The Structure of Ion Channels in Membranes of Excitable Cells Review

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Structure of Ion Channels in Membranes of Excitable Cells Review Neuron, Vol. 3, 665-676, December, 1989, Copyright 0 1989 by Cell Press The Structure of Ion Channels Review in Membranes of Excitable Cells Nigel Unwin The purpose of this review is to discuss ilnplications MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology of some of the recent findings in relation to three- Hills Road dimensional structure, drawing on information derived Cambridge Cl32 2QH from studies of channels, other bilayer-spanning pro- England teins, and soluble proteins by electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. It is likely that channels have parallels with soluble allosteric enzymes. The fact that both types Ion channels play a central role in the transmission of of molecules switch states reversibly in an all-or-none electrical signals along the membranes of neurons and fashion, the cooperative behavior of many channels, other excitable cells; they also mediate communication and the conformational changes detected in channel between cells at synapses and participate in a multitude proteins at low resolution all suggest the existence of of regulatory processes involving signal transduction at close structural analogies. Obviously, the lipid bilayer is the membrane surface. For a single molecule these rep- also important, and must restrict the conformational resent tasks that are both diverse and complex. Yet, on changes that would be energetically acceptable, since it the face of it, channels are remarkably uncomplicated. is a separate phase that the protein surfaces are con- First, they appear to share the same, simple architectural strained to match. plan. The building blocks are identical or homologous Ion channels, like soluble proteins, often take part in polypeptide units, which are assembled symmetrically a range of actions. Not only do they detect and transmit within the membrane (at least where structural evidence the effect of ligand binding or shifts in membrane poten- is available), delineating a pore down their center. Sec- tial, but they interact with various cytoplasrnic and ex- ond, channels have just two essential states-open or tracellular molecules as well. These extra interactions closed. Either the pore is sealed, making a permeability may involve intimate associations with other proteins or barrier across the membrane, or it forms a continuous, necessitate separate structural specializations of the water-filled pathway, exposing the surfaces needed to channel protein itself. Such individual properties and discriminate between the ions passing through. the classification of channels according to their gating This is the elementary picture. At a molecular level, characteristics, or to the superfamilies in which they be- the detailed structure of channels has not been resolved, long, have been discussed in several recent reviews (e.g., and so fundamental questions remain unanswered. What Hille, 1984; Catterall, 1988; Miller, 1989). The emphasis is the design that makes channels so efficient, facilitating here is on features that channels may have in common. selective transport across the membrane typically of Since these molecules have all evolved with the same thousands of ions in a millisecond? What are the chemi- task of mediating passive transport across the mem- cal and physical origins of ion transport specificity that brane, it is possible that they are constructed and work allow channels to hinder or prevent diffusion of some by a similar set of underlying rules, whatever the differ- ions but not of others across the membrane? What con- ences in subunit composition, in the fine detail, or in the formational changes are involved in gating-the rapid specializations they incorporate. switching between open and closed states? Do channels In keeping with a unifying theme, I shall show that make use of the same general rules that apply to soluble putative pore-lining a-helices of channels in different su- enzymes or multisubunit complexes, or does the pres- perfamilies share identical alignments of small polar and ence of the lipid bilayer enforce something basically large hydrophobic residues. This implies that there is a different? common packing principle involved in buildung the wall Of course, a really sound understanding will have to around a pore and suggests a possible general way by await the three-dimensional framework furnished by which channels may open and close. structures solved crystallographically to atomic resolu- tion. In the meantime, however, channels are becoming Channels as Oligomeric Proteins much better understood physiologically and biochemi- cally as a result of powerful new techniques such as Channels are essentially oligomeric membrane proteins patch-clamping, molecular cloning, and site-directed possessing cyclic or pseudo-cyclic symmetry (Figure l), mutagenesis, which enable single-channel behavior to and one way to classify them is in terms of the number be recorded, amino acid sequences to be derived, and of subunits, or structural units, around the ring. Al- specific parts of the sequence