Suspended lipid bilayers, or black lipid membranes (BLMs), have been used to study the electrophysiological properties of ion channels (ICs); however, BLMs assembled from natural, non-polymerizable lipids are inherently unstable due to the non-covalent associations on which they are based. Lifetimes of several hours are commonly observed in BLMs until rupture due to mechanical, thermal, or chemical insults. One potential improvement is the use of polymerizable phospholipids (poly(lipids)). BLMs prepared using dienoyl functionalized poly(lipids) and binary mixtures of fluid, non-polymerizable lipids with poly(lipids) were investigated for IC recordings.poly(BLMs) exhibited enhanced lifetimes from several hours to upwards of 4 weeks while maintaining IC functionality for one week. Activity of ICs that require membrane fluidity was retained using binary phospholipid mixtures of fluid and polymeric phospholipids. IC activity was retained by inducing domain formation, wherein ICs incorporated into the fluid domains. The binary membranes exhibited marked enhancement in stability resulting from fractional poly(lipids) polymerization. Additionally, ICs can be reconstituted into the fluid domains following photopolymerization and subsequent domain formation, a key requirement when UV-sensitive ICs are utilized. Here, the electrical properties, stability, and incorporation of pore-forming ICs, including hemolysin, alamethicin, and gramicidin, into poly(lipid) membranes are reported. Potential applications developing ligand-gated IC based sensors for high throughput screening are being investigated.In parallel to the characterization of poly(lipids) for potential long-term IC membranes, a model ligand-gated IC was expressed, characterized, and reconstituted into non-polymerizable lipids. Mutant K_ATP channels were expressed in mammalian and yeast systems. The orientations of mutant K_ATP channels were studied using electrophysiological and immunohistochemical techniques. Large quantities were expressed and purified from <italic>Pichia pastoris</italic> and functionally reconstituted into BLMs. ATP and long-chaing coenzyme A ester sensitivity was maintained in reconstituted in BLMs. K_ATP channels will serve as a model system for testing the effect of poly(lipid) BLMs on IC function. Future utilization of poly(lipid) BLMs in combination with ligand-gated ICs offer major advancements to potential increased throughput for IC screening.

The question posed in this study is why alluvial soil on a floodplain is finer than the bed material of the river that supplied the sediments deposited to form the floodplain. A schematic, simplified river/floodplain system is used in an approximate analysis to find the size distribution of the floodplain soil. It is assumed that the stable limiting condition is a suspended load in the floodplain flow of the same concentration and composition as the sediment load in that portion of the river channel flow above the level of the floodplain. It was found that floodplain soil should be finer than the channel bed material; how much finer depending on the bank height, and to a lesser degree the width of the floodplain.

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The Ca²⁺-mobilising messenger NAADP has been shown to play a key role in the regulation of mammalian physiology. Recently, the two-pore channels (TPCs) have been proposed as an NAADP-gated Ca²⁺ channel. Chapter 1 introduces the TPCs as the major candidates in governing NAADP-mediated Ca²⁺-release from acidic stores. Chapter 2 explains the methodologies developed and used. Chapter 3 demonstrates the successful immunopurification of HsTPC2 and its incorporation into an artificial lipid bilayer. K⁺ and Ca²⁺ currents were seen in reponse to nM - μM concentrations of NAADP; with the open probability (P₀) fitting a bell-shaped concentration-response curve. Ligand sensitivity was shown to be regulated by luminal [Ca²⁺], whereby a 20-fold increase in [Ca²⁺] _lumen (10 μM to 200 μM) caused a 100-fold reduction in the EC₅₀ from ≈ 500 nM to 5 nM. Furthermore, a reduction in luminal pH from 7.2 to 4.8 reduced the P₀ but 1 μM Ned-19 inhibiting all channel activity. Chapter 4 investigates the in situ properties of HsTPC2 by the purification and patch clamp of intact lysosomes from cells overexpressing HsTPC2. Three methods of purification were compared: differential centrifugation, whole lysosome immunoprecipitation and magnetic chromatography. Techniques involving lysosomal swelling and whole cell homogenisation were also optimised to ensure minimal contamination by non-lysosomal proteins. Whole lysosome patch clamping revealed NAADP-induced, Ca²⁺-specific currents in response to NAADP, but not cADPR, IP₃ or Ned-19. High concentrations of NAADP (mM) and Ned-19 (μM) showed prolonged ≈ 5 minutes) inhibition of channel activity. Chapter 5 explores the protein-protein interactions of the purified HsTPC2 and identifies a heterodimeric interaction between HsTPC1 and HsTPC2 was further dissected by coimmunoprecipitation, colocalisation and FRET studies. Despite clear evidence that both isoforms independently form homodimers, it is likely that heterodimerisation is a dynamic interaction only seen in a subset of the channel population. Chapter 6 discusses the results obtained in the wider context of cell physiology.

