Touch sensation requires the mechanically gated ion channel ELKIN1

Touch perception is enabled by mechanically activated ion channels, the opening of which excites cutaneous sensory endings to initiate sensation. In this study, we identify ELKIN1 as an ion channel likely gated by mechanical force, necessary for normal touch sensitivity in mice. Touch insensitivity in Elkin1-/- mice was caused by a loss of mechanically activated currents (MA currents) in around half of all sensory neurons activated by light touch (low-threshold mechanoreceptors). Reintroduction of Elkin1 into sensory neurons from Elkin1-/- mice restored MA currents. Additionally, small interfering RNA-mediated knockdown of ELKIN1 from induced human sensory neurons substantially reduced indentation-induced MA currents, supporting a conserved role for ELKIN1 in human touch. Our data identify ELKIN1 as a core component of touch transduction in mice and potentially in humans.

TMEM87a/Elkin1, a component of a novel mechanoelectrical transduction pathway, modulates melanoma adhesion and migration

Mechanoelectrical transduction is a cellular signalling pathway where physical stimuli are converted into electro-chemical signals by mechanically activated ion channels. We describe here the presence of mechanically activated currents in melanoma cells that are dependent on TMEM87a, which we have renamed Elkin1. Heterologous expression of this protein in PIEZO1-deficient cells, that exhibit no baseline mechanosensitivity, is sufficient to reconstitute mechanically activated currents. Melanoma cells lacking functional Elkin1 exhibit defective mechanoelectrical transduction, decreased motility and increased dissociation from organotypic spheroids. By analysing cell adhesion properties, we demonstrate that Elkin1 deletion is associated with increased cell-substrate adhesion and decreased homotypic cell-cell adhesion strength. We therefore conclude that Elkin1 supports a PIEZO1-independent mechanoelectrical transduction pathway and modulates cellular adhesions and regulates melanoma cell migration and cell-cell interactions.

When cells receive signals about their surrounding environment, this initiates a chain of signals which generate a response. Some of these signalling pathways allow cells to sense physical and mechanical forces via a process called mechanotransduction. There are different types of mechanotransduction. In one pathway, mechanical forces open up specialized channels on the cell surface which allow charged particles to move across the membrane and create an electrical current.

Mechanoelectrical transduction plays an important role in the spread of cancer: as cancer cells move away from a tumour they use these signalling pathways to find their way between cells and move into other parts of the body. Understanding these pathways could reveal ways to stop cancer from spreading, making it easier to treat. However, it remains unclear which molecules regulate mechanoelectrical transduction in cancer cells.

Now, Patkunarajah, Stear et al. have studied whether mechanoelectrical transduction is involved in the migration of skin cancer cells. To study mechanoelectrical transduction, a fine mechanical input was applied to the skin cancer cells whilst measuring the flow of charged molecules moving across the membrane. This experiment revealed that a previously unknown protein named Elkin1 is required to convert mechanical forces into electrical currents. Deleting this newly found protein caused skin cancer cells to move more slowly and dissociate more easily from tumour-like clusters of cells.

These findings suggest that Elkin1 is part of a newly identified mechanotransduction pathway that allows cells to sense mechanical forces from their surrounding environment. More work is needed to determine what role Elkin1 plays in mechanoelectrical transduction and whether other proteins are also involved. This could lead to new approaches that prevent cancer cells from dissociating from tumours and spreading to other body parts.

Rapid molecular evolution of pain insensitivity in multiple African rodents

Noxious substances, called algogens, cause pain and are used as defensive weapons by plants and stinging insects. We identified four previously unknown instances of algogen-insensitivity by screening eight African rodent species related to the naked mole-rat with the painful substances capsaicin, acid (hydrogen chloride, pH 3.5), and allyl isothiocyanate (AITC). Using RNA sequencing, we traced the emergence of sequence variants in transduction channels, like transient receptor potential channel TRPA1 and voltage-gated sodium channel Na_v1.7, that accompany algogen insensitivity. In addition, the AITC-insensitive highveld mole-rat exhibited overexpression of the leak channel NALCN (sodium leak channel, nonselective), ablating AITC detection by nociceptors. These molecular changes likely rendered highveld mole-rats immune to the stings of the Natal droptail ant. Our study reveals how evolution can be used as a discovery tool to find molecular mechanisms that shut down pain.

