Multiple ion channels have now been shown to be regulated by phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP 2 ) at the cytoplasmic face of the membrane. However, direct evidence for a specific interaction between phosphoinositides and ion channels is critically lacking. We reconstituted pure KirBac1.1 and KcsA protein into liposomes of defined composition (3:1 phosphatidylethanolamine:phosphatidylglycerol) and examined channel activity using a 86 Rb ؉ uptake assay. We demonstrate direct modulation by PIP 2 of KirBac1.1 but not KcsA activity. In marked contrast to activation of eukaryotic Kir channels by PIP 2 , KirBac1.1 is inhibited by PIP 2 incorporated in the membrane (K1 ⁄ 2 ‫؍‬ 0.3 mol %). The dependence of inhibition on the number of phosphate groups and requirement for a lipid tail matches that for activation of eukaryotic Kir channels, suggesting a fundamentally similar interaction mechanism. The data exclude the possibility of indirect modulation via cytoskeletal or other intermediary elements and establish a direct interaction of the channel with PIP 2 in the membrane.Phosphoinosotides constitute a major group of signaling molecules in eukaryotic membranes (1, 2) and modulate an ever growing list of ion channels, whether by application of exogenous phospholipids to the cytoplasmic membrane surface or by manipulation of endogenous phospholipids (3-12). However, the nature of the phosphoinositide-channel interaction remains elusive. For one extensively studied group, the inward rectifier K (Kir) channels, there is an emerging consensus that a direct interaction occurs between cytoplasmic domains of the channel and inositol headgroups, based on electrophysiological analysis (5, 13-16) and biochemical analysis of isolated channel domains (5,17,18). Direct interaction of functional channels with phospholipids in the membrane has been difficult to demonstrate unequivocally, and without this, quantification of the dose-response relationships for channel modulation by phospholipids is obviated, and further mechanistic understanding is limited (19, 20).The recent cloning and crystallization (21), as well as functional analysis of KirBac1.1 channels reconstituted in lipid membranes (22), provides the opportunity to examine channel activity using a highly purified protein preparation in membranes of defined composition and permits direct test of the nature of the channel-phosphoinositide interaction. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURESMethods are essentially as described previously (22). KcsA and KirBac1.1 in pQE60 vector were expressed in BL21* (DE3) cells after induction with isopropyl ␤-D-thiogalactopyranoside. Bacteria were lysed by sonication, incubated 2-4 h with 30 mM decylmaltoside (Anatrace), then centrifuged at 30,000 ϫ g for 30 min, and the supernatant was applied to a cobalt affinity column. The column was washed with 20 -30 volumes of wash buffer (50 mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.0, 150 mM KCl, 10 mM imidazole, and 5 mM decylmaltoside) and eluted with 1-2 ml of wash buffer containing 500 mM imidazole. Protein was concentrated u...

Approximately half of the NH2 terminus of inward rectifier (Kir) channels can be deleted without significant change in channel function, but activity is lost when more than ∼30 conserved residues before the first membrane spanning domain (M1) are removed. Systematic replacement of the positive charges in the NH2 terminus of Kir6.2 with alanine reveals several residues that affect channel function when neutralized. Certain mutations (R4A, R5A, R16A, R27A, R39A, K47A, R50A, R54A, K67A) change open probability, whereas an overlapping set of mutants (R16A, R27A, K39A, K47A, R50A, R54A, K67A) change ATP sensitivity. Further analysis of the latter set differentiates mutations that alter ATP sensitivity as a consequence of altered open state stability (R16A, K39A, K67A) from those that may affect ATP binding directly (K47A, R50A, R54A). The data help to define the structural determinants of Kir channel function, and suggest possible structural motifs within the NH2 terminus, as well as the relationship of the NH2 terminus with the extended cytoplasmic COOH terminus of the channel.

The Kir gene family encodes inward rectifying K + (Kir) channels that are widespread and critical regulators of excitability in eukaryotic cells. A related gene family (KirBac) has recently been identified in prokaryotes. While a crystal structure of one member, KirBac1.1, has been solved, there has been no functional characterization of any KirBac gene products. Here we present functional characterization of KirBac1.1 reconstituted in liposomes. Utilizing a 86 Rb + uptake assay, we demonstrate that KirBac1.1 generates a K + -selective permeation path that is inhibited by extraliposomal Ba 2+ and Ca 2+ ions. In contrast to KcsA (an acid-activated bacterial potassium channel), KirBac1.1 is inhibited by extraliposomal acid (p K a ~ 6). This characterization of KirBac1.1 activity now paves the way for further correlation of structure and function in this model Kir channel.

Interactions between nontransmembrane domains and the lipid membrane are proposed to modulate activity of many ion channels. In Kir channels, the so-called “slide-helix” is proposed to interact with the lipid headgroups and control channel gating. We examined this possibility directly in a cell-free system consisting of KirBac1.1 reconstituted into pure lipid vesicles. Cysteine substitution of positively charged slide-helix residues (R49C and K57C) leads to loss of channel activity that is rescued by in situ restoration of charge following modification by MTSET+ or MTSEA+, but not MTSES− or neutral MMTS. Strikingly, activity is also rescued by modification with long-chain alkyl-MTS reagents. Such reagents are expected to partition into, and hence tether the side chain to, the membrane. Systematic scanning reveals additional slide-helix residues that are activated or inhibited following alkyl-MTS modification. A pattern emerges whereby lipid tethering of the N terminus, or C terminus, of the slide-helix, respectively inhibits, or activates, channel activity. This study establishes a critical role of the slide-helix in Kir channel gating, and directly demonstrates that physical interaction of soluble domains with the membrane can control ion channel activity.

All members of the inward rectifiier K+ (Kir) channel family are activated by phosphoinositides and other amphiphilic lipids. To further elucidate the mechanistic basis, we examined the membrane association of Kir6.2 fragments of KATP channels, and the effects of site-directed mutations of these fragments and full-length Kir6.2 on membrane association and KATP channel activity, respectively. GFP-tagged Kir6.2 COOH terminus and GFP-tagged pleckstrin homology domain from phospholipase C δ1 both associate with isolated membranes, and association of each is specifically reduced by muscarinic m1 receptor–mediated phospholipid depletion. Kir COOH termini are predicted to contain multiple β-strands and a conserved α-helix (residues ∼306–311 in Kir6.2). Systematic mutagenesis of D307-F315 reveals a critical role of E308, I309, W311 and F315, consistent with residues lying on one side of a α-helix. Together with systematic mutation of conserved charges, the results define critical determinants of a conserved domain that underlies phospholipid interaction in Kir channels.