Long Term Exposure to Retinoic Acid Induces the Expression of IRK1 Channels in HERG Channel-Endowed Neuroblastoma Cells

The modulation of inward K+conductances was studied during neuronal differentiation of human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. Under standard culture conditions, these cells express theherggene, and the HERG current is the main inward K+current regulating their Vrest. After 10-20 days exposure to Retinoic Acid (RA), SH-SY5Y cells showed, in addition to HERG currents, a novel current characterized by inward rectification, dependence on the extracellular K+concentration, and blockade by Cs+and Ba2+, the main features of the IRK1 current. The appearance of this current is accompanied by a strong hyperpolarisation of Vrest. RT-PCR experiments confirmed that a transcript of the IRK1 (Kir 2.1) gene actually appears in SH-SY5Y cells treated for 10–20 days with RA. On the whole, data here presented demonstrate that RA-induced neuronal differentiation of neuroblastoma cells is accompanied by the switch from a HERG-driven to a IRK1-driven control of Vrest, similarly to what happens in normal differentiating neurons; however, in tumor cells, this switch does not imply the abolition of HERG channel expression.