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Peshenko IV, Olshevskaya EV, Lim S, Ames JB, Dizhoor AM. Identification of target binding site in photoreceptor guanylyl cyclase-activating protein 1 (GCAP1). J Biol Chem 2014; 289:10140-54. [PMID: 24567338 PMCID: PMC3974984 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m113.540716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2013] [Revised: 02/10/2014] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Retinal guanylyl cyclase (RetGC)-activating proteins (GCAPs) regulate visual photoresponse and trigger congenital retinal diseases in humans, but GCAP interaction with its target enzyme remains obscure. We mapped GCAP1 residues comprising the RetGC1 binding site by mutagenizing the entire surface of GCAP1 and testing the ability of each mutant to bind RetGC1 in a cell-based assay and to activate it in vitro. Mutations that most strongly affected the activation of RetGC1 localized to a distinct patch formed by the surface of non-metal-binding EF-hand 1, the loop and the exiting helix of EF-hand 2, and the entering helix of EF-hand 3. Mutations in the binding patch completely blocked activation of the cyclase without affecting Ca(2+) binding stoichiometry of GCAP1 or its tertiary fold. Exposed residues in the C-terminal portion of GCAP1, including EF-hand 4 and the helix connecting it with the N-terminal lobe of GCAP1, are not critical for activation of the cyclase. GCAP1 mutants that failed to activate RetGC1 in vitro were GFP-tagged and co-expressed in HEK293 cells with mOrange-tagged RetGC1 to test their direct binding in cyto. Most of the GCAP1 mutations introduced into the "binding patch" prevented co-localization with RetGC1, except for Met-26, Lys-85, and Trp-94. With these residues mutated, GCAP1 completely failed to stimulate cyclase activity but still bound RetGC1 and competed with the wild type GCAP1. Thus, RetGC1 activation by GCAP1 involves establishing a tight complex through the binding patch with an additional activation step involving Met-26, Lys-85, and Trp-94.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor V. Peshenko
- From the Department of Basic Sciences and the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Salus University, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania 19027 and
| | - Elena V. Olshevskaya
- From the Department of Basic Sciences and the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Salus University, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania 19027 and
| | - Sunghyuk Lim
- the Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, California 95616
| | - James B. Ames
- the Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, California 95616
| | - Alexander M. Dizhoor
- From the Department of Basic Sciences and the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Salus University, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania 19027 and
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Lim S, Dizhoor AM, Ames JB. Structural diversity of neuronal calcium sensor proteins and insights for activation of retinal guanylyl cyclase by GCAP1. Front Mol Neurosci 2014; 7:19. [PMID: 24672427 PMCID: PMC3956117 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2014.00019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2014] [Accepted: 02/27/2014] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Neuronal calcium sensor (NCS) proteins, a sub-branch of the calmodulin superfamily, are expressed in the brain and retina where they transduce calcium signals and are genetically linked to degenerative diseases. The amino acid sequences of NCS proteins are highly conserved but their physiological functions are quite different. Retinal recoverin controls Ca2+-dependent inactivation of light-excited rhodopsin during phototransduction, guanylyl cyclase activating proteins 1 and 2 (GCAP1 and GCAP2) promote Ca2+-dependent activation of retinal guanylyl cyclases, and neuronal frequenin (NCS-1) modulates synaptic activity and neuronal secretion. Here we review the molecular structures of myristoylated forms of NCS-1, recoverin, and GCAP1 that all look very different, suggesting that the attached myristoyl group helps to refold these highly homologous proteins into different three-dimensional folds. Ca2+-binding to both recoverin and NCS-1 cause large protein conformational changes that ejects the covalently attached myristoyl group into the solvent exterior and promotes membrane targeting (Ca2+-myristoyl switch). The GCAP proteins undergo much smaller Ca2+-induced conformational changes and do not possess a Ca2+-myristoyl switch. Recent structures of GCAP1 in both its activator and Ca2+-bound inhibitory states will be discussed to understand structural determinants that control their Ca2+-dependent activation of retinal guanylyl cyclases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sunghyuk Lim
- Department of Chemistry, University of California at Davis Davis, CA, USA
| | - Alexander M Dizhoor
- Basic Sciences, Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Salus University Elkins Park, PA, USA
| | - James B Ames
- Department of Chemistry, University of California at Davis Davis, CA, USA
