The eag domain regulates hERG channel inactivation gating via a direct interaction

Human ether-á-go-go (eag)-related gene (hERG) potassium channel kinetics are characterized by rapid inactivation upon depolarization, along with rapid recovery from inactivation and very slow closing (deactivation) upon repolarization. These factors combine to create a resurgent hERG current, where the current amplitude is paradoxically larger with repolarization than with depolarization. Previous data showed that the hERG N-terminal eag domain regulated deactivation kinetics by making a direct interaction with the C-terminal region of the channel. A primary mechanism for fast inactivation depends on residues in the channel pore; however, inactivation was also shown to be slower after deletion of a large N-terminal region. The mechanism for N-terminal region regulation of inactivation is unclear. Here, we investigated the contributions of the large N-terminal domains (amino acids 1–354), including the eag domain (amino acids 1–135), to hERG channel inactivation kinetics and steady-state inactivation properties. We found that N-deleted channels lacking just the eag domain (Δ2–135) or both the eag domain and the adjacent proximal domain (Δ2–354) had less rectifying current–voltage (I-V) relationships, slower inactivation, faster recovery from inactivation, and lessened steady-state inactivation. We coexpressed genetically encoded N-terminal fragments for the eag domain (N1–135) or the eag domain plus the proximal domain (N1–354) with N-deleted hERG Δ2–135 or hERG Δ2–354 channels and found that the resulting channels had more rectifying I-V relationships, faster inactivation, slower recovery from inactivation, and increased steady-state inactivation, similar to those properties measured for wild-type (WT) hERG. We also found that the eag domain–containing fragments regulated the time to peak and the voltage at the peak of a resurgent current elicited with a ramp voltage protocol. The eag domain–containing fragments effectively converted N-deleted channels into WT-like channels. Neither the addition of the proximal domain to the eag domain in N1–354 fragments nor the presence of the proximal domain in hERG Δ2–135 channels measurably affected inactivation properties; in contrast, the proximal region regulated steady-state activation in hERG Δ2–135 channels. The results show that N-terminal region-dependent regulation of channel inactivation and resurgent current properties are caused by a direct interaction of the eag domain with the rest of the hERG channel.