K2P Channels Regulate Presynaptic Organisation through a Membrane Potential-Independent Mechanism
Meng, J.; Ramakrishnan, N.; Li, Y.; Boulin, T.; Gao, S.; Zhen, M.; Beets, I.; Schafer, W.
Show abstract
Neuronal ion channels have well-established effects on synaptic plasticity, in many cases by influencing pathways that depend on membrane excitability. Here we find that a C. elegans two-pore domain potassium (K2P) channel, TWK-40, regulates presynaptic organisation through a membrane potential-independent mechanism. Instead, this mechanism depends on TWK-40's effects on intracellular potassium levels. Loss-of-function mutations in TWK-40 lead to excessive presynaptic protein accumulation, while gain-of-function mutations lead to depleted presynaptic components and cause synaptic transmission deficits. These abnormalities are phenocopied by transporter mutations that mimic TWK-40's effects on intracellular potassium concentration, but not by sodium channel mutations that mimic its effects on membrane excitability. This indicates that cytoplasmic potassium promotes presynaptic assembly. This process depends on the PYK-1 pyruvate kinase, a potassium-sensitive enzyme, and three transcription factors. These findings establish a new pathway linking neuronal potassium homeostasis to the control of presynaptic organisation and synaptic function.
Matching journals
The top 4 journals account for 50% of the predicted probability mass.
Similar papers in this journal
- AFD Thermosensory Neurons Mediate Tactile-Dependent Locomotion Modulation in C. elegans 96%
- A terminal selector prevents a Hox transcriptional switch to safeguard motor neuron identity throughout life 96%
- The C. elegans Tubby homolog dynamically modulates olfactory cilia membrane morphogenesis and phospholipid composition 95%
Similar papers in this journal
- The calcium channel subunit α2δ-3 organizes synapses via a novel activity-dependent, autocrine BMP signaling pathway 95%
- Endosome maturation is orchestrated by inside-out proton signaling through a Na+/H+ exchanger and pH-dependent Rab GTPase cycling 95%
- Extracellular K+ modulates the pore conformations of Cys-loop receptor anion channels 94%
Similar papers in this journal
- Intestinal peroxisomal fatty acid β-oxidation regulates neural serotonin signaling through a feedback mechanism 94%
- Atomic view into Plasmodium actin polymerization, ATP hydrolysis, and phosphate release 93%
- AMPK regulates germline stem cell quiescence and integrity through an endogenous small RNA pathway. 93%
Similar papers in this journal
"Similar papers" are the closest papers from that journal in the model's embedding space. They show what the match is built on, but the ranking comes mostly from a classifier over the whole training set, not from these examples alone.