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Schmitz F. Presynaptic [Ca(2+)] and GCAPs: aspects on the structure and function of photoreceptor ribbon synapses. Front Mol Neurosci 2014; 7:3. [PMID: 24567702 PMCID: PMC3915146 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2014.00003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2013] [Accepted: 01/15/2014] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Changes in intracellular calcium ions [Ca2+] play important roles in photoreceptor signaling. Consequently, intracellular [Ca2+] levels need to be tightly controlled. In the light-sensitive outer segments (OS) of photoreceptors, Ca2+ regulates the activity of retinal guanylate cyclases thus playing a central role in phototransduction and light-adaptation by restoring light-induced decreases in cGMP. In the synaptic terminals, changes of intracellular Ca2+ trigger various aspects of neurotransmission. Photoreceptors employ tonically active ribbon synapses that encode light-induced, graded changes of membrane potential into modulation of continuous synaptic vesicle exocytosis. The active zones of ribbon synapses contain large electron-dense structures, synaptic ribbons, that are associated with large numbers of synaptic vesicles. Synaptic coding at ribbon synapses differs from synaptic coding at conventional (phasic) synapses. Recent studies revealed new insights how synaptic ribbons are involved in this process. This review focuses on the regulation of [Ca2+] in presynaptic photoreceptor terminals and on the function of a particular Ca2+-regulated protein, the neuronal calcium sensor protein GCAP2 (guanylate cyclase-activating protein-2) in the photoreceptor ribbon synapse. GCAP2, an EF-hand-containing protein plays multiple roles in the OS and in the photoreceptor synapse. In the OS, GCAP2 works as a Ca2+-sensor within a Ca2+-regulated feedback loop that adjusts cGMP levels. In the photoreceptor synapse, GCAP2 binds to RIBEYE, a component of synaptic ribbons, and mediates Ca2+-dependent plasticity at that site. Possible mechanisms are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank Schmitz
- Department of Neuroanatomy, Institute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Medical School Homburg/Saar, Saarland University Saarland, Germany
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Sakami S, Kolesnikov AV, Kefalov VJ, Palczewski K. P23H opsin knock-in mice reveal a novel step in retinal rod disc morphogenesis. Hum Mol Genet 2013; 23:1723-41. [PMID: 24214395 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddt561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Retinal rod photoreceptor cells have double membrane discs located in their outer segments (ROS) that are continuously formed proximally from connecting cilia (CC) and phagocytized distally by the retinal pigmented epithelium. The major component of these rod discs, the light-sensitive visual pigment rhodopsin (Rho), consists of an opsin protein linked to 11-cis-retinal. The P23H mutation of rod opsin (P23H opsin) is the most common cause of human blinding autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (adRP). A mouse model of adRP with this mutation (Rho(P23H/+)) shows low levels of P23H opsin protein, partial misalignment of discs and progressive retinal degeneration. However, the impact of mutant P23H opsin on the formation of abnormal discs is unclear and it is still unknown whether this mutant pigment can mediate phototransduction. Using transretinal ERG recordings, we demonstrate that P23H mutant Rho can trigger phototransduction but Rho(P23H/P23H) rods are ∼17 000-fold less sensitive to light than Rho(+/+) rods and produce abnormally fast photo-responses. By analyzing homozygous Rho(P23H/P23H) knock-in mice, we show that P23H opsin is transported to ciliary protrusions where it forms sagittally elongated discs. Transmission electron microscopy of postnatal day (PND) 14 Rho(P23H/+) mouse retina revealed disordered sagittally oriented discs before the onset of retinal degeneration. Surprisingly, we also observed smaller, immature sagittally oriented discs in PND14 Rho(+/)(-) and Rho(+/+) mice that were not seen in older animals. These findings provide fundamental insights into the pathogenesis of the P23H mutant opsin and reveal a novel early sagittally aligned disc formation step in normal ROS disc expansion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanae Sakami
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
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55
