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#Tarantula venom probe shows neurons in action University of California Davis rightoriginal Studyposted by Carole Gan-UC Davis on October 24 2014a cellular probe that combines a tarantula toxin with a fluorescent compound can help scientists observe electrical activity in neurons and other cells. The probe binds to a voltage-activated potassium ion channel subtype lighting up when the channel is turned off and dimming when it is activated. This is the first time researchers have been able to visually observe these electrical signaling proteins turn on without genetic modification. These visualization tools are prototypes of probes that could some day help researchers better understand the ion channel dysfunctions that lead to epilepsy cardiac arrhythmias and other conditions. on channels have been called life s transistors because they act like switches generating electrical feedbacksays senior author Jon Sack assistant professor of physiology and membrane biology at University of California Davis. o understand how neural systems or the heart works we need to know which switches are activated. These probes tell us when certain switches turn on. oltage-gated channels are proteins that allow specific ions such as potassium or calcium to flow in and out of cells. They perform a critical function generating an electrical current in neurons muscles and other cells. There are many different types including more than 40 potassium channels. Though other methods can very precisely measure electrical activity in a cell it has been difficult to differentiate which specific channels are turning on. here are about 40 voltage-gated potassium channel genes that are basically doing the same thing and it s been shockingly hard to figure out which ones are doing something that s physiologically relevantsack says. The tarantula toxin guangxitoxin-1e was an ideal choice because it naturally binds to the Kv2 channels. These channels are expressed in most if not all neurons yet their regulation and activity are complex and actively debated. Sack and his laboratory worked closely with Bruce Cohen a scientist in the Lawrence Berkeley Lab s Molecular Foundry who has been studying how fluorescent molecules and nanoparticles can be used to image live cells. To study the channels the team engineered variants of tarantula toxin that could be labeled fluorescently and retain function. These probes were designed to bind to the potassium channels when they were at rest and let go when they became active. The researchers then tested them on living cells. To their surprise the probes worked right away. lot of times you see ambiguous results but when we added the probes to living cells there was a very clear signalsack says. hen we added potassium to stimulate the cells the probes fell right off. hile this is just a first step towards imaging the activity of potassium and possibly other ion channels this approach holds vast potential to help scientists understand the underlying mechanisms behind cardiac arrhythmias muscle defects and other channelopathies. here are known dozens of channelopathies and more being uncovered at an increasing pacesack says f you have electrical signaling you have to have a potassium channel and when that channel goes bad the cell doesn t work the same anymore. For example the Kv2. 1 channel that this probe binds to leads to epilepsy when it s not functioning properly. n addition the ability to better observe electrical signaling could help researchers map the brain at its most basic levels. nderstanding the molecular mechanisms of neuronal firing is a fundamental problem in unraveling the complexities of brain functioncohen says. While creating a probe that can read whether the Kv2. 1 channel is firing or at rest is an important proof-of-concept there s still a lot of work to be done. Sack and Cohen will continue to collaborate testing other types of spider venoms that bind to different potassium channels. he beauty of this is the potentialsack says. his is a toehold into a new way of visualizing electrical activity and there s a huge family of spider toxins that target different ion channels. We ve tagged a Ford; we should be able to tag a Chevy. he study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers who conducted this study come from UC Davis Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole and the Molecular Foundry Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The NIH and the Milton L. Shifman Endowed Scholarship for the Neurobiology Course at Woods Hole supported the project. Work at the Molecular Foundry received support from the Office of Science Office of Basic energy Sciences of the US Department of energy. Source: UC Davisyou are free to share this article under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noderivs 3. 0 Unported license A

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