Structural insight into KCNQ (Kv7) channel assembly and channelopathy

Neuron. 2007 Mar 1;53(5):663-75. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2007.02.010.

Abstract

Kv7.x (KCNQ) voltage-gated potassium channels form the cardiac and auditory I(Ks) current and the neuronal M-current. The five Kv7 subtypes have distinct assembly preferences encoded by a C-terminal cytoplasmic assembly domain, the A-domain Tail. Here, we present the high-resolution structure of the Kv7.4 A-domain Tail together with biochemical experiments that show that the domain is a self-assembling, parallel, four-stranded coiled coil. Structural analysis and biochemical studies indicate conservation of the coiled coil in all Kv7 subtypes and that a limited set of interactions encode assembly specificity determinants. Kv7 mutations have prominent roles in arrhythmias, deafness, and epilepsy. The structure together with biochemical data indicate that A-domain Tail arrhythmia mutations cluster on the solvent-accessible surface of the subunit interface at a likely site of action for modulatory proteins. Together, the data provide a framework for understanding Kv7 assembly specificity and the molecular basis of a distinct set of Kv7 channelopathies.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Crystallography
  • Humans
  • Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
  • KCNQ Potassium Channels / chemistry*
  • KCNQ Potassium Channels / genetics*
  • KCNQ1 Potassium Channel / chemistry
  • KCNQ1 Potassium Channel / genetics
  • Long QT Syndrome / genetics*
  • Long QT Syndrome / physiopathology
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Mutation
  • Protein Structure, Secondary
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Structure-Activity Relationship

Substances

  • KCNQ Potassium Channels
  • KCNQ1 Potassium Channel
  • KCNQ1 protein, human
  • KCNQ4 protein, human

Associated data

  • PDB/2OVC