Key result
TREK-2 G334 mutations alter basal activity, acting as a hinge between inhibitory and stimulatory residues.
Why the study?
The study was conducted to further elucidate the role of the putative bent conformation at G334 in the regulation of TREK-2 K+ channels by PIP2.
The putative bent conformation at G334 in the TREK-2 C-terminus is critical for setting the balance between inhibitory (K330) and stimulatory (R355-7) residues in PIP2-dependent channel regulation.
G334A mutation confers tonic TREK-2 activity; extends PIP2-gating model but leaves therapeutic targeting open pending functional validation.
TWIK-related two-pore domain K+ channel-2 (TREK-2) has voltage-independent activity and shows additional activation by acidic intracellular pH (pHi) via neutralizing the E332 in the cytoplasmic C terminal (Ct). We reported opposite regulations of TREK-2 by phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) via the alkaline K330 and triple Arg residues (R355-357); inhibition and activation, respectively. The G334 between them appeared critical because its mutation (G334A) endowed hTREK-2 with tonic activity, similar to the mutation of the inhibitory K330 (K330A). To further elucidate the role of putative bent conformation at G334, we compared the dual mutation forms, K330A/G334A and G334A/R355-7A, showing higher and lower basal activity, respectively. The results suggested that the tonic activity of G334A owes to a dominant influence from R355-7. Since there are additional triple Arg residues (R377-9) distal to R355-7, we also examined the triple mutant (G334A/R355-7A/R377-9A) that showed tonic inhibition same with G334A/R355-7A. Despite the state of tonic inhibition, the activation by acidic pHi was preserved in both G334A/R355-7A and G334A/R355-7A/R377-9A, similar to the R355-7A. Also, the inhibitory effect of ATP could be commonly demonstrated under the activation by acidic pHi in R355-7A, G334A/R355-7A, and G334A/R355-7A/R377-9A. These results suggest that the putative bent conformation at G334 is important to set the tug-of-war between K330 and R355-7 in the PIP2-dependent regulation of TREK-2.
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Kim et al. (2020) studied this question. Site-directed mutagenesis of hTREK-2 (G334A, K330A, R355-7A) and application of acidic pHi / ATP vs. Wild-type hTREK-2 was evaluated on K+ channel activity (current amplitude). Mutations at G334 in the TREK-2 channel altered its basal activity and responses to acidic pHi and ATP, suggesting G334 acts as a hinge between inhibitory K330 and stimulatory R355-7 residues.
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