Previous work from our laboratory has established the importance of ethanol (EtOH) inhibition of voltage-gated calcium channels and the potentiation of large conductance Ca++-activated K+ (BK) channels, to the inhibition of peptide release from nerve terminals in the posterior pituitary. Here, we propose to examine the action of ethanol on BK channels in an extremely simplified preparation, in which we can control the identity of the channel protein and the composition of the lipid environment, to explore the potential role of membrane lipids in modulating the actions of ethanol on the protein. Single channel recording techniques will be used to monitor four parameters of alcohol action on BK function: a) channel open probability; b) influence of intracellular Ca++ on EtOH action; c) channel open and closed dwell-time distribution; and d) acute tolerance to ethanol-induced BK channel activation. For each parameter of alcohol action to be measured, we will first collect data on the BK channel (mslo) transfected into HEK293 cells. This data will comprise a baseline representing alcohol effects in native membrane. BK channels will then be harvested from the HEK293 cell and reconstituted into a series of planar lipid bilayers chosen for either known effects on channel function, or for previous findings that particular lipids are involved in responses to chronic ethanol exposure. The major hypothesis to be tested is that the actions of ethanol on an identified channel are modified by the lipid environment of the channel. A sub-hypothesis which derives from this is that the effects of specific features of the lipid environment (e.g. charge, acyl chain, etc.) translate into differential modulation of specific EtOH actions on the channel (e.g. closed-time distribution; Ca++ antagonism of EtOH action, etc.). The establishment of this experimental system will also allow future studies of a number of aspects of ethanol action by providing the means to examine the actions of the drug on diverse naturally-occurring and mutagenized proteins in identical lipid environments.
