A leak K+ channel TWK-40 sustains the rhythmic motor program

Z Yue, Y Li, B Yu, Y Xu, L Chen, J Chitturi, J Meng… - PNAS …, 2024 - academic.oup.com
Z Yue, Y Li, B Yu, Y Xu, L Chen, J Chitturi, J Meng, Y Wang, Y Tian, SE Mouridi, C Zhang…
PNAS nexus, 2024academic.oup.com
Abstract Leak potassium (K+) currents, conducted by two-pore domain K+ (K2P) channels,
are critical for the stabilization of the membrane potential. The effect of K2P channels on
motor rhythm remains enigmatic. We show here that the K2P TWK-40 contributes to the
rhythmic defecation motor program (DMP) in Caenorhabditis elegans. Disrupting TWK-40
suppresses the expulsion defects of nlp-40 and aex-2 mutants. By contrast, a gain-of-
function (gf) mutant of twk-40 significantly reduces the expulsion frequency per DMP cycle …
Abstract
Leak potassium (K+) currents, conducted by two-pore domain K+ (K2P) channels, are critical for the stabilization of the membrane potential. The effect of K2P channels on motor rhythm remains enigmatic. We show here that the K2P TWK-40 contributes to the rhythmic defecation motor program (DMP) in Caenorhabditis elegans. Disrupting TWK-40 suppresses the expulsion defects of nlp-40 and aex-2 mutants. By contrast, a gain-of-function (gf) mutant of twk-40 significantly reduces the expulsion frequency per DMP cycle. In situ whole-cell patch clamping demonstrates that TWK-40 forms an outward current that hyperpolarize the resting membrane potential of dorsorectal ganglion ventral process B (DVB), an excitatory GABAergic motor neuron that activates expulsion muscle contraction. In addition, TWK-40 substantially contributes to the rhythmic activity of DVB. Specifically, DVB Ca2+ oscillations exhibit obvious defects in loss-of-function (lf) mutant of twk-40. Expression of TWK-40(gf) in DVB recapitulates the expulsion deficiency of the twk-40(gf) mutant, and inhibits DVB Ca2+ oscillations in both wild-type and twk-40(lf) animals. Moreover, DVB innervated enteric muscles also exhibit rhythmic Ca2+ defects in twk-40 mutants. In summary, these findings establish TWK-40 as a crucial neuronal stabilizer of DMP, linking leak K2P channels with rhythmic motor activity.
Oxford University Press
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