Increase of the single-channel conductance of KvLQT1 potassium channels induced by the association with minK

Abstract

 Gating of the delayed rectifier K⁺ channel KvLQT1 is drastically slowed by the association with the small membrane protein minK and it is thought that the KvLQT1/minK complex underlies the slow delayed rectifier K⁺ current of cardiac cells. There is controversy about the effects of the association between KvLQT1 and minK on the single-channel conductance. Here, nonstationary fluctuation analysis was applied to inward K⁺ tail currents recorded with a high-time resolution (5 kHz bandwidth) from macropatches of homomeric KvLQT1 and heteromeric KvLQT1/minK channels expressed in Xenopus oocytes to estimate their single-channel conductance. It was found that heteromers have a threefold larger conductance (5.8 pS) compared to homomeric channels (1.8 pS) in symmetrical high-K⁺ solutions. The larger conductance of heteromers explains in part their larger macroscopic conductance in heterologous expression systems. The molecular mechanism underlying the conductance increase remains to be identified.