Goldstein S A, Miller C
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Graduate Department of Biochemistry, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02254-9110.
Biophys J. 1993 Oct;65(4):1613-9. doi: 10.1016/S0006-3495(93)81200-1.
Charybdotoxin block of a Shaker K+ channel was studied in Xenopus oocyte macropatches. Toxin on rate increases linearly with toxin concentration in an ionic strength-dependent fashion and is competitively diminished by tetraethylammonium. On rate is insensitive to transmembrane voltage and to K+ on the opposite side of the membrane. Conversely, toxin off rate is insensitive to toxin concentration, ionic strength, and added tetraethylammonium but is enhanced by membrane depolarization or K+ (or Na+) in the trans solution. Charge neutralization of charybdotoxin Lys27, however, renders off rate voltage insensitive. Our results argue that block of voltage-gated K+ channels results from the binding of one toxin molecule, so that Lys27 enters the pore and interacts with K+ (or Na+) in the ion conduction pathway.