Sodium/calcium selectivity of cloned calcium T-type channels

Abstract

We studied the peculiarities of permeability with respect to the main extracellular cations, Na+ and Ca2+, of cloned low-threshold calcium channels (LTCCs) of three subtypes, Cav3.1 (α1G), Cav3.2 (α 1H), and Cav3.3 (α1I), functionally expressed in Xenopus oocytes. In a calcium-free solution containing 100 mM Na+ and 5 mM calcium-chelating EGTA buffer (to eliminate residual concentrations of Ca2+) we observed considerable integral currents possessing the kinetics of inactivation typical of LTCCs and characterized by reversion potentials of −10 ± 1, −12 ± 1, and −18 ± 2 mV, respectively, for Cav3.1, Cav3.2, and Cav3.3 channels. The presence of Ca2+ in the extracellular solution exerted an ambiguous effect on the examined currents. On the one hand, Ca2+ effectively blocked the current of monovalent cations through cloned LTCCs (Kd = 2, 10, and 18 µM for currents through channels Cav3.1, Cav3.2, and Cav3.3, respectively). On the other hand, at the concentration of 1 to 100 mM, Ca2+ itself functioned as a carrier of the inward current. Despite the fact that the calcium current reached the level of saturation in the presence of 5 mM Ca2+ in the external solution, extracellular Na+ influenced the permeability of these channels even in the presence of 10 mM Ca2+. The Cav3.3 channels were more permeable with respect to Na+ (PCa/PNa ∼ 21) than Cav3.1 and Cav3.2 (PCa/PNa ∼ 66). As a whole, our data indicate that cloned LTCCs form multi-ion Ca2+-selective pores, as these ions possess a high affinity for certain binding sites. Monovalent cations present together with Ca2+ in the external solution modulate the calcium permeability of these channels. Among the above-mentioned subtypes, Cav3.3 channels show the minimum selectivity with respect to Ca2+ and are most permeable for monovalent cations.