to be related to precise though in some cases this number has been established physiological functions. New channel proteins are being directly by experiment, in others it has been deduced in- discovered and characterized, Superfamilies of voltage- directly from the amino acid sequence. Either there are and ligand-gated channels are being identified and ex- homologous bilayer-spanning domains, representing the tended. And experiments are now even pin-pointing structural units, within the sequence of a single polypep- certain amino acid residues as lining the walls of pores, tide (in which case it is not strictly an oligomer), or the as affecting rate of ion transport, and as involved in sens- protein shows homologies with a channel protein in ing voltage shifts across the membrane. which the number of structural units has already been junction channel and synaptophysin, have been deter- mined by structural methods (Makowski et al., 1977; Un- win and Zampighi, 1980) or cross-linking studies (Thomas et al., 1988) to be hexamers of identical subunits. Quaternary Structures None of the above channels has yet been analyzed at 4 5 6 anywhere near atomic resolution, and some we know Figure 1. ion Channels Are Bulk from Four, Five, or Six Structural about only through single-channel conductance mea- Units surements and deduced amino acid sequences. How- The channels discussed in this review are all thought to be integral ever, it has been possible to discover details about two membrane proteins possessing cyclic or pseudo-cyclic symmetry, in of these channels at low resolution by three-dimensional which the central symmetry axis delineates a gated, water-filled electron image analysis of molecules crystallized in pathway for the ions. The structural units are identical or homolo- membranes as planar or he!ical arrays. The best images gous protein subunits, or homologous domains comprlslng a single polypeptidechain. The most selective channels, with the narrowest have been obtained by rapidly freezing the specimens pores (e.g., the voltage-gated sodium and calcium channels), have in a thin film of solution and observing the specimens four structural units; the least selective channels, with the widest at a temperature low enough (<-130°C) for the ice to pores (e.g., the gap junction channel), have six units; and the chan- remain stable. A defined lipid and ionic environment is nels with intermediate propertIes (e.g., the nicotinic acetylcholine captured by the freezing, providing closer ties with the receptor) have five units. physiology than had been feasible previously using negative stains to preserve shape and provide contrast. Furthermore, the protein is seen directly, contrasted against the lipid and water molecules, making it possible determined. The tertiary folding and overall three-di- to detect and analyze small conformations/ changes. mensional form are the same in proteins whose poly- What are the significant features in three-dimensional peptide chains are homologous over their length, and maps from the cryo-images? so inferences from homologies concerning oligomeric First, some background on the gap junction channel- state are probably correct. one of the channels studied in this way. This channel is There are now several well-studied examples of chan- built from a ring of six identical, -75 A long subunits, nels in the four, five, and six structural unit class. The called connexins. Several homologous polypeptides be- voltage-gated sodium channel and calcium channel (di- longing to the connexin family have been discovered, hydropyridine receptor) are both composed of four ho- the best characterized of which are the 32 kd and 43 kd mologous bilayer-embedded domains, making up a polypeptides from, respectively, liver and heart (Hen- large fraction of a single polypeptide chain, and so pre- derson et al., 1979; Paul, 1986; Kumar and Gilula, 1986; sumably consist of four structural units in a ring (Noda Beyer et al., 1987; Young et a!., 1987). Connexins are un- et al., 1984; Tanabe et al., 1987). The same may be true usual because of their dual role: they associate together for the voltage-gated A-type potassium channels, whose within the plasma membrane of one cell to make the polypeptides have some homologies with these do- channei, and they link to connexins in the plasma mem- mains (Tempel et al., 1987; Timpe et al., 1988). And four- brane of another cell to make a continuous com- fold symmetry of the ryanodine receptor (a calcium municating pathway between the two interiors (Loewen- channel in sarcoplasmic reticulum) has been demon- stein, 1981). The central pathway, when open, is wide strated by electron microscopy (Lai et al., 1988; Wagen- (~16 A minimum diameter; Schwarzmann et al., 1981) knecht et al., 1989). and relatively nonspecific, allowing the passage of signal A five-subunit stoichiometry of the muscle nicotinic molecules such as CAMP as well as ions, between con- acetylcholine receptor was found originally by prepara- nected cells. Caicium and hydrogen ions are ligands that tive gel electrophoresis (Lindstrom et al., 1979) and by regulate the transport, but the channel closes, rather quantitative amino-terminal analysis (Raftery et al., 1980).
