Currents through Hv1 channels deplete protons in their vicinity.

ABSTRACT: Proton channels have evolved to provide a pH regulatory mechanism, affording the extrusion of protons from the cytoplasm at all membrane potentials. Previous evidence has suggested that channel-mediated acid extrusion could significantly change the local concentration of protons in the vicinity of the channel. In this work, we directly measure the proton depletion caused by activation of Hv1 proton channels using patch-clamp fluorometry recordings from channels labeled with the Venus fluorescent protein at intracellular domains. The fluorescence of the Venus protein is very sensitive to pH, thus behaving as a genetically encoded sensor of local pH. Eliciting outward proton currents increases the fluorescence intensity of Venus. This dequenching is related to the magnitude of the current an

SUBMITTER: De-la-Rosa V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4727945 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature