigation of ion channels and data about their localization in central and peripheral nerve systems are represented. The review gives the functional characteristics, molecular structure and mechanisms of regulation of the known voltage- and ligand-dependent ion channels, the role of the certain types of ion channels in the machinery of transmitter release.     

Ion channels in the membrane ofChara inflata

Summary Voltage-clamped steps in the electric potential difference (PD) across the membrane in cells of the green alga,Chara inflata, cause voltage- and time-dependent current flows, interpreted to arise from opening and closing of various types of ion channel in the membrane. With cells in the light, these channels are normally closed, and the resting PD is probably determined by the operation of an H⁺ efflux pump. Positive steps in PD from the resting level often caused the opening of K⁺ channels with sigmoid kinetics. The channels began to show opening when the PD–120 mV for an external concentration of K⁺ of 1.0mm. Return of the PD to the resting level caused closing of the channels with complex kinetics. Various treatments of the cell could cause these K⁺ channels to open, and remain open continuously, with the PD then lying closer to the Nernst PD for K⁺. The K⁺ channels have been identified by the blocking effects of TEA⁺. Another group of channels, probably Cl^– and Ca²⁺ associated with the action potential open when the PD is stepped to values less negative than –50 mV. Negative steps from the resting PD cause the slow opening, with a time course of seconds, of yet another type of channel, probably Cl^–.     

Ion channels and transporters [corrected] in cancer. 2. Ion channels and the control of cancer cell migration

A hallmark of high-grade cancers is the ability of malignant cells to invade unaffected tissue and spread disease. This is particularly apparent in gliomas, the most common and lethal type of primary brain cancer affecting adults. Migrating cells encounter restricted spaces and appear able to adjust their shape to accommodate to narrow extracellular spaces. A growing body of work suggests that cell migration/invasion is facilitated by ion channels and transporters. The emerging concept is that K(+) and Cl(-) function as osmotically active ions, which cross the plasma membrane in concert with obligated water thereby adjusting a cell's shape and volume. In glioma cells Na(+)-K(+)-Cl(-) cotransporters (NKCC1) actively accumulate K(+) and Cl(-), establishing a gradient for KCl efflux. Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channels and voltage-gated Cl(-) channels are largely responsible for effluxing KCl promoting hydrodynamic volume changes. In other cancers, different K(+) or even Na(+) channels may function in concert with a variety of Cl(-) channels to support similar volume changes. Channels involved in migration are frequently regulated by Ca(2+) signaling, most likely coupling extracellular stimuli to cell migration. Importantly, the inhibition of ion channels and transporters appears to be clinically relevant for the treatment of cancer. Recent preclinical data indicates that inhibition of NKCC1 with an FDA-approved drug decreases neoplastic migration. Additionally, ongoing clinical trials demonstrate that an inhibitor of chloride channels may be a therapy for the treatment of gliomas. Data reviewed here strongly indicate that ion channels are a promising target for the development of novel therapeutics to combat cancer.     

Bioelectric controls of cell proliferation: Ion channels,membrane voltage and the cell cycle

All cells possess long-term, steady-state voltage gradients across the plasma membrane. These transmembrane potentials arise from the combined activity of numerous ion channels, pumps, and gap junction complexes. Increasing data from molecular physiology now reveal that the role of changes in membrane voltage controls, and is in turn controlled by, progression through the cell cycle. We review recent functional data on the regulation of mitosis by bioelectric signals, and the function of membrane voltage and specific potassium, sodium, and chloride ion channels in the proliferation of embryonic, somatic, and neoplastic cells. Its unique properties place this powerful, well-conserved, but still poorly-understood signaling system at the center of the coordinated cellular interactions required for complex pattern formation. Moreover, disregulation of ion channel expression and function is increasingly observed to be not only a useful marker but likely a functional element in oncogenesis. New advances in genomics and the development of in vivo biophysical techniques suggest exciting opportunities for molecular medicine, bioengineering, and regenerative approaches to human health.     

