QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (39) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Macica, C. M. Articles by Kaczmarek, L. K. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Macica, C. M. Articles by Kaczmarek, L. K. Pubmed/NCBI databases Gene GEO Profiles HomoloGene UniGene Compound via MeSH Substance via MeSH Hazardous Substances DB 12-O-TETRADECANOYLPHORBOL-13-ACETATE L-SERINE

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

The Journal of Neuroscience, February 15, 2003, 23(4):1133

Modulation of the Kv3.1b Potassium Channel Isoform Adjusts the Fidelity of the Firing Pattern of Auditory Neurons

Carolyn M. Macica¹, Christian A. A. von Hehn¹, Lu-Yang Wang², Chi-Shun Ho³, Shigeru Yokoyama⁴, Rolf H. Joho⁵, and Leonard K. Kaczmarek¹

¹ Department of Pharmacology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, ² Division of Neurology, Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, Canada, ³ Department of Physiology, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, ⁴ Department of Biophysical Genetics, Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medicine, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, 920-8640, Japan, and ⁵ Center for Basic Neuroscience, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390

Neurons of the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body, which transmit auditory information that is used to compute the location of sounds in space, are capable of firing at high frequencies with great temporal precision. We found that elimination of the Kv3.1 gene in mice results in the loss of a high-threshold component of potassium current and failure of the neurons to follow high-frequency stimulation. A partial decrease in Kv3.1 current can be produced in wild-type neurons of the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body by activation of protein kinase C. Paradoxically, activation of protein kinase C increases temporal fidelity and the number of action potentials that are evoked by intermediate frequencies of stimulation. Computer simulations confirm that a partial decrease in Kv3.1 current is sufficient to increase the accuracy of response at intermediate frequencies while impairing responses at high frequencies. We further establish that, of the two isoforms of the Kv3.1 potassium channel that are expressed in these neurons, Kv3.1a and Kv3.1b, the decrease in Kv3.1 current is mediated by selective phosphorylation of the Kv3.1b isoform. Using site-directed mutagenesis, we identify a specific C-terminal phosphorylation site responsible for the observed difference in response of the two isoforms to protein kinase C activation. Our results suggest that modulation of Kv3.1 by phosphorylation allows auditory neurons to tune their responses to different patterns of sensory stimulation.

Key words: Kv3.1; potassium channel; MNTB neurons; protein kinase C; phosphorylation; auditory timing; channel isoforms

---

Copyright © 2003 Society for Neuroscience  0270-6474/03/2341133-09$05.00/0

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. Johnston, S. J. Griffin, C. Baker, A. Skrzypiec, T. Chernova, and I. D. Forsythe Initial segment Kv2.2 channels mediate a slow delayed rectifier and maintain high frequency action potential firing in medial nucleus of the trapezoid body neurons J. Physiol., July 15, 2008; 586(14): 3493 - 3509. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. Espinosa, M. A. Torres-Vega, G. A. Marks, and R. H. Joho Ablation of Kv3.1 and Kv3.3 Potassium Channels Disrupts Thalamocortical Oscillations In Vitro and In Vivo J. Neurosci., May 21, 2008; 28(21): 5570 - 5581. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K.-S. Park, J.-W. Yang, E. Seikel, and J. S. Trimmer Potassium Channel Phosphorylation in Excitable Cells: Providing Dynamic Functional Variability to a Diverse Family of Ion Channels Physiology, February 1, 2008; 23(1): 49 - 57. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				X.-J. Cao, S. Shatadal, and D. Oertel Voltage-Sensitive Conductances of Bushy Cells of the Mammalian Ventral Cochlear Nucleus J Neurophysiol, June 1, 2007; 97(6): 3961 - 3975. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. Yang, R. Desai, and L. K. Kaczmarek Slack and Slick KNa Channels Regulate the Accuracy of Timing of Auditory Neurons J. Neurosci., March 7, 2007; 27(10): 2617 - 2627. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Muller, F. Felmy, B. Schwaller, and R. Schneggenburger Parvalbumin Is a Mobile Presynaptic Ca2+ Buffer in the Calyx of Held that Accelerates the Decay of Ca2+ and Short-Term Facilitation J. Neurosci., February 28, 2007; 27(9): 2261 - 2271. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. Song and L. K. Kaczmarek Modulation of Kv3.1b Potassium Channel Phosphorylation in Auditory Neurons by Conventional and Novel Protein Kinase C Isozymes J. Biol. Chem., June 2, 2006; 281(22): 15582 - 15591. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. J. Slee, M. H. Higgs, A. L. Fairhall, and W. J. Spain Two-Dimensional Time Coding in the Auditory Brainstem J. Neurosci., October 26, 2005; 25(43): 9978 - 9988. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Gruhn, J. Guckenheimer, B. Land, and R. M. Harris-Warrick Dopamine Modulation of Two Delayed Rectifier Potassium Currents in a Small Neural Network J Neurophysiol, October 1, 2005; 94(4): 2888 - 2900. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. L Dallas, L. Atkinson, C. J Milligan, N. P Morris, D. I Lewis, S. A Deuchars, and J. Deuchars Localization and function of the Kv3.1b subunit in the rat medulla oblongata: focus on the nucleus tractus solitarii J. Physiol., February 1, 2005; 562(3): 655 - 672. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. R. Fernandez, W. H. Mehaffey, M. L. Molineux, and R. W. Turner High-Threshold K+ Current Increases Gain by Offsetting a Frequency-Dependent Increase in Low-Threshold K+ Current J. Neurosci., January 12, 2005; 25(2): 363 - 371. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Lewis, Z. A. McCrossan, and G. W. Abbott MinK, MiRP1, and MiRP2 Diversify Kv3.1 and Kv3.2 Potassium Channel Gating J. Biol. Chem., February 27, 2004; 279(9): 7884 - 7892. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. A. A. von Hehn, A. Bhattacharjee, and L. K. Kaczmarek Loss of Kv3.1 Tonotopicity and Alterations in cAMP Response Element-Binding Protein Signaling in Central Auditory Neurons of Hearing Impaired Mice J. Neurosci., February 25, 2004; 24(8): 1936 - 1940. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Z. A. McCrossan, A. Lewis, G. Panaghie, P. N. Jordan, D. J. Christini, D. J. Lerner, and G. W. Abbott MinK-Related Peptide 2 Modulates Kv2.1 and Kv3.1 Potassium Channels in Mammalian Brain J. Neurosci., September 3, 2003; 23(22): 8077 - 8091. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Matsukawa, A. M. Wolf, S. Matsushita, R. H. Joho, and T. Knopfel Motor Dysfunction and Altered Synaptic Transmission at the Parallel Fiber-Purkinje Cell Synapse in Mice Lacking Potassium Channels Kv3.1 and Kv3.3 J. Neurosci., August 20, 2003; 23(20): 7677 - 7684. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help