High spatial density is associated with non-conducting Kv channels from two families.

Ion channels are well known for their ability to regulate the cell membrane potential. However, many ion channels also have functions that do not involve ion conductance. Kv2 channels are one family of ion channels whose non-conducting functions are central to mammalian cell physiology. Kv2.1 and Kv2.2 channels form stable contact sites between the endoplasmic reticulum and plasma membrane via an interaction with endoplasmic reticulum resident proteins. To perform this structural role, Kv2 channels are expressed at extremely high densities on the plasma membranes of many cell types, including central pyramidal neurons, α-motoneurons, and smooth muscle cells. Research from our lab and others has shown that the majority of these plasma membrane Kv2.1 channels do not conduct potassium in response to depolarization. The mechanism of this channel silencing is unknown but is thought to be dependent on channel density in the membrane. Furthermore, the prevalence of a non-conducting population of Kv2.2 channels has not been directly tested. In this work we make improved measurements of the numbers of conducting and non-conducting Kv2.1 channels expressed in HEK293 cells and expand the investigation of non-conducting channels to three additional Kv α-subunits: Kv2.2, Kv1.4, and Kv1.5. By comparing the numbers of gating and conducting channels in individual HEK293 cells, we found that on average, only 50% of both Kv2.1 and Kv2.2 channels conducted potassium and, as previously suggested, that fraction decreased with increased channel density in the plasma membrane. At the highest spatial densities tested, which are comparable with those found at Kv2 clusters in situ, only 20% of Kv2.1 and Kv2.2 channels conducted potassium. We also show for the first time that Kv1.4 and Kv1.5 exhibit density-dependent silencing, suggesting that this phenomenon has an underlying mechanism that is shared by Kv channels from multiple families.

Kv2 channel-AMIGO ß-subunit assembly modulates both channel function and cell adhesion molecule surface trafficking.

The Kv2 channels encode delayed rectifier currents that regulate membrane potential in many tissues. They also have a non-conducting function to form stable junctions between the endoplasmic reticulum and plasma membranes, creating membrane contact sites that mediate functions distinct from membrane excitability. Therefore, proteins that interact with Kv2.1 and Kv2.2 channels can alter conducting and/or non-conducting channel properties. One member of the AMIGO family of proteins is an auxiliary ß-subunit for Kv2 channels and modulates Kv2.1 electrical activity. However, the AMIGO family has two additional members of ∼50% similarity that have not yet been characterized as Kv2 ß-subunits. In this work, we show that the surface trafficking and localization of all three AMIGOs are controlled by their assembly with both Kv2 channels. Additionally, assembly of each AMIGO with either Kv2.1 or Kv2.2 hyperpolarizes the channel activation midpoint by -10 mV. However, only AMIGO2 significantly slows inactivation and deactivation, leading to a prolonged open state of Kv2 channels. The co-regulatory effects of Kv2s and AMIGOs likely fine-tune both the electrical and non-electrical properties of the cells in which they are expressed.

Throwing in a Monkey Wrench to Test and Determine Geared Motion in the Dynamics of a Crystalline One-Dimensional (1D) Columnar Rotor Array.

Crystals of molecular rotor 1 with a central 1,4-phenylene rotator linked to two molecules of the steroid mestranol were prepared with 1%, 5%, 20%, and up to 40% of the analogous 2, which contains a larger 2,3-difluorophenylene rotator and effectively acts as a monkey wrench that affects the rotation of the host. The packing motif of the desired P32 crystal form consists of 1D columns of nested rotors arranged in helical arrays with the central aromatic rotators disordered over two sites related by 85° rotation about their 1,4-axes. Rotational dynamics measured by quadrupolar echo 2H NMR line shape analysis were analyzed in terms of a process model that involves degenerate 180° jumps in the fast exchange regime combined with a highly correlated and entropically demanding jump of 85° between the two dynamically disordered sites. While the enthalpic and entropic barriers for the 180° jump estimated from 2H T1 measurements were Δ H⧧ = 2.7 ± 0.1 kcal mol-1 and Δ S⧧ = -5.0 ± 0.5 cal mol-1 K-1, respectively, the corresponding parameters for the slower 85° jumps, determined by line shape analysis, were Δ H⧧ = 2.2 kcal mol-1 and Δ S⧧ = -23 cal mol-1 K-1. Increasing amounts of the larger molecular rotor 2 in the solid solution results in significant dynamic perturbations as the guest, acting as a monkey wrench, reaches values of one out of every five molecular rotors in the chain.

