Hydrolyzable ATP and PIP2 Modulate the Small-conductance K+ Channel in Apical Membranes of Rat Cortical-Collecting Duct (CCD)

The small-conductance K+ channel (SK) in the apical membrane of the cortical-collecting duct (CCD) is regulated by adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and phosphorylation-dephosphorylation processes. When expressed in Xenopus oocytes, ROMK, a cloned K+ channel similar to the native SK channel, can be stimulated by phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate (PIP2), which is produced by phosphoinositide kinases from phosphatidylinositol. However, the effects of PIP2 on SK channel activity are not known. In the present study, we investigated the mechanism by which hydrolyzable ATP prevented run-down of SK channel activity in excised apical patches of principal cells from rat CCD. Channel run-down was significantly delayed by pretreatment with hydrolyzable Mg-ATP, but ATP gamma S and AMP-PNP had no effect. Addition of alkaline phosphatase also resulted in loss of channel activity. After run-down, SK channel activity rapidly increased upon addition of PIP2. Exposure of inside-out patches to phosphoinositide kinase inhibitors (LY294002, quercetin or wortmannin) decreased channel activity by 74% in the presence of Mg-ATP. PIP2 added to excised patches reactivated SK channels in the presence of these phosphoinositide kinase inhibitors. The protein kinase A inhibitor, PKI, reduced channel activity by 36% in the presence of Mg-ATP. PIP2 was also shown to modulate the inhibitory effects of extracellular and cytosolic ATP. We conclude that both ATP-dependent formation of PIP2 through membrane-bound phosphoinositide kinases and phosphorylation of SK by PKA play important roles in modulating SK channel activity.