In this article we compare electrical conductance events from single channel recordings of three TRP channel proteins (TRPA1, TRPM2 and TRPM8) expressed in human embryonic kidney cells with channel events recorded on synthetic lipid membranes close to melting transitions. Ion channels from the TRP family are involved in a variety of sensory processes including thermo- and mechano-reception. Synthetic lipid membranes close to phase transitions display channel-like events that respond to stimuli related to changes in intensive thermodynamic variables such as pressure and temperature. TRP channel activity is characterized by typical patterns of current events dependent on the type of protein expressed. Synthetic lipid bilayers show a wide spectrum of electrical phenomena that are considered typical for the activity of protein ion channels. We find unitary currents, burst behavior, flickering, multistep-conductances, and spikes behavior in both preparations. Moreover, we report conductances and lifetimes for lipid channels as described for protein channels. Non-linear and asymmetric current-voltage relationships are seen in both systems. Without further knowledge of the recording conditions, no easy decision can be made whether short current traces originate from a channel protein or from a pure lipid membrane.

The ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporters Pdr11p and its paralog Aus1p are expressed under anaerobic growth conditions at the plasma membrane of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and are required for sterol uptake. However, the precise mechanism by which these ABC transporters facilitate sterol movement is unknown. In this study, an overexpression and purification procedure was developed with the aim to characterise the Pdr11p transporter. Engineering of Pdr11p variants fused at the C terminus with green fluorescent protein (Pdr11p-GFP) and containing a FLAG tag at the N terminus facilitated expression analysis and one-step purification, respectively. The detergent-solubilised and purified protein displayed a stable ATPase activity with a broad pH optimum near 7.4. Mutagenesis of the conserved lysine to methionine (K788M) in the Walker A motif abolished ATP hydrolysis. Remarkably, and in contrast to Aus1p, ATPase activity of Pdr11p was insensitive to orthovanadate and not specifically stimulated by phosphatidylserine upon reconstitution into liposomes. Our results highlight distinct differences between Pdr11p and Aus1p and create an experimental basis for further biochemical studies of both ABC transporters to elucidate their function.

In this work, we analyzed the interpulse interval (IPI) of doublets and triplets in single neurons of three biological models. Pulse trains with two or three spikes originate from the process of sensory mechanotransduction in neurons of the locust femoral nerve, as well as through spontaneous activity both in the abdominal motor neurons and the caudal photoreceptor of the crayfish. We show that the IPI for successive low-frequency single action potentials, as recorded with two electrodes at two different points along a nerve axon, remains constant. On the other hand, IPI in doublets either remains constant, increases or decreases by up to about 3 ms as the pair propagates. When IPI increases, the succeeding pulse travels at a slower speed than the preceding one. When IPI is reduced, the succeeding pulse travels faster than the preceding one and may exceed the normal value for the specific neuron. In both cases, IPI increase and reduction, the speed of the preceding pulse differs slightly from the normal value, therefore the two pulses travel at different speeds in the same nerve axon. On the basis of our results, we may state that the effect of attraction or repulsion in doublets suggests a tendency of the spikes to reach a stable configuration. We strongly suggest that the change in IPI during spike propagation of doublets opens up a whole new realm of possibilities for neural coding and may have major implications for understanding information processing in nervous systems.