CLONING, EXPRESSION, PHARMACOLOGY AND REGULATION OF A DELAYED RECTIFIER K+ CHANNEL IN MOUSE HEART

Neonatal mouse cardiac poly(A)+ mRNA microinjection into Xenopus oocytes directed the expression of a delayed rectifier K+ current. A cDNA encoding this channel, called mIsK, was cloned from a neonatal mouse heart cDNA library whose properties were studied after expression of the complementary RNA in Xenopus oocytes. Among the different known K+ channel blockers, only the class III antiarrhythmic clofilium inhibited mIsK in the 10-100-mu-M range. The channel was completely insensitive to other antiarrhythmics such as quinine, quinidine, sotalol or amiodarone. mIsK was enhanced by increasing intracellular Ca2+ and by microinjected Ca2+-calmodulin dependent protein kinase II. These stimulations were reversed by the calmodulin antagonist W7. Conversely, the phorbol ester PMA, the diacylglycerol analog OAG and microinjected purified protein kinase C inhibited mIsK. This inhibitory effect could be prevented by the protein kinase C inhibitor staurosporine. These results were consistent with the presence of consensus sequences for kinase II and kinase C in the mIsK structure. Cultured newborn mouse ventricular cardiac cells exhibited a delayed rectifier K+ current which had biophysical properties similar to those of cloned mIsK and which was inhibited by clofilium and protein kinase C activators. In situ hybridization experiments revealed that mIsK mRNA was homogeneously distributed in the cardiac tissue. Neonatal mouse heart expressed the most mIsK mRNA compared with various other rat and mouse tissues. Since this K+ channel generates a current which appears to be involved in the control of both the action potential duration and the beating rate, these results suggest an important role for the mIsK channel in cardiac cell physiology and cardiac pathology.