Gain-of-function Mutations Reveal Expanded Intermediate States and a Sequential Action of Two Gates in MscL

The tension-driven gating transition in the large mechanosensitive channel MscL proceeds through detectable states of intermediate conductance. Gain-of-function (GOF) mutants with polar or charged substitutions in the main hydrophobic gate display altered patterns of subconducting states, providing valuable information about gating intermediates. Here we present thermodynamic analysis of several GOF mutants to clarify the nature and position of low-conducting conformations in the transition pathway. Unlike wild-type (WT) MscL, which predominantly occupies the closed and fully open states with very brief substates, the mild V23T GOF mutant frequently visits a multitude of short-lived subconducting states. Severe mutants V23D and G22N open in sequence: closed (C) → low-conducting substate (S) → open (O), with the first subtransition occurring at lower tensions. Analyses of equilibrium state occupancies as functions of membrane tension show that the C→S subtransition in WT MscL is associated with only a minor conductance increment, but the largest in-plane expansion and free energy change. The GOF substitutions strongly affect the first subtransition by reducing area (ΔA) and energy (ΔE) changes between C and S states commensurably with the severity of mutation. GOF mutants also exhibited a considerably larger ΔE associated with the second (S→O) subtransition, but a ΔA similar to WT. The area changes indicate that closed conformations of GOF mutants are physically preexpanded. The tension dependencies of rate constants for channel closure (k_off) predict different positions of rate-limiting barriers on the energy-area profiles for WT and GOF MscL. The data support the two-gate mechanism in which the first subtransition (C→S) can be viewed as opening of the central (M1) gate, resulting in an expanded water-filled “leaky” conformation. Strong facilitation of this step by polar GOF substitutions suggests that separation of M1 helices associated with hydration of the pore in WT MscL is the major energetic barrier for opening. Mutants with a stabilized S1 gate demonstrate impeded transitions from low-conducting substates to the fully open state, whereas extensions of S1–M1 linkers result in a much higher probability of reverse O→S transitions. These data strongly suggest that the bulk of conductance gain in the second subtransition (S→O) occurs through the opening of the NH₂-terminal (S1) gate and the linkers are coupling elements between the M1 and S1 gates.