Kv2 potassium channels form endoplasmic reticulum/plasma membrane junctions via interaction with VAPA and VAPB.

Kv2.1 exhibits two distinct forms of localization patterns on the neuronal plasma membrane: One population is freely diffusive and regulates electrical activity via voltage-dependent K+ conductance while a second one localizes to micrometer-sized clusters that contain densely packed, but nonconducting, channels. We have previously established that these clusters represent endoplasmic reticulum/plasma membrane (ER/PM) junctions that function as membrane trafficking hubs and that Kv2.1 plays a structural role in forming these membrane contact sites in both primary neuronal cultures and transfected HEK cells. Clustering and the formation of ER/PM contacts are regulated by phosphorylation within the channel C terminus, offering cells fast, dynamic control over the physical relationship between the cortical ER and PM. The present study addresses the mechanisms by which Kv2.1 and the related Kv2.2 channel interact with the ER membrane. Using proximity-based biotinylation techniques in transfected HEK cells we identified ER VAMP-associated proteins (VAPs) as potential Kv2.1 interactors. Confirmation that Kv2.1 and -2.2 bind VAPA and VAPB employed colocalization/redistribution, siRNA knockdown, and Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based assays. CD4 chimeras containing sequence from the Kv2.1 C terminus were used to identify a noncanonical VAP-binding motif. VAPs were first identified as proteins required for neurotransmitter release in Aplysia and are now known to be abundant scaffolding proteins involved in membrane contact site formation throughout the ER. The VAP interactome includes AKAPs, kinases, membrane trafficking machinery, and proteins regulating nonvesicular lipid transport from the ER to the PM. Therefore, the Kv2-induced VAP concentration at ER/PM contact sites is predicted to have wide-ranging effects on neuronal cell biology.

Synthesis of (±)-Tetrabenazine by Visible Light Photoredox Catalysis.

(±)-Tetrabenazine was synthesized in six steps from commercially available compounds. The key cyclization substrate was assembled rapidly via Baylis-Hillman and aza-Michael reactions. Annulation of the final ring was achieved through visible light photocatalysis, wherein carbon-carbon bond formation was driven by the oxidation of a tertiary amine. Solvent played a critical role in the photoredox cyclization outcome, whereas methanol led to a mixed ketal, acetonitrile/water (10:1) gave direct cyclization to (±)-tetrabenazine and occurred more rapidly.

A fullerene-carbene adduct as a crystalline molecular rotor: remarkable behavior of a spherically-shaped rotator.

A new fullerene structure was recently obtained from the reaction of a Lewis basic N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) and the Lewis acidic C60. The molecular features of the zwitterionic adduct can be described as a molecular rotor with the fullerene cage acting as the rotator that spins about one distinct axis given by its C-C single bond linkage with the imidazolium heterocycle stator. A detailed structural analysis of the compound by means of single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed significant differences in the packing motifs of solvent-free and solvent-containing crystals. Variable temperature single-crystal XRD experiments (80 K ≤ T ≤ 480 K) carried out to investigate the rotational dynamics of the fullerene group in the higher quality solvent-free structure revealed atomic displacement parameters consistent with fast rotation of the highly symmetric fullerene in the solid state, whereas the imidazolium unit remains in a fixed position and therefore represents the stator. DFT and semiempirical calculations were applied to get insight into the profile of the rotational potential of the fullerene unit, particularly considering interactions with the neighboring molecules in the crystal lattice. The results indicate that the crystal environment leads to the presence of one lowest energy minimum that is connected to seven others that are slightly higher in energy through rotational barriers of approximately 1.5-2.5 kcal mol(-1).