Recommended publications
  • ION CHANNEL DIVERSITY and CHARACTERIZATION
    ION CHANNEL DIVERSITY and CHARACTERIZATION Voltage clamp techniques K channels Na channels Ca channels Ligand-gated channels Channelopathies OUTLINE Voltage clamp techniques whole cell, single channel, gating K channels Na channels Ca channels Cardiac AP Na nerve vs cardiac Ica: L vs T type; drugs (BayK, nitrendipine) Ito: inactivation, subtypes Kv1.4, Kv4.2/3, accessory subunits Ikr,Iks, Ikur (drugs dofetilide) IK1 – rectification Cardiac channelopathies (LQTS, SQTS, Brugada syndrome) Ligand-gated channels (AChR) Pancreatic beta cell channels (KATP, ICa) Voltage clamp techniques Capacitance currents (Ic) and ionic currents (Ii) are activated by rapid changes in membrane potential using voltage clamp Variable Vtest can be applied with voltage clamp 2.0 sec 40 duration 20 (10 sec between each pulse) 0 -20 mV test -40 V -60 -80 Simplified schematic of voltage clamp circuit Original patch clamp recordings (1981) Pflugers Arch 391: 85-100 Four modes of patch clamp technique High-throughput, automated patch clamp instruments EVOLUTION and Ion channel diversity Diversity of ion channels Example: nematode C. elegans 73 K channels (20 6 TM, 3 IRK, 50 TWIK) 89 ligand-gated channels (42 ACh, 37 inhibitory GABAA or glutamate, 10 excitatory glutamate) 5 voltage-gated Ca channels 6 chloride channels 24 gap junction channels (connexins) 22 mechanosensitive channels 6 cyclic-nucleotide gated channels 11 TRP-related channels Total: 236 channel subunit genes Origin of ion channel diversity 1) gene duplication & divergence 2) alternative mRNA splicing 3)
    [Show full text]
  • Src Regulation of Cx43 Phosphorylation and Gap Junction Turnover
    biomolecules Article Src Regulation of Cx43 Phosphorylation and Gap Junction Turnover Joell L. Solan 1 and Paul D. Lampe 1,2,* 1 Translational Research Program, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA; [email protected] 2 Department of Global Health, Pathobiology Program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98109, USA * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 27 October 2020; Accepted: 22 November 2020; Published: 24 November 2020 Abstract: The gap junction protein Connexin43 (Cx43) is highly regulated by phosphorylation at over a dozen sites by probably at least as many kinases. This Cx43 “kinome” plays an important role in gap junction assembly and turnover. We sought to gain a better understanding of the interrelationship of these phosphorylation events particularly related to src activation and Cx43 turnover. Using state-of-the-art live imaging methods, specific inhibitors and many phosphorylation-status specific antibodies, we found phospho-specific domains in gap junction plaques and show evidence that multiple pathways of disassembly exist and can be regulated at the cellular and subcellular level. We found Src activation promotes formation of connexisomes (internalized gap junctions) in a process involving ERK-mediated phosphorylation of S279/282. Proteasome inhibition dramatically and rapidly restored gap junctions in the presence of Src and led to dramatic changes in the Cx43 phospho-profile including to increased Y247, Y265, S279/282, S365, and S373 phosphorylation. Lysosomal inhibition, on the other hand, nearly eliminated phosphorylation on Y247 and Y265 and reduced S368 and S373 while increasing S279/282 phosphorylation levels. We present a model of gap junction disassembly where multiple modes of disassembly are regulated by phosphorylation and can have differential effects on cellular signaling.