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Koch KW, Dell’Orco D. A calcium-relay mechanism in vertebrate phototransduction. ACS Chem Neurosci 2013; 4:909-17. [PMID: 23472635 DOI: 10.1021/cn400027z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Calcium-signaling in cells requires a fine-tuned system of calcium-transport proteins involving ion channels, exchangers, and ion-pumps but also calcium-sensor proteins and their targets. Thus, control of physiological responses very often depends on incremental changes of the cytoplasmic calcium concentration, which are sensed by calcium-binding proteins and are further transmitted to specific target proteins. This Review will focus on calcium-signaling in vertebrate photoreceptor cells, where recent physiological and biochemical data indicate that a subset of neuronal calcium sensor proteins named guanylate cyclase-activating proteins (GCAPs) operate in a calcium-relay system, namely, to make gradual responses to small changes in calcium. We will further integrate this mechanism in an existing computational model of phototransduction showing that it is consistent and compatible with the dynamics that are characteristic for the precise operation of the phototransduction pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karl-Wilhelm Koch
- Department of Neurosciences,
Biochemistry Group, University of Oldenburg, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Strasse 9-11, D-26129 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Daniele Dell’Orco
- Department of Life Sciences
and Reproduction, Section of Biological Chemistry and Center for BioMedical
Computing (CBMC), University of Verona,
Strada le Grazie 8, I-37134 Verona, Italy
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56
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Chen J, Sampath AP. Structure and Function of Rod and Cone Photoreceptors. Retina 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-1-4557-0737-9.00014-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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57
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Makino CL, Wen XH, Olshevskaya EV, Peshenko IV, Savchenko AB, Dizhoor AM. Enzymatic relay mechanism stimulates cyclic GMP synthesis in rod photoresponse: biochemical and physiological study in guanylyl cyclase activating protein 1 knockout mice. PLoS One 2012; 7:e47637. [PMID: 23082185 PMCID: PMC3474714 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0047637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2012] [Accepted: 09/13/2012] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Regulation of cGMP synthesis by retinal membrane guanylyl cyclase isozymes (RetGC1 and RetGC2) in rod and cone photoreceptors by calcium-sensitive guanylyl cyclase activating proteins (GCAP1 and GCAP2) is one of the key molecular mechanisms affecting the response to light and is involved in congenital retinal diseases. The objective of this study was to identify the physiological sequence of events underlying RetGC activation in vivo, by studying the electrophysiological and biochemical properties of mouse rods in a new genetic model lacking GCAP1. The GCAP1−/− retinas expressed normal levels of RetGC isozymes and other phototransduction proteins, with the exception of GCAP2, whose expression was elevated in a compensatory fashion. RetGC activity in GCAP1−/− retinas became more sensitive to Ca2+ and slightly increased. The bright flash response in electroretinogram (ERG) recordings recovered quickly in GCAP1−/−, as well as in RetGC1−/−GCAP1−/−, and RetGC2−/−GCAP1−/− hybrid rods, indicating that GCAP2 activates both RetGC isozymes in vivo. Individual GCAP1−/− rod responses varied in size and shape, likely reflecting variable endogenous GCAP2 levels between different cells, but single-photon response (SPR) amplitude and time-to-peak were typically increased, while recovery kinetics remained faster than in wild type. Recovery from bright flashes in GCAP1−/− was prominently biphasic, because rare, aberrant SPRs producing the slower tail component were magnified. These data provide strong physiological evidence that rod photoresponse recovery is shaped by the sequential recruitment of RetGC isozyme activation by GCAPs according to the different GCAP sensitivities for Ca2+ and specificities toward RetGC isozymes. GCAP1 is the ‘first-response’ sensor protein that stimulates RetGC1 early in the response and thus limits the SPR amplitude, followed by activation of GCAP2 that adds stimulation of both RetGC1 and RetGC2 to speed-up photoreceptor recovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clint L. Makino
- Department of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Xiao-Hong Wen
- Department of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Elena V. Olshevskaya
- Department of Basic Sciences and Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Salus University, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Igor V. Peshenko
- Department of Basic Sciences and Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Salus University, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Andrey B. Savchenko
- Department of Basic Sciences and Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Salus University, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Alexander M. Dizhoor
- Department of Basic Sciences and Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Salus University, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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58
