Modulation of jellyfish potassium channels by external potassium ions

The amplitude of an A-like potassium current (I-Kfast) in identified cultured motor neurons isolated from the jellyfish Polyorchis penicillatus was found to be strongly modulated by extracellular potassium ([K+](out)). When expressed in Xenopus oocytes, two jellyfish Shaker-like genes, jShak1 and jShak2, coding for potassium channels, exhibited similar modulation by [K+](out) over a range of concentrations from 0 to 100 mM. jShak2-encoded channels also showed a decreased rate of inactivation and an increased rate of recovery from inactivation at high [K+](out). Using site-directed mutagenesis we show that inactivation of jShak2 can be ascribed to an unusual combination of a weak "implicit" N-type inactivation mechanism and a strong, fast, potassium-sensitive C-type mechanism. Interaction between the two forms of inactivation is responsible for the potassium dependence of cumulative inactivation. Inactivation of jShak1 was determined primarily by a strong "ball and chain" mechanism similar to fruit fly Shaker channels. Experiments using fast perfusion of outside-out patches with jShak2 channels were used to establish that the effects of [K+](out) on the peak current amplitude and inactivation were due to processes occurring at either different sites located at the external channel mouth with different retention times for potassium ions, or at the same site(s) where retention time is determined by state-dependent conformations of the channel protein. The possible physiological implications of potassium sensitivity of high-threshold potassium A-like currents is discussed.