Benz[cd]indol-2(1H)-one at 298 and 100 K.

Weakly diffracting crystals of benz[cd]indol-2(1H)-one (naphtholactam), C(11)H(7)NO, were unsuitable for data collection by early photographic methods. However, a diffractometer data set collected at room temperature in 1989 was solved and refined. The peak scans were broad, and the results indicated disorder or a satellite crystal. Recent data collection (on another crystal from the same sample) with an area detector at 100 K revealed the same disorder, and made it possible to refine two different, more complete, disorder models. Both models assume an occasional 180° rotation of the nearly planar centrosymmetric cis-lactam dimer. The refinements differ, especially in the anisotropic displacement parameters for the -C(=O)-NH- portion of the molecule. Both models at 100 K give a C-N (`amide') bond distance of 1.38 Å, about 0.04 Å longer than the average distance in saturated γ-lactams in the Cambridge Structural Database. Cohesive packing interactions between molecules include opposing-dipole dimers; the packing may explain the 10:1 ratio favoring the major-occupancy molecule.

Reaction mechanism in crystalline solids: kinetics and conformational dynamics of the Norrish type II biradicals from α-adamantyl-p-methoxyacetophenone.

In an effort to determine the details of the solid-state reaction mechanism and diastereoselectivity in the Norrish type II and Yang cyclization of crystalline α-adamantyl-p-methoxyacetophenone, we determined its solid-state quantum yields and transient kinetics using nanocrystalline suspensions. The transient spectroscopy measurements were complemented with solid-state NMR spectroscopy spin-lattice relaxation experiments using isotopically labeled samples and with the analysis of variable-temperature anisotropic displacement parameters from single-crystal X-ray diffraction to determine the rate of interconversion of biradical conformers by rotation of the globular adamantyl group. Our experimental findings include a solid-state quantum yield for reaction that is 3 times greater than that in solution, a Norrish type II hydrogen-transfer reaction that is about 8 times faster in crystals than in solution, and a biradical decay that occurs on the same time scale as conformational exchange, which helps to explain the diastereoselectivity observed in the solid state.

Thermal motion of tert-butyl groups III. tert-Butyl substituents in aromatic hydrocarbons, the view from the bottom of the well.

The rigidity of the tert-butyl group (TBG) as a substituent in aromatic hydrocarbons is investigated, with a modified Hirshfeld test of anisotropic displacement parameters (ADPs) as a primary criterion. Four new structures are analyzed, along with low-temperature studies of a previously published crowded supermesityl dimer; three of the five structures meet the primary test. Most of the TBGs meet the Hirshfeld test at 100 K, and the ADPs are improved by omitting low-order data in the final refinement. The three most precise structures yield a wide variation in libration amplitudes (and in estimated rotation barriers) for 13 unique TBGs. A similar range of values is found in analyses of structures in the Cambridge Crystallographic Database. The libration amplitudes are calculated with the program THMA14C, with each TBG as an attached rigid group (ARG). Packing analysis suggests that large ADPs, especially for some individual TBG methyl groups, correspond to voids in the crystal. Published barriers to TBG reorientation, determined by solid-state NMR spin-lattice relaxation methods, for six related crystalline compounds are compared with barriers calculated from their crystal structure data.

Rotational dynamics in a crystalline molecular gyroscope by variable-temperature 13C NMR, 2H NMR, X-ray diffraction, and force field calculations.

