Neutralisation of a single voltage sensor affects gating determinants in all four pore-forming S6 segments of...

Voltage sensors trigger the closed-open transitions in the pore of voltage-gated ion channels. To probe the transmission of voltage sensor signalling to the channel pore of Ca(V)1.2, we investigated how elimination of positive charges in the S4 segments (charged residues were replaced by neutral glutamine) modulates gating perturbations induced by mutations in pore-lining S6 segments. Neutralisation of all positively charged residues in IIS4 produced a functional channel (IIS4(N)), while replacement of the charged residues in IS4, IIIS4 and IVS4 segments resulted in nonfunctional channels. The IIS4(N) channel displayed activation kinetics similar to wild type. Mutations in a highly conserved structure motif on S6 segments ("GAGA ring": G432W in IS6, A780T in IIS6, G1193T in IIIS6 and A1503G in IVS6) induce strong left-shifted activation curves and decelerated channel deactivation kinetics. When IIS4(N) was combined with these mutations, the activation curves were shifted back towards wild type and current kinetics were accelerated. In contrast, 12 other mutations adjacent to the GAGA ring in IS6-IVS6, which also affect activation gating, were not rescued by IIS4(N). Thus, the rescue of gating distortions in segments IS6-IVS6 by IIS4(N) is highly position-specific. Thermodynamic cycle analysis supports the hypothesis that IIS4 is energetically coupled with the distantly located GAGA residues. We speculate that conformational changes caused by neutralisation of IIS4 are not restricted to domain II (IIS6) but are transmitted to gating structures in domains I, III and IV via the GAGA ring.