Role of outer-pore residue Y380 in U-type inactivation of KV2.1 channels

The interpretation of slow inactivation in potassium channels has been strongly influenced by work on C-type inactivation in Shaker channels. Slow inactivation in Shaker and some other potassium channels can be dramatically modulated by the state of the pore, including mutations at outer pore residue T449, which altered inactivation kinetics up to 100-fold. KV2.1, another voltage-dependent potassium channel, exhibits a biophysically distinct inactivation mechanism with a U-shaped voltage-dependence and preferential closed-state inactivation, termed U-type inactivation. However, it remains to be demonstrated whether U-type and C-type inactivation have different molecular mechanisms. This study examines mutations at Y380 (homologous to Shaker T449) to investigate whether C-type and U-type inactivation have distinct molecular mechanisms, and whether C-type inactivation can occur at all in KV2.1. Y380 mutants do not introduce C-type inactivation into KV2.1 and have little effect on U-type inactivation of KV2.1. Interestingly, two of the mutants tested exhibit twofold faster recovery from inactivation compared to wild-type channels. The observation that mutations have little effect suggests KV2.1 lacks C-type inactivation as it exists in Shaker and that C-type and U-type inactivation have different molecular mechanisms. Kinetic modeling predicts that all mutants inactivate preferentially, but not exclusively, from partially activated closed states. Therefore, KV2.1 exhibits a single U-type inactivation process including some inactivation from open as well as closed states.