Biomedical subjects

Heike Wulff

Publications and source records attributed to Heike Wulff.

21 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2003

Potassium channels as therapeutic targets for autoimmune disorders.

In human T-lymphocytes, the voltage-gated Kv1.3 channel and the Ca(2+)-activated IKCa1 channel play an important role in Ca2+ signaling, activation, adhesion and migration and have, therefore, long been regarded as attractive targets for immunotherapy. Here, we review the pharmacology of the two channels, their expression pattern in naïve and memory T-cells and their functional roles during T-cell activation, and explain the rationale for the use of Kv1.3 blockers for the therapy of T-cell mediated autoimmune diseases.

Humans↗

PubMed2002

Characterisation of the human voltage-gated potassium channel gene, KCNA7, a candidate gene for inherited cardiac disorders, and its exclusion as cause of progressive familial heart block I (PFHBI).

Mutations in genes encoding cardiac ion channels and their subunits are responsible for several genetic cardiac disorders. We characterised the human gene KCNA7, encoding the voltage-gated potassium channel Kv1.7 and compared its coding sequence with that of the mouse orthologue, kcna7. Both genes are encoded by two exons separated by a conserved intron, unlike all the other Kv1-family genes that contain intronless coding regions. KCNA7 and kcna7 encode proteins of 456 amino acid residues that share >95% sequence identity, and the mouse channel has biophysical and pharmacological properties closely resembling the ultra-rapidly activating delayed rectifier (I(Kur)) in cardiac tissue. Using reverse transcriptase-PCR, KCNA7 mRNA was detected in adult human heart. We determined that KCNA7 resides on chromosome 19q13.3 in a region that also contains the progressive familial heart block I (PFHBI) locus. Direct sequencing of KCNA7's coding sequence in PFHB1-affected individuals revealed no pathogenic sequence changes, but two single nucleotide polymorphisms detected in exon 2 result in amino acid substitutions. These results provide evidence for the exclusion of this candidate as the PFHB1-causative gene, although mutations in regulatory and non-coding regions cannot be excluded. As ion channel-encoding genes have been implicated in a growing number of genetic conditions, the data presented may facilitate further analysis of the role of KCNA7 and its product in the heart.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2001

Modulation of mouse Paneth cell alpha-defensin secretion by mIKCa1, a Ca2+-activated, intermediate conductance potassium channel.

Paneth cells in small intestinal crypts secrete microbicidal alpha-defensins in response to bacteria and bacterial antigens (Ayabe, T., Satchell, D. P., Wilson, C. L., Parks, W. C., Selsted, M. E., and Ouellette, A. J. (2000) Nat. Immunol. 1, 113- 38). We now report that the Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channel mIKCa1 modulates mouse Paneth cell secretion. mIKCa1 cDNA clones identified in a mouse small intestinal crypt library by hybridization to human IKCa1 cDNA probes were isolated, and DNA sequence analysis showed that they were identical to mIKCa1 cDNAs isolated from erythroid cells and liver. The genomic organization was found to be conserved between mouse and human IKCa1 as shown by comparisons of the respective cDNA and genomic sequences. Reverse transcriptase-PCR experiments using nested primers amplified mIKCa1 from the lower half of bisected crypts and from single Paneth cells, but not from the upper half of bisected crypts, villus epithelium, or undifferentiated crypt epithelial cells, suggesting a lineage-specific role for mIKCa1 in mouse small bowel epithelium. The cloned mIKCa1 channel was calcium-activated and was blocked by ten structurally diverse peptide and nonpeptide inhibitors with potencies spanning 9 orders of magnitude and indistinguishable from that of the human homologue. Consistent with channel blockade, charybdotoxin, clotrimazole, and the highly selective IKCa1 inhibitors, TRAM-34 and TRAM-39, inhibited (approximately 50%) Paneth cell secretion stimulated by bacteria or bacterial lipopolysaccharide, measured both as bactericidal activity and secreted cryptdin protein, but the inactive analog, TRAM-7, did not block secretion. These results demonstrate that mIKCa1 is modulator of Paneth cell alpha-defensin secretion and disclose an involvement in mucosal defense of the intestinal epithelium against ingested bacterial pathogens.

Amino Acid Sequence↗