Ion channnels and transporters in cancer. 5. Ion channels in control of cancer and cell apoptosis

Ion channels contribute to virtually all basic cellular processes, including such crucial ones for maintaining tissue homeostasis as proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. The involvement of ion channels in regulation of programmed cell death, or apoptosis, has been known for at least three decades based on observation that classical blockers of ion channels can influence cell death rates, prolonging or shortening cell survival. Identification of the central role of these channels in regulation of cell cycle and apoptosis as well as the recent discovery that the expression of ion channels is not limited solely to the plasma membrane, but may also include membranes of internal compartments, has led researchers to appreciate the pivotal role of ion channels plays in development of cancer. This review focuses on the aspects of programmed cell death influenced by various ion channels and how dysfunctions and misregulations of these channels may affect the development and progression of different cancers.     

哺乳动物及人精子膜离子通道的研究进展

离子的跨膜转动对精子的生理活动起重要的作用。近年,应用膜片钳及人工膜重组等研究通道有关的电生理技术,人们直接观察到哺乳动物及人精子膜上Ｋ、Ｎａ＾＋、Ｃａ＾２＋、Ｃｌ通道的存在。这些结果为揭示精子成熟、获能精卵结合反应等生理过程的某些细节提供了有有的资料,特别是对人精子膜的研究,还为临床应用提供了可能。     

Ion channels and transporters in cancer. 1. Ion channels and cell proliferation in cancer

Progress through the cell mitotic cycle requires precise timing of the intrinsic molecular steps and tight coordination with the environmental signals that maintain a cell into the proper physiological context. Because of their great functional flexibility, ion channels coordinate the upstream and downstream signals that converge on the cell cycle machinery. Both voltage- and ligand-gated channels have been implicated in the control of different cell cycle checkpoints in normal as well as neoplastic cells. Ion channels mediate the calcium signals that punctuate the mitotic process, the cell volume oscillations typical of cycling cells, and the exocytosis of autocrine or angiogenetic factors. Other functions of ion channels in proliferation are still matter of debate. These may or may not depend on ion transport, as the channel proteins can form macromolecular complexes with growth factor and cell adhesion receptors. Direct conformational coupling with the cytoplasmic regulatory proteins is also possible. Derangement or relaxed control of the above processes can promote neoplasia. Specific types of ion channels have turned out to participate in the different stages of the tumor progression, in which cell heterogeneity is increased by the selection of malignant cell clones expressing the ion channel types that better support unrestrained growth. However, a comprehensive mechanistic picture of the functional relations between ion channels and cell proliferation is yet not available, partly because of the considerable experimental challenges offered by studying these processes in living mammalian cells. No doubt, such studies will constitute one of the most fruitful research fields for the next generation of cell physiologists.     

Ion channels and membrane potential in stimulus-secretion coupling in adrenal paraneurons

Cultured bovine adrenal medulla cells have been shown to contain several different ion channels (Na+, Ca2+, acetylcholine receptor regulated) whose activation leads to the secretion of catecholamines. The pharmacology of these ion channels and their interactions during secretion have been examined. The mechanisms of agonist-induced calcium influx are of particular interest since this is an early obligatory event during secretion from the adrenal medulla. Data obtained on catecholamine release and 45Ca2+ uptake indicate that both voltage-dependent and voltage-independent calcium influx mechanisms operate in cultured bovine adrenal medulla cells. The significance of these results in understanding the mechanism of action of the physiological stimulus acetylcholine (Ach) will be discussed. The alkaloid channel neurotoxins D-600, batrachotoxin, veratridine, and aconitine were shown to exert a noncompetitive inhibitory effect on Ach-induced ion flux in adrenal medulla cells, presumably through an interaction with the nicotinic receptor regulated channel. Lipid-soluble neurotoxins may interact with multiple ion channels in nerve and muscle membrane.     

Ion channels that control fertility in mammalian spermatozoa

Whole-cell voltage clamp of mammalian spermatozoa was first achieved in 2006. This technical advance, combined with genetic deletion strategies, makes unambiguous identification of sperm ion channel currents possible. This review summarizes the ion channel currents that have been directly measured in mammalian sperm, and their physiological roles in fertilization. The predominant currents are a Ca2+-selective current requiring expression of the 4 mCatSper genes, and a rectifying K+ current with properties most similar to mSlo3. Intracellular alkalinization activates both channels and induces hyperactivated motility.     