    [Show full text]
  • Supporting Figure 2
    Normalized value Functional class Genbank Name Naive SC 1h SC 6h SC 24h WM 1h WM 6h WM 24h AB016161 GABA-B receptor 1d AF109405 GABA-B receptor 2a M35077 Dopamine-1A receptor S46131 Dopamine-1A receptor M84009 Dopamine receptor D4 U13368 Adrenergic receptor, alpha 1a G Protein-coupled M60654 Adrenergic receptor, alpha 1d receptors and their M64236 Tachykinin 1 receptor effectors AI229237 Opioid receptor-like Y11433 Pyrimidinergic receptor P2Y4 M64299 Adenosine A1 receptor E00001 Pro-insulin M29014 Insulin receptor precursor U35315 Serotonin receptor 2C S62043 Serotonin receptor 6 AF000368 Scn9a sodium channel, type IX, alpha polypeptide M27158 Kcna5 K+ voltage-gated channel, shaker-related subfamily, member 5 X17621 Kcna6 potassium voltage-gated channel, shaker-related, subfamily, member 6 X16476 Kcnb1 potassium voltage gated channel, Shab-related subfamily, member 1 M77482 Kcnb2 potassium voltage gated channel, Shab-related subfamily, member 2 S64320 Kcnd2 potassium voltage gated channel, Shal-related family, member 2 Ion channels X87635 Kcnj4 potassium inwardly-rectifying channel, subfamily J, member 4 D86039 Kcnj11 potassium inwardly-rectifying channel, subfamily J, member 11 X83581 Kcnj16 potassium inwardly-rectifying channel, subfamily J, member 16 AF073891 Kcnh5 potassium voltage-gated channel, subfamily H (eag-related), member 5 U69882 Kcnn2 potassium intermediate/small conductance calcium-activated channel, subfamily N, member 2 Z36944 Chloride channel 4-2 Z56277 Chloride channel 5 L08493 GABA-A receptor alpha-4 subunit X51992
    [Show full text]
  • Snapshot: Mammalian TRP Channels David E
    SnapShot: Mammalian TRP Channels David E. Clapham HHMI, Children’s Hospital, Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA TRP Activators Inhibitors Putative Interacting Proteins Proposed Functions Activation potentiated by PLC pathways Gd, La TRPC4, TRPC5, calmodulin, TRPC3, Homodimer is a purported stretch-sensitive ion channel; form C1 TRPP1, IP3Rs, caveolin-1, PMCA heteromeric ion channels with TRPC4 or TRPC5 in neurons -/- Pheromone receptor mechanism? Calmodulin, IP3R3, Enkurin, TRPC6 TRPC2 mice respond abnormally to urine-based olfactory C2 cues; pheromone sensing 2+ Diacylglycerol, [Ca ]I, activation potentiated BTP2, flufenamate, Gd, La TRPC1, calmodulin, PLCβ, PLCγ, IP3R, Potential role in vasoregulation and airway regulation C3 by PLC pathways RyR, SERCA, caveolin-1, αSNAP, NCX1 La (100 µM), calmidazolium, activation [Ca2+] , 2-APB, niflumic acid, TRPC1, TRPC5, calmodulin, PLCβ, TRPC4-/- mice have abnormalities in endothelial-based vessel C4 i potentiated by PLC pathways DIDS, La (mM) NHERF1, IP3R permeability La (100 µM), activation potentiated by PLC 2-APB, flufenamate, La (mM) TRPC1, TRPC4, calmodulin, PLCβ, No phenotype yet reported in TRPC5-/- mice; potentially C5 pathways, nitric oxide NHERF1/2, ZO-1, IP3R regulates growth cones and neurite extension 2+ Diacylglycerol, [Ca ]I, 20-HETE, activation 2-APB, amiloride, Cd, La, Gd Calmodulin, TRPC3, TRPC7, FKBP12 Missense mutation in human focal segmental glomerulo- C6 potentiated by PLC pathways sclerosis (FSGS); abnormal vasoregulation in TRPC6-/-
    [Show full text]
  • Engineering Biosynthetic Excitable Tissues from Unexcitable Cells for Electrophysiological and Cell Therapy Studies
    ARTICLE Received 11 Nov 2010 | Accepted 5 Apr 2011 | Published 10 May 2011 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1302 Engineering biosynthetic excitable tissues from unexcitable cells for electrophysiological and cell therapy studies Robert D. Kirkton1 & Nenad Bursac1 Patch-clamp recordings in single-cell expression systems have been traditionally used to study the function of ion channels. However, this experimental setting does not enable assessment of tissue-level function such as action potential (AP) conduction. Here we introduce a biosynthetic system that permits studies of both channel activity in single cells and electrical conduction in multicellular networks. We convert unexcitable somatic cells into an autonomous source of electrically excitable and conducting cells by stably expressing only three membrane channels. The specific roles that these expressed channels have on AP shape and conduction are revealed by different pharmacological and pacing protocols. Furthermore, we demonstrate that biosynthetic excitable cells and tissues can repair large conduction defects within primary 2- and 3-dimensional cardiac cell cultures. This approach enables novel studies of ion channel function in a reproducible tissue-level setting and may stimulate the development of new cell-based therapies for excitable tissue repair. 