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J Gen Physiol
2016 Mar 01;1473:229-41. doi: 10.1085/jgp.201511517.
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Retigabine holds KV7 channels open and stabilizes the resting potential.
Corbin-Leftwich A
,
Mossadeq SM
,
Ha J
,
Ruchala I
,
Le AH
,
Villalba-Galea CA
.
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The anticonvulsant Retigabine is a KV7 channel agonist used to treat hyperexcitability disorders in humans. Retigabine shifts the voltage dependence for activation of the heteromeric KV7.2/KV7.3 channel to more negative potentials, thus facilitating activation. Although the molecular mechanism underlying Retigabine's action remains unknown, previous studies have identified the pore region of KV7 channels as the drug's target. This suggested that the Retigabine-induced shift in voltage dependence likely derives from the stabilization of the pore domain in an open (conducting) conformation. Testing this idea, we show that the heteromeric KV7.2/KV7.3 channel has at least two open states, which we named O1 and O2, with O2 being more stable. The O1 state was reached after short membrane depolarizations, whereas O2 was reached after prolonged depolarization or during steady state at the typical neuronal resting potentials. We also found that activation and deactivation seem to follow distinct pathways, suggesting that the KV7.2/KV7.3 channel activity displays hysteresis. As for the action of Retigabine, we discovered that this agonist discriminates between open states, preferentially acting on the O2 state and further stabilizing it. Based on these findings, we proposed a novel mechanism for the therapeutic effect of Retigabine whereby this drug reduces excitability by enhancing the resting potential open state stability of KV7.2/KV7.3 channels. To address this hypothesis, we used a model for action potential (AP) in Xenopus laevis oocytes and found that the resting membrane potential became more negative as a function of Retigabine concentration, whereas the threshold potential for AP firing remained unaltered.
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Figure 1. K+ deactivation rate decreases as a function of activation. (A) K+ currents recorded from Xenopus oocytes coexpressing human KV7.2 and KV7.3 channels using the cut-open voltage-clamp technique. Test pulses ranging from â120 mV to +60 mV were applied from an HP of â90 mV. Deactivation of the current was driven at â105 mV (arrow). (B) Normalized deactivating currents from activating pulses from â30 to +60 mV. Deactivation slowed down after higher activating potentials. (C) Deactivation time constant (ÏDEACT) versus test pulse potential (ÏDEACTâVPULSE) plot. Error bars represent standard deviation. (D) Kinetics scheme describing alternative pathways for the deactivation of the heteromeric KV7.2/KV7.3 channel. Voltage-dependent transitions are noted with V.
Figure 2. Effect of Retigabine on the activity of the heteromeric KV7.2/KV7.3 channel. (A) K+ currents recorded in the absence or presence of 1â5-µM Retigabine using the same protocol shown in Fig. 1. (B) Average normalized K+ current amplitude measured at the beginning of the deactivating currents (ITAIL; arrows in A). Normalized ITAIL versus test pulse potential (ITAILâVPULSE) plots incrementally shift toward negative potentials as the concentration of Retigabine (RTG) was increased. Individual ITAILâVPULSE plots were fitted to a double Boltzmann distribution, and the weighted average half-maximum potential (weighted V1/2) was plotted as a function of the concentration of Retigabine (inset). Although the weighted V1/2 values were not statistically different, this parameter changed to more negative potentials as a function of the concentration of Retigabine in all our recordings. Error bars represent standard deviation. n = 5â8.
Figure 3. Deactivation time constant increase as a function of the duration of the activating pulse. (A and B) K+ currents were activated by 40-mV pulses with a duration varying from 10 to 4,175 ms in the absence (A) and presence (B) of 1-µM Retigabine. The duration of the pulse increased 1.3-fold for each trace. After activation, the K+ current was deactivated at â90 mV. (C) ÏDEACTâtPULSE plot shows that ÏDEACT increased as the activating pulse was longer (black squares). In the presence of Retigabine, ÏDEACT increased further. (D) The same plot as in C, but the tPULSE is displayed in a logarithmic scale to highlight the ÏDEACTâtPULSE relationship for shorter activating pulses and showing that ÏDEACT was unaltered by Retigabine for pulses shorter than 500 ms. Error bars represent standard deviation. Control, n = 7; Retigabine, n = 6.
Figure 4. Deactivation from the depolarized and resting potential open states. (A) Deactivation at â90 mV of the K+ current elicited by a 100-ms depolarization to 40 mV in the absence (black trace) and presence of 1-µM Retigabine (red trace). (B) Deactivation at â90 mV of the K+ current elicited by holding the membrane potential at â50 mV also in the absence (black trace) and presence of 1-µM Retigabine (red trace). (Câ-F) Deactivation time constant (ÏDEACT) versus deactivating potential (ÏDEACTâVDEACT) plot of channels activated by a 100-ms depolarization to 40 mV (C) or by holding the membrane potential at â60 mV, â50 mV, and â40 mV (D, E, and F, respectively) in the absence (black squares) and presence of 1-µM Retigabine (RTG; red circles). Error bars represent standard deviation. t test; n = 5â8. *, P < 0.05, t test.
Figure 5. The resting potential, but not the threshold potential for triggering AP, was affected by Retigabine. (A) APs were recorded from Xenopus oocytes coexpressing both the α and β subunits of NaV1.4, ShakerIR, KV7.2, and KV7.3. The APs were recorded using the loose two-electrode voltage-clamp technique (see Materials and methods for details) in the absence (black trace) or presence of 1-µM (red trace) or 10-µM (green trace) Retigabine. The gray trace shows the response of VM when a subthreshold was applied. The arrow indicates the moment at which AP threshold (VTHR) is reached. (B) Effect of Retigabine (RTG) on the resting membrane potential (VREST) and AP threshold (VTHR). (C) Minimum current injection needed to evoke an AP (ITHR). The values of ITHR were normalized by ITHR in the absence of Retigabine (n = 4). (D) Example of a phase plot calculated from the APs shown on A. VREST was strongly affected by Retigabine (blue star), whereas VTHR remained fairly unaltered. Although the depolarization phase was affected by Retigabine (blue arrow), the late phase of repolarization (yellow arrow) remained unaltered. Arrows indicate the progress of the AP in time during the stimulation phase (purple arrow), depolarization phase (green arrow), and repolarization phase (orange arrow). The open blue arrow points at the times when APs reached their maximum voltage. The open yellow arrow points at the late repolarization phase. Error bars represent standard deviation. t test; n = 5. *, P < 0.002 with respect to control; **, P < 0.07 with respect to 1-µM Retigabine; ***, P < 0.0025 with respect to control; #, P < 0.072 with respect to control.
Figure 6. Proposed kinetic scheme for the activity of KV7.2/KV7.3 and the effect of Retigabine. The scheme contains five global states, which are different with respect to each other depending on the activation status of the VSD and the pore domain (P). In the scheme, VSD represents the four voltage sensors of the channel. At negative potentials, the VSDs are in the deactivated state (VSDD) and the pore is, therefore, closed (PC0). Upon depolarization, the VSDs are activated (VSDA), allowing the pore to sojourn between a conductive and a nonconductive state (PO1 and PC1, respectively). Holding the membrane depolarized potentials keeps the VSDs in the VSDA state while allowing a second transition in the pore. As a result, the pore sojourns between a second pair of conductive and nonconductive states (PO2 and PC2, respectively) and the channel becomes Retigabine sensitive. Deactivation from these states is slower than from the pair PC1âPO1. Retigabine further decreases the rate of deactivation from the pair PC2âPO2 while leaving deactivation unaffected from the other pair.
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