Cellular metabolic control by chemical modification of cell membrane.

Various reagents used in the chemical modification of amino- and carboxy-groups of proteins, and of carbohydrates of glycoproteins and glycolipids, inhibit respiration in ascites tumor cells concomitant with release of potassium ion from those cells. The respiratory activity of washed ascites tumor cells is increased by exogenous addition of potassium ion. The lowered respiratory control index as well as oxidative phosphorylation of aged mitochondria are restored upon increasing the potassium concentration of the incubation mixture in the presence of respiratory substrates. The data suggest that the potassium ion level of cells is changed by modifying physicochemical properties of membrane components and that cellular energy metabolism is regulated by intracellular potassium ion concentration.     

Ion channels and transporters in tumour cell migration and invasion

Cell migration is a central component of the metastatic cascade requiring a concerted action of ion channels and transporters (migration-associated transportome), cytoskeletal elements and signalling cascades. Ion transport proteins and aquaporins contribute to tumour cell migration and invasion among other things by inducing local volume changes and/or by modulating Ca²⁺ and H⁺ signalling. Targeting cell migration therapeutically bears great clinical potential, because it is a prerequisite for metastasis. Ion transport proteins appear to be attractive candidate target proteins for this purpose because they are easily accessible as membrane proteins and often overexpressed or activated in cancer. Importantly, a number of clinically widely used drugs are available whose anticipated efficacy as anti-tumour drugs, however, has now only begun to be evaluated.     

Ionic channels and nerve membrane lipids. Cholesterol-tetrodotoxin interaction

Experiments were carried out to investigate possible interactions of tetrodotoxin (TTX) with lipid molecules isolated from nerve fiber plasma membranes of the squid Dosidicus gigas. TTX has a highly selective ability to block the channel normally used by Na⁺ to cross the axolemma during nervous impulse conduction. In order to investigate the interaction each lipid sample was spread on 5 x 10^-7 M TTX and TTX-free 0.15 M NaCl solutions adjusted to pH 7.4 with 7 x 10^-3 M phosphate buffer. The surface pressure-area diagrams of the lipid monolayers revealed that TTX interacts only with cholesterol. The expansion of the cholesterol monolayers at 5 x 10^-7 M TTX was 2 A²/molecule at zero pressure for the experiments at 20°C and 2.5 A²/molecule for those at 25°C. Similar results were obtained in KCl subphases. The apparent dissociation constant of the cholesterol-TTX complex calculated from dose-response experiments is 2.6 x 10^-7 M. Experiments at pH 10.1 revealed that the zwitter ionic form of TTX is less active. Experiments with cholesterol derivatives (cholesteryl acetate, cholesterol methyl ether, cholestanol, and cholestanyl acetate) indicate that for the interaction with TTX a partial negatively charged group at C-3 and a double bond between C-5 and C-6 on the steroid nucleus are required. Tetrodonic acid, a biologically inactive derivative of TTX, does not interact with cholesterol. The results lead us to propose that cholesterol is part of the Na⁺ channel.     

Ion channels modulating mouse dendritic cell functions

Ca(2+)-mediated signal transduction pathways play a central regulatory role in dendritic cell (DC) responses to diverse Ags. However, the mechanisms leading to increased [Ca(2+)](i) upon DC activation remained ill-defined. In the present study, LPS treatment (100 ng/ml) of mouse DCs resulted in a rapid increase in [Ca(2+)](i), which was due to Ca(2+) release from intracellular stores and influx of extracellular Ca(2+) across the cell membrane. In whole-cell voltage-clamp experiments, LPS-induced currents exhibited properties similar to the currents through the Ca(2+) release-activated Ca(2+) channels (CRAC). These currents were highly selective for Ca(2+), exhibited a prominent inward rectification of the current-voltage relationship, and showed an anomalous mole fraction and a fast Ca(2+)-dependent inactivation. In addition, the LPS-induced increase of [Ca(2+)](i) was sensitive to margatoxin and ICAGEN-4, both inhibitors of voltage-gated K(+) (Kv) channels Kv1.3 and Kv1.5, respectively. MHC class II expression, CCL21-dependent migration, and TNF-alpha and IL-6 production decreased, whereas phagocytic capacity increased in LPS-stimulated DCs in the presence of both Kv channel inhibitors as well as the I(CRAC) inhibitor SKF-96365. Taken together, our results demonstrate that Ca(2+) influx in LPS-stimulated DCs occurs via Ca(2+) release-activated Ca(2+) channels, is sensitive to Kv channel activity, and is in turn critically important for DC maturation and functions.     

