Single channel properties of mitochondrial large conductance potassium channel formed by BK-VEDEC splice variant

The activation of mitochondrial large conductance calcium-activated potassium (mitoBK(Ca)) channels increases cell survival during ischemia/reperfusion injury of cardiac cells. The basic biophysical and pharmacological properties of mitoBK(Ca) correspond to the properties of the BK(Ca) channels from the plasma membrane. It has been suggested that the VEDEC splice variant of the KCNMA1 gene product encoding plasma membrane BK(Ca) is targeted toward mitochondria. However there has been no direct evidence that this protein forms a functional channel in mitochondria. In our study, we used HEK293T cells to express the VEDEC splice variant and observed channel activity in mitochondria using the mitoplast patch-clamp technique. For the first time, we found that transient expression with the VEDEC isoform resulted in channel activity with the conductance of 290 ± 3 pS. The channel was voltage-dependent and activated by calcium ions. Moreover, the activity of the channel was stimulated by the potassium channel opener NS11021 and inhibited by hemin and paxilline, which are known BK(Ca) channel blockers. Immunofluorescence experiments confirmed the partial colocalization of the channel within the mitochondria. From these results, we conclude that the VEDEC isoform of the BK(Ca) channel forms a functional channel in the inner mitochondrial membrane. Additionally, our data show that HEK293T cells are a promising experimental model for expression and electrophysiological studies of mitochondrial potassium channels.