1 Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA. Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to N.B. (email: [email protected]). NatURE COMMUNicatiONS | 2:300 | DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1302 | www.nature.com/naturecommunications © 2011 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved. ARTICLE NatUre cOMMUNicatiONS | DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1302 ll cells express ion channels in their membranes, but cells a b with a significantly polarized membrane that can undergo e 0 a transient all-or-none membrane depolarization (action A 1 potential, AP) are classified as ‘excitable cells’ .
    [Show full text]
  • Ion Channels 3 1
    r r r Cell Signalling Biology Michael J. Berridge Module 3 Ion Channels 3 1 Module 3 Ion Channels Synopsis Ion channels have two main signalling functions: either they can generate second messengers or they can function as effectors by responding to such messengers. Their role in signal generation is mainly centred on the Ca2 + signalling pathway, which has a large number of Ca2+ entry channels and internal Ca2+ release channels, both of which contribute to the generation of Ca2 + signals. Ion channels are also important effectors in that they mediate the action of different intracellular signalling pathways. There are a large number of K+ channels and many of these function in different + aspects of cell signalling. The voltage-dependent K (KV) channels regulate membrane potential and + excitability. The inward rectifier K (Kir) channel family has a number of important groups of channels + + such as the G protein-gated inward rectifier K (GIRK) channels and the ATP-sensitive K (KATP) + + channels. The two-pore domain K (K2P) channels are responsible for the large background K current. Some of the actions of Ca2 + are carried out by Ca2+-sensitive K+ channels and Ca2+-sensitive Cl − channels. The latter are members of a large group of chloride channels and transporters with multiple functions. There is a large family of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters some of which have a signalling role in that they extrude signalling components from the cell. One of the ABC transporters is the cystic − − fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) that conducts anions (Cl and HCO3 )and contributes to the osmotic gradient for the parallel flow of water in various transporting epithelia.
    [Show full text]
  • An Update on Connexin Gap Junction and Hemichannels in Diabetic Retinopathy
    International Journal of Molecular Sciences Review An Update on Connexin Gap Junction and Hemichannels in Diabetic Retinopathy Jorge González-Casanova 1 , Oliver Schmachtenberg 2, Agustín D. Martínez 3, Helmuth A. Sanchez 3, Paloma A. Harcha 3 and Diana Rojas-Gomez 4,* 1 Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Santiago 8910060, Chile; [email protected] 2 Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia de Valparaíso, Instituto de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2360102, Chile; [email protected] 3 Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia de Valparaíso, Instituto de Neurociencia, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2360102, Chile; [email protected] (A.D.M.); [email protected] (H.A.S.); [email protected] (P.A.H.) 4 Escuela de Nutrición y Dietética, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Andres Bello, Santiago 8370146, Chile * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +56-2-26618559 Abstract: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the main causes of vision loss in the working age popu- lation. It is characterized by a progressive deterioration of the retinal microvasculature, caused by long-term metabolic alterations inherent to diabetes, leading to a progressive loss of retinal integrity and function. The mammalian retina presents an orderly layered structure that executes initial but complex visual processing and analysis. Gap junction channels (GJC) forming electrical synapses are present in each retinal layer and contribute to the communication between different cell types. Citation: González-Casanova, J.; In addition, connexin hemichannels (HCs) have emerged as relevant players that influence diverse Schmachtenberg, O.; Martínez, A.D.; physiological and pathological processes in the retina.
