Human leukocyte antigen F-associated transcript 10 regulates the I(Ks) potassium channel by competing for Kv7.1 ubiquitination

The protein expression and function changes from the slow-delayed rectifying K(+) current, I(Ks), are tightly associated with ventricular cardiac arrhythmias. Human leukocyte antigen F-associated transcript 10 (FAT10), a member of the ubiquitin-like-modifier family, exerts a protective effect against myocardial ischaemia. However, whether or how FAT10 influences the function of I(Ks) remains unclear. Here, human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) and Fat10 knockout HEK293 (Fat10(−/−)) cells through CRISPR-Cas9 technology were used to evaluate the novel modulation of FAT10 in I(Ks) function. Patch-clamp studies showed that the overexpression of FAT10 significantly enhanced the current density of I(Ks) both in hiPSC-CMs and HEK293-Fat10(−/−) cells. In addition, a shortened action potential duration (APD) was seen from hiPSC-CMs transfected with the ad-Fat10 virus. Then, a series of molecular approaches from neonatal rat cardiomyocytes, H9C2 cells and HEK293 cells were used to determine the regulatory mechanism of FAT10 in I(Ks). First, western blot assays indicated that the expression of Kv7.1, the alpha-subunit of I(Ks), was increased when FAT10 was overexpressed. Furthermore, immunofluorescence and co-immunoprecipitation assays demonstrated that FAT10 could interact with Kv7.1. Notably, FAT10 impedes Kv7.1 ubiquitination and degradation, thereby stabilizing its expression. Finally, a hypoxia model of hiPSC-CMs was established, and the overexpression of FAT10 showed a protective effect against hypoxia-induced decreases in the current density of I(Ks). Taken together, these findings revealed a novel role of FAT10 in the regulation of the I(Ks) potassium channel by competing for Kv7.1 ubiquitination, which provides a new electrophysiological insight that FAT10 could modulate Kv7.1. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The heartbeat: its molecular basis and physiological mechanisms’.