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Gross OP, Pugh EN, Burns ME. Spatiotemporal cGMP dynamics in living mouse rods. Biophys J 2012; 102:1775-84. [PMID: 22768933 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2012.03.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2011] [Revised: 03/02/2012] [Accepted: 03/13/2012] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Signaling of single photons in rod photoreceptors decreases the concentration of the second messenger, cyclic GMP (cGMP), causing closure of cGMP-sensitive channels located in the plasma membrane. Whether the spatiotemporal profiles of the fall in cGMP are narrow and deep, or broad and shallow, has important consequences for the amplification and the fidelity of signaling. The factors that determine the cGMP profiles include the diffusion coefficient for cGMP, the spontaneous rate of cGMP hydrolysis, and the rate of cGMP synthesis, which is powerfully regulated by calcium feedback mechanisms. Here, using suction electrodes to record light-dependent changes in cGMP-activated current in living mouse rods lacking calcium feedback, we have determined the rate constant of spontaneous cGMP hydrolysis and the longitudinal cGMP diffusion coefficient. These measurements result in a fully constrained spatiotemporal model of phototransduction, which we used to determine the effect of feedback to cGMP synthesis in spatially constricting the fall of cGMP during the single-photon response of normal rods. We find that the spatiotemporal cGMP profiles during the single-photon response are optimized for maximal amplification and preservation of signal linearity, effectively operating within an axial signaling domain of ~2 μm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Owen P Gross
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, California, USA
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59
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Retinal guanylyl cyclase isozyme 1 is the preferential in vivo target for constitutively active GCAP1 mutants causing congenital degeneration of photoreceptors. J Neurosci 2012; 32:7208-17. [PMID: 22623665 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0976-12.2012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Two calcium-sensitive guanylyl cyclase activating proteins (GCAP1 and GCAP2) activate cGMP synthesis in photoreceptor by retinal membrane guanylyl cyclase isozymes (RetGC1 and RetGC2) to expedite recovery, but calcium-insensitive constitutively active GCAP1 mutants cause photoreceptor degeneration in human patients and transgenic mice. Although GCAP1 and GCAP2 can both activate RetGC1 and RetGC2 in vitro, we find that GCAP1 selectively regulates RetGC1 in vivo. Furthermore, elimination of RetGC1 but not RetGC2 isozyme reverses abnormal calcium sensitivity of cGMP synthesis and rescues mouse rods in transgenic mice expressing GCAP1 mutants causing photoreceptor disease. Rods expressing mutant GCAP1 not only survive in the absence of RetGC1 but also remain functional, albeit with reduced electroretinography (ERG) amplitudes typical of RetGC1-/- genotype. The rod ERG recovery from a strong flash, only slightly affected in both RetGC1-/- and RetGC2-/- mice, becomes very slow in RetGC1-/- but not RetGC2-/- mice when GCAP2 is not available to provide Ca²⁺ feedback to the remaining RetGC isozyme. The intrinsic biochemical properties of RetGC and GCAP determined in vitro do not explain the observed phenomena. Instead, our results argue that there must be a cellular mechanism that limits GCAP1 access to RetGC2 and makes RetGC1 isozyme a preferential target for the disease-causing GCAP1 mutants. A more general conclusion from our findings is that nondiscriminatory interactions between homologous effector enzymes and their regulatory proteins permitted by their intrinsic biochemical properties can be effectively restricted in a living photoreceptor.
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60
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Zang J, Matthews HR. Origin and control of the dominant time constant of salamander cone photoreceptors. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012; 140:219-33. [PMID: 22802362 PMCID: PMC3409105 DOI: 10.1085/jgp.201110762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Recovery of the light response in vertebrate photoreceptors requires the shutoff of both active intermediates in the phototransduction cascade: the visual pigment and the transducin–phosphodiesterase complex. Whichever intermediate quenches more slowly will dominate photoresponse recovery. In suction pipette recordings from isolated salamander ultraviolet- and blue-sensitive cones, response recovery was delayed, and the dominant time constant slowed when internal [Ca2+] was prevented from changing after a bright flash by exposure to 0Ca2+/0Na+ solution. Taken together with a similar prior observation in salamander red-sensitive cones, these observations indicate that the dominance of response recovery by a Ca2+-sensitive process is a general feature of amphibian cone phototransduction. Moreover, changes in the external pH also influenced the dominant time constant of red-sensitive cones even when changes in internal [Ca2+] were prevented. Because the cone photopigment is, uniquely, exposed to the external solution, this may represent a direct effect of protons on the equilibrium between its inactive Meta I and active Meta II forms, consistent with the notion that the process dominating recovery of the bright flash response represents quenching of the active Meta II form of the cone photopigment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingjing Zang