A combination of solid-state 13C CPMAS NMR, 2H NMR, X-ray-determined anisotropic displacement parameters (ADPs), and molecular mechanics calculations were used to analyze the rotational dynamics of 1,4-bis[3,3,3-tris(m-methoxyphenyl)propynyl]benzene (3A), a structure that emulates a gyroscope with a p-phenylene group acting as a rotator and two m-methoxy-substituted trityl groups acting as a stator. The line shape analysis of VT 13C CPMAS and broad-band 2H NMR data were in remarkable agreement with each other, with rotational barriers of 11.3 and 11.5 kcal/mol, respectively. The barriers obtained by analysis of ADPs obtained by single-crystal X-ray diffraction at 100 and 200 K, assuming a sinusoidal potential, were 10.3 and 10.1 kcal, respectively. A similar analysis of an X-ray structure solved from data acquired at 300 K suggested a barrier of only 8.0 kcal/mol. Finally, a rotational potential calculated with a finite cluster model using molecular mechanics revealed a symmetric but nonsinusoidal potential that accounts relatively well for the X-ray-derived values and the NMR experimental results. It is speculated that the discrepancy between the barriers derived from low and high-temperature X-ray data may be due to an increase in anharmonicity, or to disorder, at the higher temperature values.

Through-shell alkyllithium additions and borane reductions.

The through-shell borane reduction and methyllithium addition to benzaldehyde (1), benzocyclobutenone (2), and benzocyclobutenedione (3) incarcerated inside a hemicarcerand (4) with four tetramethylenedioxy bridges are reported. All guests could be reduced and methylated. Selective monoreduction and monomethylation were observed for 3. In the methyllithium addition to 4[symbol: see text]3, the initially formed lithium alcoholate underwent a Moore rearrangement. The reactivity of the incarcerated guests toward methyllithium increased in the order 1 < 2 << 3 and toward borane in the order 1 << 2 approximately equal 3. Guest reactivity was correlated with the inner-phase location of the reacting carbonyl group in the preferred guest inner-phase orientation. The latter was determined from the X-ray structures of 4[symbol: see text]1, 4[symbol: see text]2, and 4[symbol: see text]3, from molecular mechanical calculations, and from the hemicarcerand-induced upfield shift of the guest proton resonances. In the methyllithium and n-butyllithium addition to 4[symbol: see text]1 and 4[symbol: see text]3 at elevated temperatures, selective cleavage of a host's spanner or tetramethylenedioxy bridge, respectively, was observed. The cleavage of one spanner also took place in the methyllithium addition to the 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone hemicarceplex. These scission reactions are initiated by the initially formed lithium alcoholates, which show enhanced basicity and nucleophilicity in the inner phase as compared to the bulk phase. Mechanisms for the host scission reactions are discussed.

Structures of anhydrous and hydrated copper(II) hexafluoroacetylacetonate.

Crystal structure analyses are reported for anhydrous copper(II) hexafluoroacetylacetonate (Cu(hfac)(2)) and for two of its hydrates. The anhydrous compound (Cu(hfac)(2), 1: P1; at 100 K, a = 5.428(1), b = 5.849(1), c = 11.516(3) A; alpha = 81.47(2), beta = 74.57(2), gamma = 86.96(2) degrees; Z = 1) contains centrosymmetric square-planar complexes with close intermolecular Cu.F contacts. The geometry of the complex is similar to that previously reported for Cu(hfac)(2).toluene. The monoaquo compound (Cu(hfac)(2)(H(2)O), 2: P2(1)/c; at 100 K, a = 10.8300(8), b = 6.5400(6), c = 21.551(3) A; beta = 90.282(8) degrees; Z = 4) consists of square-pyramidal molecules with apical H(2)O ligands, and close-lying F atoms in the sixth coordination sites. The major difference between this structure and the two other polymorphs previously reported is the nature and direction of hydrogen bonds. The yellow-green solid formed from Cu(hfac)(2) with excess H(2)O is identified as the trihydrate. In crystalline form it is the previously unreported [trans-Cu(hfac)(2)(H(2)O)(2)].H(2)O (3: P1; at 150 K, a = 8.3899(3), b = 9.6011(3), c = 11.4852(4) A; alpha = 72.397(2), beta = 79.161(2), gamma = 87.843(2) degrees; Z = 2). There is no conclusive evidence in favor of any solid with the composition Cu(hfac)(2).2H(2)O.