Referenced in: none

Automatically associated channels: Kv10.1

Title: Properties of the tetrodotoxin binding component in plasma membranes isolated from Electrophorus electricus.

Authors: J K Reed, M A Raftery

Journal, date & volume: Biochemistry, 1976 Mar 9 , 15, 944-53

PubMed link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3213

Abstract
The biochemical properties of the electrically excitable sodium channels in the electroplaque of Electrophorus electricus were investigated using tritiated tetrodotoxin (TTX) as a specific membrane probe. Membrane fragments from the electroplaque were isolated essentially by differential centrifugation and characterized with respect to the plasma membrane markers acetylcholine receptors, acetylcholinesterase, (Na+ + K+)ATPase, and [3H]TTX binding. Equilibrium binding studies showed that [3H]TTX bound to a single population of noninteracting receptor sites with an apparent dissociation constant of 6 +/- 1 X 10(-9) M. The toxin-membrane complex dissociated with a first-order rate constant of 0.012 sec-1. Studies on the pH dependence of complex formation demonstrated the requirement for an ionizable, functional group with a pK of 5.3 and this group has been shown to be a carboxyl. Treatment of the membranes with trimethyloxonium tetrafluoroborate, a carboxyl group modifying reagent, resulted in an irreversible loss in the binding of [3H]TTX, which could be prevented by low concentrations of TTX or saxitoxin. This decrease was due to a reduction in the total number of binding sites and not to a decrease in toxin binding affinities. The relative binding affinities of various monovalent alkali metal and polyatomic cations for the TTX-receptor site showed that this site displayed cation discrimination properties which were similar to those reported previously for the electrically excitable sodium channel in intact nerve fibers. A possible role for this site in the ion selectivity of the sodium channel is proposed.