Hydrogen currents through aconitine-modified sodium channels in the nerve fiber membrane

Ionic currents through aconitine-modified sodium channels of the Ranvier node membrane were measured by a voltage clamp method in an external medium free from sodium ions. A shift of pH of the solution below 4.6 led to the appearance of inward ionic currents, whose kinetics and activation region were characteristic of aconitine-modified sodium channels at low pH. These currents were blocked by the local anesthetic benzocaine in a concentration of 2 mM. Experiments with variation of the concentration of Ca⁺⁺, Tris⁺, TEA⁺, and choline⁺ in acid sodium-free solutions showed that these cations make no appreciable contribution to the inward current. It is concluded that the inward currents observed under these conditions are carried by H⁺ (or H₃O⁺) through aconitine-modified sodium channels. From the shifts of reversal potentials of the ionic currents the relative permeability (P_H/P_Na) for H⁺ was determined: 1059 ± 88. The results agree with the view that the aconitine-modified sodium channel is a relatively wide water pore, and that movement of H⁺ through it is limited by its binding with an acid group.Institute of Cytology, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Leningrad. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 14, No. 5, pp. 508–516, September–October, 1982.     

Modulation of nerve membrane sodium channels by chemicals

1. Modulations of sodium channel kinetics by grayanotoxins and pyrethroids have been studied using voltage clamped, internally perfused giant axons from crayfish and squid. 2. Grayanotoxin I and alpha-dihydrograyanotoxin II greatly depolarize the nerve membrane through an increase in resting sodium channel permeability to sodium ions. 3. Grayanotoxins modify a fraction of sodium channel population to give rise to a slow conductance increase with little or no inactivation, and the slow conductance-membrane potential curve is shifted toward hyperpolarization. This accounts for the depolarization. 4. The tail current associated with step repolarization during the slow current in grayanotoxins decays with a dual exponential time course. 5. (+)-trans tetramethrin and (+)-trans allethrin also modify a fraction of sodium channel population in generating a slow current, which attains a maximum slowly and decays very slowly during a maintained depolarizing step. The membrane is depolarized only slightly. 6. The tail current associated with step repolarization during the slow current in the pyrethroids is very large in initial amplitude and decays very slowly. 7. The rate at which the sodium channel arrives at the modified open state in the presence of pyrethroids is expressed by a dual exponential function, and the slow phase disappears following removal of the sodium inactivation mechanism by internal perfusion of pronase. 8. A kinetic model is proposed to account for the actions of both grayanotoxins and pyrethroids on sodium channels. Both chemicals interact with the channel at both open and closed states to yield a modified open state which results in a slow sodium current.     

Modification of nerve membrane sodium channels by the insecticide pyrethroids

1. The synthetic pyrethroids exert potent and selective actions on nerve membrane sodium channels. (+)-trans tetramethrin and (+)-trans allethrin cause repetitive discharges to be produced in the isolated crayfish and squid giant axons in response to a single stimulus as a result of an increase in depolarizing after-potential. 2. The latter effect is due to slowing of the sodium channel kinetics which causes a prolonged sodium current following the normal peak sodium current. 3. A kinetic model is proposed to account for the action of the pyrethroids in which the pyrethroid molecule binds to the sodium channels at both closed and open states to produce a modified open state. 4. (-)-trans and (-)-cis isomers of tetramethrin are ineffective in causing the effects, but prevent the active (+)-trans and (+)-cis isomers from exerting the effects. This stereospecificity provides us with an excellent opportunity for the study of binding sites of pyrethroids and other sodium channel modulators.