Members of the two-pore potassium-selective (K2P) ion channel superfamily control cell excitability by contributing to the resting membrane potential. Through this, K2P channels are involved in a variety of physiological processes and dysfunction of these channels has been linked to diseases such as epilepsy, depression and migraine. The aim of this study was to develop a greater understanding of how K2P channels, in particular TREK-1, are gated. In the initial stage of this study we hoped to identify mutations which alter the function of the TREK-1 channel by screening a random mutant library using a K+-auxotrophic strain of S. cerevisiae, SGY1528. From the assay we identified a number of gain-of-function (GoF) mutations, primarily distributed through the pore-lining transmembrane (TM) helices TM2 and TM4. The clustering of mutations in these regions suggested a major role for these helices in channel gating. Subsequent electrophysiological characterisation of these mutations revealed an increase in basal channel activity and altered sensitivity to modulation by extracellular pH, as well as by activators DEPC and BL-1249. The publication of two K2P channel crystal structures, TWIK-1 (pdb code: 3UKM) and TRAAK (3UM7), enabled us to build an accurate homology model of TREK-1 and more accurately interpret these functional studies. This approach revealed a number of interesting points, the most important being an interaction between TM4 and pore-helix 1 (PH1). Further mutagenesis studies of this region confirmed that this interaction is essential for normal channel function. Another interaction was identified involving a number of residues within the interface between TM helices TM2, TM3 and TM4 emphasised the importance of helical movements for gating TREK-1 channels. Based on our findings we therefore present a model for gating of the TREK-1 channel, which suggests that the movement of TM4 in particular, is transduced to the selectivity filter gate via PH1.

The voltage-gated potassium channel Kv1.2 is a critical modulator of neuronal physiology, including dendritic excitability, action potential propagation, and neurotransmitter release. However, mechanisms by which Kv1.2 may be regulated in the brain are poorly understood. In heterologous expression systems Kv1.2 is regulated by endocytosis of the channel from the plasma membrane, and this trafficking can be modulated by adenylate cyclase (AC). The goal of this dissertation was to determine whether AC modulated endocytic trafficking of endogenous Kv1.2 occurred in the mammalian nervous system. Within the brain, Kv1.2 is expressed at its highest levels in the cerebellar cortex. Specifically, Kv1.2 is expressed in dendrites of Purkinje cells (PC), the sole efferent neurons of the cerebellar cortex; Kv1.2 is also expressed in axon terminals of Basket cells (BC), which make inhibitory synapses to Purkinje cells. The loss of functional Kv1.2 in PC dendrites or BC axon terminals causes profound changes in the neurophysiology of Purkinje cells, and aberrant loss of Kv1.2 produces cerebellar ataxia. Therefore, the cerebellum offers a brain structure where Kv1.2 is abundant and has known and important roles in synaptic physiology. A candidate regulator of Kv1.2 trafficking in cerebellar synapses is the secretin peptide receptor: the receptor is also located in both PC dendrites and BC axon terminals, and ligand binding to the secretin receptor stimulates AC. Although secretin affects cerebellar neurophysiology and cerebellar dependent behavior, the mechanisms are not well resolved. By cell-surface protein biotinylation and subsequent immunoblot quantitation of secretin treated rat cerebellar slice lysates, secretin was found to decrease cell-surface Kv1.2. This effect could be mimicked by stimulating AC with forskolin, and could be occluded by inhibition of the secretin receptor, AC, or protein kinase A. The secretin receptor stimulated loss of surface Kv1.2 was not accompanied by decreased total Kv1.2 protein levels, but did involve enhanced channel endocytosis. Microscopy studies using two novel independent techniques provided evidence that both BC axon terminals and PC dendrites are sites of AC-stimulated Kv1.2 endocytosis. The physiological significance of secretin mediated suppression of Kv1.2 was supported by collaborative studies which found infusions into the cerebellar cortex of either a toxin that inhibits Kv1.2, or of secretin, enhanced eyeblink conditioning, a form of cerebellar dependent learning, in rats. These studies provided the first evidence that Kv1.2 is regulated by endocytic trafficking in the brain. However, to address the role of that trafficking in synaptic physiology requires knowledge about the determinants of Kv1.2’s endocytic potential, and non-destructive assays to measure Kv1.2 endocytosis in neural circuits. This dissertation therefore concludes with preliminary studies that explore an ancient motif regulating Kv1.2 trafficking, and that discuss a novel dual fluorescent fusion protein reporter of Kv1.2’s subcellular localization.

Student Number : 0100281N - MSc(Eng) Research Report - School of Civil and Environmental Engineering - Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment / Many environmental and engineering projects require prediction of the velocity of flow in river channels, in terms of those channel properties and flow characteristics which induce resisting forces or an energy loss to the flow. Relationships such as the Manning, Chézy and Darcy-Weisbach equations have been in use for a century or more. All of them account for resistance with a single coefficient of resistance, and the central problem is evaluation of this coefficient. Experimental results by different researchers have shown that Manning’s n varies strongly with the ratio of flow depth to roughness height. It is constant for values of this ratio above about 4, but increases significantly for lower values. This suggests that the equation is not suitable in its original form for the case of intermediate-scale roughness. The roughness is intermediate-scale if the relative submergence ratio of flow depth to roughness elements height lies between 1 and 4. The influence of the roughness elements on flow resistance in this regime is caused by a combination of both element drag and boundary shear, or friction. The results of an experimental study with hemispherical roughness elements are presented, showing how the roughness element size, spacing and pattern influence flow resistance. For the range of conditions tested, Manning’s n appears to depend on roughness element size, spacing and pattern.