    [Show full text]
  • Localization of the Kv1.5 K+ Channel Protein in Explanted Cardiac Tissue
    Localization of the Kv1.5 K+ channel protein in explanted cardiac tissue. D J Mays, … , L H Philipson, M M Tamkun J Clin Invest. 1995;96(1):282-292. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI118032. Research Article The cloned Kv1.5 K+ channel displays similar kinetics and pharmacology to a delayed rectifier channel found in atrial myocytes. To determine whether the Kv1.5 isoform plays a role in the cardiac action potential, it is necessary to confirm the expression of this channel in cardiac myocytes. Using antibodies directed against two distinct channel epitopes, the Kv1.5 isoform was localized in human atrium and ventricle. Kv1.5 was highly localized at intercalated disk regions as determined by colocalization with connexin and N-cadherin specific antibodies. While both antichannel antibodies localized the Kv1.5 protein in cardiac myocytes, only the NH2-terminal antibodies stained vascular smooth muscle. The selective staining of vasculature by this antiserum suggests that epitope accessibility, and perhaps channel structure, varies between cardiac and vascular myocytes. Kv1.5 expression was localized less in newborn tissue, with punctate antibody staining dispersed on the myocyte surface. This increasing organization with age was similar to that observed for connexin. Future work will address whether altered K+ channel localization is associated with cardiac disease in addition to changing with development. Find the latest version: https://jci.me/118032/pdf Localization of the Kv1.5 K+ Channel Protein in Explanted Cardiac Tissue D. J. Mays,* J. M. Foose,* L. H. Philipson,11 and M. M. Tamkun*§ Departments of *Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, tPediatrics, and OPharmacology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee 37232; I1Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 92101 Abstract expression system of choice.
    [Show full text]
  • Study of Selectivity and Permeation in Voltage-Gated Ion Channels
    Study of Selectivity and Permeation in Voltage-Gated Ion Channels By Janhavi Giri, Ph.D. Visiting Research Faculty Division of Molecular Biophysics and Physiology Rush University Medical Center Chicago, IL, USA Email: [email protected] i TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................... i LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. iii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... iv SUMMARY ............................................................................................................... xvi CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1 1.1. Background ................................................................................................... 1 1.2. Overview .................................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER 2. SELF-ORGANIZED MODELS OF SELECTIVITY IN CALCIUM CHANNELS ........................................................................................... 13 2.1. Introduction ................................................................................................ 13 2.2. Methods ...................................................................................................... 19 2.2.1. Model of Channel and Electrolyte ........................................................19
    [Show full text]
  • An Aquaporin-4/Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 4 (AQP4/TRPV4) Complex Is Essential for Cell-Volume Control in Astrocytes
    An aquaporin-4/transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (AQP4/TRPV4) complex is essential for cell-volume control in astrocytes Valentina Benfenatia,1, Marco Caprinib,1, Melania Doviziob, Maria N. Mylonakouc, Stefano Ferronib, Ole P. Ottersenc, and Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddamc,2 aInstitute for Nanostructured Materials, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, 40129 Bologna, Italy; bDepartment of Human and General Physiology, University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy; and cCenter for Molecular Biology and Neuroscience and Department of Anatomy, University of Oslo, 0317 Oslo, Norway Edited* by Peter Agre, Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, Baltimore, MD, and approved December 27, 2010 (received for review September 1, 2010) Regulatory volume decrease (RVD) is a key mechanism for volume channels (VRAC). Osmolyte efflux through VRAC is thought to control that serves to prevent detrimental swelling in response to provide the driving force for water exit (6, 7). The factors that hypo-osmotic stress. The molecular basis of RVD is not understood. initiate RVD have received comparatively little attention. Here Here we show that a complex containing aquaporin-4 (AQP4) and we test our hypothesis that activation of astroglial RVD depends transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) is essential for RVD on a molecular interaction between AQP4 and TRPV4. fi in astrocytes. Astrocytes from AQP4-KO mice and astrocytes treated Our hypothesis rests on our recent nding that TRPV4 is with TRPV4 siRNA fail to respond to hypotonic stress by increased strongly expressed in astrocytic endfeet membranes abutting the – intracellular Ca2+ and RVD. Coimmunoprecipitation and immunohis- pia (including the extension of the pia that lines the Virchow tochemistry analyses show that AQP4 and TRPV4 interact and coloc- Robin spaces) and in endfeet underlying ependyma of the ven- alize.
