Pores formed by single subunits in mixed dimers of different CLC chloride channels

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Item Type:	Article
Title:	Pores formed by single subunits in mixed dimers of different CLC chloride channels
Creators Name:	Weinreich, F. and Jentsch, T.J.
Abstract:	CLC chloride channels comprise a gene family with nine mammalian members. Probably all CLC channels form homodimers, and some CLC proteins may also associate to heterodimers. ClC-0 and ClC-1, the only CLC channels investigated at the single-channel level, display two conductances of equal size which are thought to result from two separate pores, formed individually by the two monomers. We generated concatemeric channels containing one subunit of ClC-0 together with one subunit of ClC-1 or ClC-2. They should display two different conductances if one monomer were sufficient to form one pore. Indeed, we found a 8-picosiemens (pS) conductance (corresponding to ClC-0) that was associated with either a 1.8-pS (ClC-1) or a 2.8-pS (ClC-2) conductance. These conductances retained their typical gating, but the slow gating of ClC-0 that affects both pores simultaneously was lost. ClC-2 and ClC-0 current components were modified by point mutations in the corresponding subunit. The ClC-2 single pore of the mixed dimer was compared with the pores in the ClC-2 homodimer and found to be unaltered. We conclude that each monomer individually forms a gated pore. CLC dimers in general must be imagined as having two pores, as shown previously for ClC-0.
Keywords:	Chloride Channels, Dimerization, Electric Conductivity, Electrophysiology
Source:	Journal of Biological Chemistry
ISSN:	0021-9258
Publisher:	American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Volume:	276
Number:	4
Page Range:	2347-2353
Date:	26 January 2001
Official Publication:	https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M005733200
PubMed:	View item in PubMed

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