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XB-ART-8135
J Gen Physiol 2001 Nov 01;1185:589-606. doi: 10.1085/jgp.118.5.589.
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Intracellular Mg(2+) enhances the function of BK-type Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channels.

Shi J , Cui J .


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BK channels modulate neurotransmitter release due to their activation by voltage and Ca(2+). Intracellular Mg(2+) also modulates BK channels in multiple ways with opposite effects on channel function. Previous single-channel studies have shown that Mg(2+) blocks the pore of BK channels in a voltage-dependent manner. We have confirmed this result by studying macroscopic currents of the mslo1 channel. We find that Mg(2+) activates mslo1 BK channels independently of Ca(2+) and voltage by preferentially binding to their open conformation. The mslo3 channel, which lacks Ca(2+) binding sites in the tail, is not activated by Mg(2+). However, coexpression of the mslo1 core and mslo3 tail produces channels with Mg(2+) sensitivity similar to mslo1 channels, indicating that Mg(2+) sites differ from Ca(2+) sites. We discovered that Mg(2+) also binds to Ca(2+) sites and competitively inhibits Ca(2+)-dependent activation. Quantitative computation of these effects reveals that the overall effect of Mg(2+) under physiological conditions is to enhance BK channel function.

???displayArticle.pubmedLink??? 11696614
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Species referenced: Xenopus laevis
Genes referenced: bag3 tbx2


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References [+] :
Adelman, Calcium-activated potassium channels expressed from cloned complementary DNAs. 1992, Pubmed, Xenbase