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Nature Chemical Biology 4, 708–714 (1 November 2008) | doi:10.1038/nchembio.114

Cortisone dissociates the Shaker family K+ channels from their |[beta]| subunits

Yaping Pan , Jun Weng , Venkataraman Kabaleeswaran , Huiguang Li , Yu Cao , Rahul C Bhosle & Ming Zhou

The Shaker family voltage-dependent potassium channels (Kv1) are expressed in a wide variety of cells and are essential for cellular excitability. In humans, loss-of-function mutations of Kv1 channels lead to hyperexcitability and are directly linked to episodic ataxia and atrial fibrillation. All Kv1 channels assemble with β subunits (Kvβs), and certain Kvβs, for example Kvβ1, have an N-terminal segment that closes the channel by the N-type inactivation mechanism. In principle, dissociation of Kvβ1, although never reported, should eliminate inactivation and thus potentiate Kv1 current. We found that cortisone increases rat Kv1 channel activity by binding to Kvβ1. A crystal structure of the Kvβ-cortisone complex was solved to 1.82-|[Aring]| resolution and revealed novel cortisone binding sites. Further studies demonstrated that cortisone promotes dissociation of Kvβ. The new mode of channel modulation may be explored by native or synthetic ligands to fine-tune cellular excitability.