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¹ Békésy Laboratory of Neurobiology, Pacific Biomedical Research Center
² School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822
³ Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Medical and Health Science Center, University of Debrecen, 4012 Debrecen, Hungary

Address correspondence to John G. Starkus, Bekesy Lab of Neurobiology, University of Hawaii, 1993 East-West Rd., Honolulu, HI 96822. Fax: (808) 956-6984; E-mail: john{at}pbrc.hawaii.edu

In this study we examine the effects of ionic conditions on the gating charge movement in the fast inactivation–removed wild-type Shaker channel and its W434F mutant. Our results show that various ionic conditions influence the rate at which gating charge returns during repolarization following a depolarizing pulse. These effects are realized through different mechanisms, which include the regulation of channel closing by occupying the cavity, the modulation of transitions into inactivated states, and effects on transitions between closed states via a direct interaction with the channel's gating charges. In generating these effects the cations act from the different binding sites within the pore. Ionic conditions, in which conducting wild-type channels close at different rates, do not significantly affect the rate of charge recovery upon repolarization. In these conditions, channel closing is fast enough not to be rate-limiting in the charge recovery process. In the permanently P-inactivated mutant channel, however, channel closing becomes the rate-limiting step, presumably due to weakened ion–ion interactions inside the pore and a slower intrinsic rate of gate closure. Thus, variations in closing rate induced by different ions are reflected as variations in the rate of charge recovery. In 115 mM internal Tris⁺ and external K⁺, Cs⁺, or Rb⁺, low inward permeation of these ions can be observed through the mutant channel. In these instances, channel closing becomes slower than in Tris⁺_O//Tris⁺_I solutions showing resemblance to the wild-type channel, where higher inward ionic fluxes also retard channel closing. Our data indicate that cations regulate the transition into the inactivated states from the external lock-in site and possibly the deep site. The direct action of barium on charge movement is probably exerted from the deep site, but this effect is not very significant for monovalent cations.

Key Words: potassium channels • gating current • barium • P-inactivation • C-inactivation

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