Mechanism of action of K channel openers on skeletal muscle KATP channels. Interactions with nucleotides and protons.

The molecular mechanisms underlying the actions of K channel openers (KCOs) on KATP channels were studied with the patch clamp technique in excised inside-out patches from frog skeletal muscle fibers. Benzopyran KCOs (levcromakalim and SR 47063) opened channels partially blocked by ATP, ADP, or ATP gamma s, with and without Mg2+, but they had no effects in the absence of internal nucleotides, even after channel activity had significantly declined because of rundown. The effects of KCOs could therefore be attributed solely to a competitive interaction between KCOs and nucleotides, as confirmed by observations that ATP decreased the apparent affinity for KCOs and that, conversely, KCOs decreased ATP or ADP sensitivity. Protons antagonized the action of the non-benzopyran KCOs, pinacidil and aprikalim, by enhancing their dissociation rate. This effect resembled the effect of acidification on benzopyran KCOs (Forestier, C., Y. Depresle, and M. Vivaudou. FEBS Lett. 325:276-280, 1993), suggesting that, in spite of their structural diversity, KCOs could act through the same binding sites. Detailed analysis of the inhibitory effects of protons on channel activity induced by levcromakalim or SR 47063 revealed that, in the presence of 100 microM ATP, this effect developed steeply between pH 7 and 6 and was half maximal at pH 6.6. These results are in quantitative agreement with an allosteric model of the KATP channel possessing four protonation sites, two nucleotidic sites accessible preferentially to Mg(2+)-free nucleotides, and one benzopyran KCO site. The structural implications of this model are discussed.