Voltage gating of mechanosensitive PIEZO channels

Mechanosensitive PIEZO ion channels are evolutionarily conserved proteins whose presence is critical for normal physiology in multicellular organisms. Here we show that, in addition to mechanical stimuli, PIEZO channels are also powerfully modulated by voltage and can even switch to a purely voltage-gated mode. Mutations that cause human diseases, such as xerocytosis, profoundly shift voltage sensitivity of PIEZO1 channels toward the resting membrane potential and strongly promote voltage gating. Voltage modulation may be explained by the presence of an inactivation gate in the pore, the opening of which is promoted by outward permeation. Older invertebrate (fly) and vertebrate (fish) PIEZO proteins are also voltage sensitive, but voltage gating is a much more prominent feature of these older channels. We propose that the voltage sensitivity of PIEZO channels is a deep property co-opted to add a regulatory mechanism for PIEZO activation in widely different cellular contexts.

PIEZO proteins form mechanosensitive ion channels. Here the authors present electrophysiological measurements that show that PIEZO channels are also modulated by voltage and can switch to a purely voltage gated mode, which is an evolutionary conserved property of this channel family.

Pharmacology of hSlo3 channels and their contribution in the capacitation-associated hyperpolarization of human sperm

Slo3 channels (mSlo3) primarily mediate mouse sperm K(+) currents and are essential for the capacitation-associated hyperpolarization (CAH). Whether Slo3 and/or Slo1, two Slo family K(+) channels are functionally expressed in human sperm is controversial. Our recent pharmacological studies of the human sperm CAH suggested the participation of both. Lack of a detailed pharmacology of heterologously expressed human Slo3 (hSlo3) prevented precisely identifying the K(+) channel(s) involved. In the present report, we compare the pharmacological profile of expressed hSlo3 in CHO cells with that of the CAH to advance this matter. Whole-cell patch-clamp recordings showed that hSlo3 currents are inhibited: significantly by progesterone, Ba(2+) and quinidine; partially by Penitrem A and Charybdotoxin; and poorly by Iberiotoxin and Slotoxin. Surprisingly, hSlo3 currents were resistant to Clofilium and 60 mM TEA(+) which inhibit mSlo3. Pharmacological comparison of the CAH and hSlo3 profiles indicates in addition to hSlo3, other K(+) channels, possibly Slo1, may participate in CAH. The pharmacological profile of heterologously expressed hSlo3 channels differs from that of mSlo3 K(+) channels, consistent with species-specific differences observed among other sperm ion channels. While the pharmacological correlation analysis of the hSlo3 currents and the CAH confirmed the participation of hSlo3 channels, it suggests that additional K(+) channels may be involved, in particular Slo1 channels.

Membrane hyperpolarization during human sperm capacitation

Sperm capacitation is a complex and indispensable physiological process that spermatozoa must undergo in order to acquire fertilization capability. Spermatozoa from several mammalian species, including mice, exhibit a capacitation-associated plasma membrane hyperpolarization, which is necessary for the acrosome reaction to occur. Despite its importance, this hyperpolarization event has not been adequately examined in human sperm. In this report we used flow cytometry to show that a subpopulation of human sperm indeed undergo a plasma membrane hyperpolarization upon in vitro capacitation. This hyperpolarization correlated with two other well-characterized capacitation parameters, namely an increase in intracellular pH and Ca(2+) concentration, measured also by flow cytometry. We found that sperm membrane hyperpolarization was completely abolished in the presence of a high external K(+) concentration (60 mM), indicating the participation of K(+) channels. In order to identify, which of the potential K(+) channels were involved in this hyperpolarization, we used different K(+) channel inhibitors including charybdotoxin, slotoxin and iberiotoxin (which target Slo1) and clofilium (a more specific blocker for Slo3). All these K(+) channel antagonists inhibited membrane hyperpolarization to a similar extent, suggesting that both members of the Slo family may potentially participate. Two very recent papers recorded K(+) currents in human sperm electrophysiologically, with some contradictory results. In the present work, we show through immunoblotting that Slo3 channels are present in the human sperm membrane. In addition, we found that human Slo3 channels expressed in CHO cells were sensitive to clofilium (50 μM). Considered altogether, our data indicate that Slo1 and Slo3 could share the preponderant role in the capacitation-associated hyperpolarization of human sperm in contrast to what has been previously reported for mouse sperm, where Slo3 channels are the main contributors to the hyperpolarization event.