    [Show full text]
  • UC Berkeley UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations
    UC Berkeley UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title The Effects of Neurosteroids, such as Pregnenolone Sulfate and its receptor, TrpM3 in the Retina. Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/04d8607f Author Webster, Corey Michael Publication Date 2019 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California The Effects of Neurosteroids, such as Pregnenolone Sulfate, and its receptor, TrpM3 in the Retina. By Corey Webster A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Molecular and Cell Biology in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Marla Feller, Chair Professor Diana Bautista Professor Daniella Kaufer Professor Stephan Lammel Fall 2019 The Effects of Neurosteroids, such as Pregnenolone Sulfate, and its receptor, TrpM3 in the Retina. Copyright 2019 by Corey Webster Abstract The Effects of Neurosteroids, such as Pregnenolone Sulfate, and its receptor, TrpM3 in the Retina. by Corey M. Webster Doctor of Philosophy in Molecular and Cell Biology University of California, Berkeley Professor Marla Feller, Chair Pregnenolone sulfate (PregS) is the precursor to all steroid hormones and is produced in neurons in an activity dependent manner. Studies have shown that PregS production is upregulated during certain critical periods of development, such as in the first year of life in humans, during adolescence, and during pregnancy. Conversely, PregS is decreased during aging, as well as in several neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative conditions. There are several known targets of PregS, such as a positive allosteric modulator NMDA receptors, sigma1 receptor, and as a negative allosteric modulator of GABA-A receptors.
    [Show full text]
  • Paxilline, a Closed BK Channel Blocker Expression Produces a 13-Mv Or 32-Mv Rightward Shift of Voltage Neces- Yu Zhou, Christopher J
    Monday, March 7, 2011 261a In lymphocytes Ca2þ signals are essential for diverse cellular functions. After AT1 receptor, which will advance our understanding of GPCR-ion channel antigen binds to the T cell receptor a series of reactions are initiated that gen- interaction network on the fine regulation of vascular tone. Supported by 2þ erate IP3 and culminate in an increase in cytosolic Ca . Mechanisms that re- NIH. move Ca2þ also exert an important influence on the net Ca2þ level. The SERCA pump resequesters Ca2þ into the ER and the PMCA transports Ca2þ to the ex- þ 1429-Pos Board B339 tracellular side. Two key features of the PMCA are its stimulation by Ca2 -cal- Nucleoside Diphosphate Kinase B Knockout Mice Have Impaired Activa- modulin and by PKA-dependent phosphorylation (Bers, 2001) but in most of tion of the Kþ channel KCa3.1 Resulting in Defective T Cell Activation the mathematical models this pump is represented with a simple Michaelis- þ Shekhar Srivastava, Lie Di, Olga Zhdanova, Yi Sun, Zhai Li, Menten formulation due to its small contribution to the overall Ca2 fluxes. Edward Y. Skolnik. This is not the case in T cells, Bautista et al (2002) showed that this pump is þ Nucleoside Diphosphate kinases (NDPK) are encoded by the Nme (non-met- the primary means of Ca2 extrusion in T cells and its activity is modulated þ þ astatic cell) gene family. While they comprise a family of 10 genes, NDPK-A by Ca2 enabling the cell to adapt to higher Ca2 values during T cell activa- 2þ and B are ubiquitously expressed and account for most of the NDPK- activ- tion.
    [Show full text]