Flickery block of single CFTR chloride channels by intracellular anions and osmolytes

Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is a phosphorylation- and nucleotide-dependent chloride channel. Single CFTR currents recorded on cell show slight outward rectification, which has previously been suggested to be due to an asymmetrical chloride ion gradient or to a specific interaction between permeant intracellular anions and the channel. Using a single-channel recording from Chinese hamster ovary cells stably expressing CFTR, we have found that both the sparingly permeant anion glutamate and the impermeant anion gluconate cause a rapid, voltage-dependent block of CFTR channels when applied to the intracellular, but not the extracellular, face of excised patches. Both the affinity and the voltage dependence of block were affected by the extracellular chloride concentration in a manner consistent with chloride ions being able to repel these blocking ions from the pore. These results are discussed in terms of previous models of CFTR current outward rectification, and it is suggested that this rectification may result from a combination of asymmetrical chloride concentrations and voltage-dependent block of the channel by large cytoplasmic anions. In addition, we find that CFTR conductance is decreased by high concentrations of intracellular sucrose, sorbitol, and urea in a manner consistent with a rapid block of the channel by these molecules.