Investigating the state dependence of drug binding in hERG channels using a trapped-open channel phenotype

The hERG channel is a key player in repolarization of the cardiac action potential. Pharmacological blockade of hERG channels depletes the cardiac repolarization reserve, increasing the risk of cardiac arrhythmias. The promiscuous nature of drug interactions with hERG presents a therapeutic challenge for drug design and development. Despite considerable effort, the mechanisms of drug binding remain incompletely understood. One proposed mechanism is that high-affinity drug binding preferentially occurs when channels are in the inactivated state. However, this has been difficult to test, since inactivation is rapid in hERG and access to the drug binding site is limited by slower opening of the activation gate. Here, we have directly assessed the role of inactivation in cisparide and terfenadine drug binding in mutant (I663P) hERG channels where the activation gate is trapped-open. We firstly demonstrate the utility of this approach by showing that inactivation, ion selectivity and high affinity drug binding are preserved in I663P mutant channels. We then assess the role of inactivation by applying cisapride and terfenadine at different membrane voltages, which induce varying degrees of inactivation. We show that the extent of block does not correlate with the extent of inactivation. These data suggest that inactivation is not a major determinant of cisapride or terfenadine binding in hERG channels.