Martin HR, Lysakowski A, Eatock RA. The potassium channel subunit K
V1.8 (
Kcna10) is essential for the distinctive outwardly rectifying conductances of type I and II vestibular hair cells.
BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.11.21.563853. [PMID:
38045305 PMCID:
PMC10690164 DOI:
10.1101/2023.11.21.563853]
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Abstract
In amniotes, head motions and tilt are detected by two types of vestibular hair cells (HCs) with strikingly different morphology and physiology. Mature type I HCs express a large and very unusual potassium conductance, gK,L, which activates negative to resting potential, confers very negative resting potentials and low input resistances, and enhances an unusual non-quantal transmission from type I cells onto their calyceal afferent terminals. Following clues pointing to KV1.8 (KCNA10) in the Shaker K channel family as a candidate gK,L subunit, we compared whole-cell voltage-dependent currents from utricular hair cells of KV1.8-null mice and littermate controls. We found that KV1.8 is necessary not just for gK,L but also for fast-inactivating and delayed rectifier currents in type II HCs, which activate positive to resting potential. The distinct properties of the three KV1.8-dependent conductances may reflect different mixing with other KV1 subunits, such as KV1.4 (KCNA4). In KV1.8-null HCs of both types, residual outwardly rectifying conductances include KV7 (KCNQ) channels. Current clamp records show that in both HC types, KV1.8-dependent conductances increase the speed and damping of voltage responses. Features that speed up vestibular receptor potentials and non-quantal afferent transmission may have helped stabilize locomotion as tetrapods moved from water to land.
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