Updating in Vivo and in Vitro Phosphorylation and Methylation Sites of Voltage-Gated Kv7.2 Potassium Channels

Voltage-gated Kv7.2 potassium channels regulate neuronal excitability. The gating of these channels is tightly controlled by various mediators and neurotransmitters acting via G protein-coupled receptors; the underlying signaling cascades involve phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2), Ca2+/calmodulin, and phosphorylation. Recent studies found that the PIP2 sensitivity of Kv7.2 channels is affected by two posttranslational modifications, phosphorylation and methylation, harboured within putative PIP2-binding domains. In this study, we updated phosphorylation and methylation sites in Kv7.2 either heterologously expressed in mammalian cells or as GST-fusion proteins exposed to recombinant protein kinases by using LC-MS/MS. In vitro kinase assays revealed that CDK5, protein kinase C (PKC) alpha, PKA, p38 MAPK, CamKII, and GSK3 could mediate phosphorylation. Taken together, we provided a comprehensive map of phosphorylation and methylation in Kv7.2 within protein-protein and protein-lipid interaction domains. This may help to interpret the functional roles of individual PTM sites in Kv7.2 channels. All MS data are available via ProteomeXchange with the identifier PXD005567.