Na+ channel regulation by Ca2+/calmodulin and Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II in guinea-pig ventricular myocytes

Cardiovasc Res. 2010 Feb 1;85(3):454-63. doi: 10.1093/cvr/cvp324. Epub 2009 Oct 1.

Abstract

Aims: Calmodulin (CaM) regulates Na+ channel gating through binding to an IQ-like motif in the C-terminus. Ca2+/CaM-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) regulates Ca2+ handling, and chronic overactivity of CaMKII is associated with left ventricular hypertrophy and dysfunction and lethal arrhythmias. However, the acute effects of Ca2+/CaM and CaMKII on cardiac Na+ channels are not fully understood.

Methods and results: Purified Na(V)1.5-glutathione-S-transferase fusion peptides were phosphorylated in vitro by CaMKII predominantly on the I-II linker. Whole-cell voltage-clamp was used to measure Na+ current (I(Na)) in isolated guinea-pig ventricular myocytes in the absence or presence of CaM or CaMKII in the pipette solution. CaMKII shifted the voltage dependence of Na+ channel availability by approximately +5 mV, hastened recovery from inactivation, decreased entry into intermediate or slow inactivation, and increased persistent (late) current, but did not change I(Na) decay. These CaMKII-induced changes of Na+ channel gating were completely abolished by a specific CaMKII inhibitor, autocamtide-2-related inhibitory peptide (AIP). Ca2+/CaM alone reproduced the CaMKII-induced changes of I(Na) availability and the fraction of channels undergoing slow inactivation, but did not alter recovery from inactivation or the magnitude of the late current. Furthermore, the CaM-induced changes were also completely abolished by AIP. On the other hand, cAMP-dependent protein kinase A inhibitors did not abolish the CaM/CaMKII-induced alterations of I(Na) function.

Conclusion: Ca2+/CaM and CaMKII have distinct effects on the inactivation phenotype of cardiac Na+ channels. The differences are consistent with CaM-independent effects of CaMKII on cardiac Na+ channel gating.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Action Potentials
  • Animals
  • Calcium / physiology*
  • Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Type 2 / physiology*
  • Calmodulin / physiology*
  • Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases / physiology
  • Guinea Pigs
  • Ion Channel Gating / physiology
  • Phosphorylation
  • Sodium Channels / physiology*

Substances

  • Calmodulin
  • Sodium Channels
  • Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases
  • Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Type 2
  • Calcium