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Modification of the Na+ current conducted by the rat skeletal muscle alpha subunit by coexpression with a human brain
S C Cannon1, A I McClatchey, J F Gusella
1Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston 02114.
Abstract:
Sodium channels are multimeric structures composed of alpha and beta subunits. Oocytes injected with RNA encoding only the alpha subunit express voltage-gated Na+ currents. The kinetics of inactivation, however, are abnormal. Co-injection of rat brain alpha and beta subunits modifies inactivation of INa such that it closely resembles endogenous currents. Here we show that a beta subunit derived from human brain directs the same functional modification of INa expressed by a rat skeletal muscle alpha subunit. This implies that functional domains for the interaction of alpha and beta subunits are highly conserved across both tissues and species.