Modulation of gating of a metabolically regulated, ATP-dependent K+ channel by intracellular pH in B cells of the pancreatic islet

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Membrane-permeant weak acids and bases, when applied to the bath, modulate the resting membrane potential and the glucose-induced electrical activity of pancreatic B cells, as well as their insulin secretion. These substances alter the activity of a metabolite-regulated. ATP-sensitive K+ channel which underlies the B-cell resting potential. We now present several lines of evidence indicating that the channel may be directly gated by pH i . (1) The time course of K+(ATP) channel activity during exposure to and washout of NH4Cl under a variety of experimental conditions, including alteration of the electrochemical gradient for NH4Cl entry and inhibition of the Na o + H i + exchanger, resembles the time course of pH i measured in other cell types that have been similarly treated. (2) Increasing pH o over the range 6.25–7.9 increases K+(ATP) channel activity in cell-attached patches where the cell surface exposed to the bath has been permeabilized to H+ by the application of the K+/H+ exchanger nigericin. (3) Increasing pH i over a similar range produces similar effects on K+(ATP) channels in inside-out excised patches exposed to small concentrations of ATP i . The physiological role of ΔpH i in the metabolic gating of this channel remains to be explored.