ABSTRACT
Calcium-dependent chloride channels serve critical functions in diverse biological systems. Driven by cellular calcium signals, the channels codetermine excitatory processes and promote solute transport. The anoctamin (ANO) family of membrane proteins encodes three calcium-activated chloride channels, named ANO 1 (also TMEM16A), ANO 2 (also TMEM16B), and ANO 6 (also TMEM16F). Here we examined how ANO 1 and ANO 2 interact with Ca(2+)/calmodulin using nonstationary current analysis during channel activation. We identified a putative calmodulin-binding domain in the N-terminal region of the channel proteins that is involved in channel activation. Binding studies with peptides indicated that this domain, a regulatory calmodulin-binding motif (RCBM), provides two distinct modes of interaction with Ca(2+)/calmodulin, one at submicromolar Ca(2+) concentrations and one in the micromolar Ca(2+) range. Functional, structural, and pharmacological data support the concept that calmodulin serves as a calcium sensor that is stably associated with the RCBM domain and regulates the activation of ANO 1 and ANO 2 channels. Moreover, the predominant splice variant of ANO 2 in the brain exhibits Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent inactivation, a loss of channel activity within 30 s. This property may curtail ANO 2 activity during persistent Ca(2+) signals in neurons. Mutagenesis data indicated that the RCBM domain is also involved in ANO 2 inactivation, and that inactivation is suppressed in the retinal ANO 2 splice variant. These results advance the understanding of Ca(2+) regulation in anoctamin Cl(-) channels and its significance for the physiological function that anoctamin channels subserve in neurons and other cell types.
Subject(s)
Action Potentials , Calcium/metabolism , Calmodulin/metabolism , Chloride Channels/metabolism , Amino Acid Sequence , Animals , Anoctamin-1 , Anoctamins , Binding Sites , Brain/metabolism , Chloride Channels/chemistry , Chloride Channels/genetics , HEK293 Cells , Humans , Ion Channel Gating , Mice , Molecular Sequence Data , Mutation , Neurons/metabolism , Neurons/physiology , Protein Binding , Protein Isoforms/genetics , Protein Isoforms/metabolism , Rats , Retina/metabolismABSTRACT
The mammalian olfactory system detects an unlimited variety of odorants with a limited set of odorant receptors. To cope with the complexity of the odor world, each odorant receptor must detect many different odorants. The demand for low odor selectivity creates problems for the transduction process: the initial transduction step, the synthesis of the second messenger cAMP, operates with low efficiency, mainly because odorants bind only briefly to their receptors. Sensory cilia of olfactory receptor neurons have developed an unusual solution to this problem. They accumulate chloride ions at rest and discharge a chloride current upon odor detection. This chloride current amplifies the receptor potential and promotes electrical excitation. We have studied this amplification process by examining identity, subcellular localization, and regulation of its molecular components. We found that the Na(+)/K(+)/2Cl(-) cotransporter NKCC1 is expressed in the ciliary membrane, where it mediates chloride accumulation into the ciliary lumen. Gene silencing experiments revealed that the activity of this transporter depends on the kinases SPAK and OSR1, which are enriched in the cilia together with their own activating kinases, WNK1 and WNK4. A second Cl(-) transporter, the Cl(-)/HCO(3)(-) exchanger SLC4A1, is expressed in the cilia and may support Cl(-) accumulation. The calcium-dependent chloride channel TMEM16B (ANO2) provides a ciliary pathway for the excitatory chloride current. These findings describe a specific set of ciliary proteins involved in anion-based signal amplification. They provide a molecular concept for the unique strategy that allows olfactory sensory neurons to operate as efficient transducers of weak sensory stimuli.
Subject(s)
Olfactory Receptor Neurons/physiology , Animals , Anion Exchange Protein 1, Erythrocyte/genetics , Anion Exchange Protein 1, Erythrocyte/metabolism , Base Sequence , Chlorides/metabolism , Cilia/physiology , DNA Primers/genetics , Feedback, Physiological , Gene Silencing , Ion Transport , Mice , Mice, Transgenic , Minor Histocompatibility Antigens , Models, Neurological , Phosphorylation , Protein Kinases/genetics , Protein Kinases/metabolism , Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases/genetics , Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases/metabolism , RNA, Messenger/genetics , RNA, Messenger/metabolism , RNA, Small Interfering/genetics , Rats , Rats, Wistar , Receptors, Odorant/physiology , Signal Transduction/physiology , Smell/physiology , Sodium-Potassium-Chloride Symporters/genetics , Sodium-Potassium-Chloride Symporters/metabolism , Solute Carrier Family 12, Member 2 , WNK Lysine-Deficient Protein Kinase 1ABSTRACT
Olfactory receptor neurons respond to odor stimulation with a receptor potential that results from the successive activation of cyclic AMP (cAMP)-gated, Ca(2+)-permeable channels and Ca(2+)-activated chloride channels. The cAMP-gated channels open at micromolar concentrations of their ligand and are subject to a Ca(2+)-dependent feedback inhibition by calmodulin. Attempts to understand the operation of these channels have been hampered by the fact that the channel protein is composed of three different subunits, CNGA2, CNGA4, and CNGB1b. Here, we explore the individual role that each subunit plays in the gating process. Using site-directed mutagenesis and patch clamp analysis, we identify three functional modules that govern channel operation: a module that opens the channel, a module that stabilizes the open state at low cAMP concentrations, and a module that mediates rapid Ca(2+)-dependent feedback inhibition. Each subunit could be assigned to one of these functions that, together, define the gating logic of the olfactory transduction channel.
