Abstract
Aims/hypothesis: The pancreatic beta cell ATP-sensitive potassium (K ATP) channel, composed of the pore-forming α subunit Kir6.2, a member of the inward rectifier K+channel family, and the regulatory β subunit sulfonylurea receptor 1 (SUR1), a member of the ATP-binding cassette superfamily, couples the metabolic state of the cell to electrical activity. Several endogenous compounds are known to modulate KATP channel activity, including ATP, ADP, phosphatidylinositol diphosphates and long-chain acyl coenzyme A (LC-CoA) esters. LC-CoA esters have been shown to interact with Kir6.2, but the mechanism and binding site(s) have yet to be identified. Materials and methods: Using multiple sequence alignment of known acyl-CoA ester interacting proteins, we were able to identify four conserved amino acid residues that could potentially serve as an acyl-CoA ester-binding motif. The motif was also recognised in the C-terminal region of Kir6.2 (R311-332) but not in SUR1. Results: Oocytes expressing Kir6.2ΔC26 K332A repeatedly generated K+currents in inside-out membrane patches that were sensitive to ATP, but were only weakly activated by 1 μmol/l palmitoyl-CoA ester. Compared with the control channel (Kir6.2ΔC26), Kir6.2ΔC26 K332A displayed unaltered ATP sensitivity but significantly decreased sensitivity to palmitoyl-CoA esters. Coexpression of Kir6.2ΔC26 K332A and SUR1 revealed slightly increased activation by palmitoyl-CoA ester but significantly decreased activation by the acyl-CoA esters compared with the wild-type KATP channel and Kir6.2ΔC26+SUR1. Computational modelling, using the crystal structure of KirBac1.1, suggested that K332 is located on the intracellular domain of Kir6.2 and is accessible to intracellular modulators such as LC-CoA esters. Conclusions/interpretation: These results verify that LC-CoA esters interact at the pore-forming subunit Kir6.2, and on the basis of these data we propose an acyl-CoA ester binding motif located in the C-terminal region.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1670-1677 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Diabetologia |
Volume | 50 |
Issue number | 8 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 2007 |
Keywords
- Basic Science
- Beta cell signal transduction
- Cells
- Lipids/lipoproteins
- Other techniques
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Internal Medicine
- Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism