A Change in the Ion Selectivity of Ligand-Gated Ion Channels Provides a Mechanism to Switch Behavior

نویسندگان

  • Jennifer K. Pirri
  • Diego Rayes
  • Mark J. Alkema
  • Piali Sengupta
چکیده

Behavioral output of neural networks depends on a delicate balance between excitatory and inhibitory synaptic connections. However, it is not known whether network formation and stability is constrained by the sign of synaptic connections between neurons within the network. Here we show that switching the sign of a synapse within a neural circuit can reverse the behavioral output. The inhibitory tyramine-gated chloride channel, LGC-55, induces head relaxation and inhibits forward locomotion during the Caenorhabditis elegans escape response. We switched the ion selectivity of an inhibitory LGC-55 anion channel to an excitatory LGC-55 cation channel. The engineered cation channel is properly trafficked in the native neural circuit and results in behavioral responses that are opposite to those produced by activation of the LGC-55 anion channel. Our findings indicate that switches in ion selectivity of ligand-gated ion channels (LGICs) do not affect network connectivity or stability and may provide an evolutionary and a synthetic mechanism to change behavior.

برای دانلود رایگان متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

منابع مشابه

A Mechanism Underlying the Electrical Polarity Detection of Sensitive Plant, Mimosa Pudica

Natural indicators of the electrical polarity of a direct current (DC) source is limited to semiconductor based diodes and transistors. Recently a novel bio-natural indicator of the polarity of a DC source have been reported. Mimosa Pudica or sensitive plant is found to be a natural detector of a DC source polarity, however the mechanism underlying this phenomenon is not known. This paper aims ...

متن کامل

Simulation study of the transport properties of ions through ion channels serving as primary components of a nanobiosensor

Ion channels are naturally occurring pores through the proteins that regulate the passage of ions and thus maintain the concentration of ions inside and outside the cell. The ion channels control many physiological functions and they can show selectivity for a specific ion. Ion channels are mostly observed in nerve cells and muscle cells. The influx of ions into cells can be regulated by a gate...

متن کامل

Simulation study of the transport properties of ions through ion channels serving as primary components of a nanobiosensor

Ion channels are naturally occurring pores through the proteins that regulate the passage of ions and thus maintain the concentration of ions inside and outside the cell. The ion channels control many physiological functions and they can show selectivity for a specific ion. Ion channels are mostly observed in nerve cells and muscle cells. The influx of ions into cells can be regulated by a gate...

متن کامل

Mechanism of activation at the selectivity filter of the KcsA K+ channel

Potassium channels are opened by ligands and/or membrane potential. In voltage-gated K+ channels and the prokaryotic KcsA channel, conduction is believed to result from opening of an intracellular constriction that prevents ion entry into the pore. On the other hand, numerous ligand-gated K+ channels lack such gate, suggesting that they may be activated by a change within the selectivity filter...

متن کامل

Structural basis for ion permeation mechanism in pentameric ligand-gated ion channels

To understand the molecular mechanism of ion permeation in pentameric ligand-gated ion channels (pLGIC), we solved the structure of an open form of GLIC, a prokaryotic pLGIC, at 2.4 Å. Anomalous diffraction data were used to place bound anions and cations. This reveals ordered water molecules at the level of two rings of hydroxylated residues (named Ser6' and Thr2') that contribute to the ion s...

متن کامل

ذخیره در منابع من


  با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید

عنوان ژورنال:

دوره 13  شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 2015