- Physiological Laboratory, Department of Physiology, Development, and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EG, England, UK
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61
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Wen XH, Duda T, Pertzev A, Venkataraman V, Makino CL, Sharma RK. S100B serves as a Ca(2+) sensor for ROS-GC1 guanylate cyclase in cones but not in rods of the murine retina. Cell Physiol Biochem 2012; 29:417-30. [PMID: 22508049 DOI: 10.1159/000338496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/10/2012] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Rod outer segment membrane guanylate cyclase (ROS-GC1) is a bimodal Ca(2+) signal transduction switch. Lowering [Ca(2+)](i) from 200 to 20 nM progressively turns it "ON" as does raising [Ca(2+)](i) from 500 to 5000 nM. The mode operating at lower [Ca(2+)](i) plays a vital role in phototransduction in both rods and cones. The physiological function of the mode operating at elevated [Ca(2+)](i) is not known. Through comprehensive studies on mice involving gene deletions, biochemistry, immunohistochemistry, electroretinograms and single cell recordings, the present study demonstrates that the Ca(2+)-sensor S100B coexists with and is physiologically linked to ROS-GC1 in cones but not in rods. It up-regulates ROS-GC1 activity with a K(1/2) for Ca(2+) greater than 500 nM and modulates the transmission of neural signals to cone ON-bipolar cells. Furthermore, a possibility is raised that under pathological conditions where [Ca(2+)](i) levels rise to and perhaps even enter the micromolar range, the S100B signaling switch will be turned "ON" causing an explosive production of CNG channel opening and further rise in [Ca(2+)](i) in cone outer segments. The findings define a new cone-specific Ca(2+)-dependent feature of photoreceptors and expand our understanding of the operational principles of phototransduction machinery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Hong Wen
- Department of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
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Peshenko IV, Olshevskaya EV, Lim S, Ames JB, Dizhoor AM. Calcium-myristoyl Tug is a new mechanism for intramolecular tuning of calcium sensitivity and target enzyme interaction for guanylyl cyclase-activating protein 1: dynamic connection between N-fatty acyl group and EF-hand controls calcium sensitivity. J Biol Chem 2012; 287:13972-84. [PMID: 22383530 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m112.341883] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Guanylyl cyclase-activating protein 1 (GCAP1), a myristoylated Ca(2+) sensor in vision, regulates retinal guanylyl cyclase (RetGC). We show that protein-myristoyl group interactions control Ca(2+) sensitivity, apparent affinity for RetGC, and maximal level of cyclase activation. Mutating residues near the myristoyl moiety affected the affinity of Ca(2+) binding to EF-hand 4. Inserting Phe residues in the cavity around the myristoyl group increased both the affinity of GCAP1 for RetGC and maximal activation of the cyclase. NMR spectra show that the myristoyl group in the L80F/L176F/V180F mutant remained sequestered inside GCAP1 in both Ca(2+)-bound and Mg(2+)-bound states. This mutant displayed much higher affinity for the cyclase but reduced Ca(2+) sensitivity of the cyclase regulation. The L176F substitution improved affinity of myristoylated and non-acylated GCAP1 for the cyclase but simultaneously reduced the affinity of Ca(2+) binding to EF-hand 4 and Ca(2+) sensitivity of the cyclase regulation by acylated GCAP1. The replacement of amino acids near both ends of the myristoyl moiety (Leu(80) and Val(180)) minimally affected regulatory properties of GCAP1. N-Lauryl- and N-myristoyl-GCAP1 activated RetGC in a similar fashion. Thus, protein interactions with the central region of the fatty acyl chain optimize GCAP1 binding to RetGC and maximize activation of the cyclase. We propose a dynamic connection (or "tug") between the fatty acyl group and EF-hand 4 via the C-terminal helix that attenuates the efficiency of RetGC activation in exchange for optimal Ca(2+) sensitivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor V Peshenko
- Department of Basic Sciences and Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Salus University, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania 19027, USA
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63
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Schmitz F, Natarajan S, Venkatesan JK, Wahl S, Schwarz K, Grabner CP. EF hand-mediated Ca- and cGMP-signaling in photoreceptor synaptic terminals. Front Mol Neurosci 2012; 5:26. [PMID: 22393316 PMCID: PMC3289946 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2012.00026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2012] [Accepted: 02/15/2012] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Photoreceptors, the light-sensitive receptor neurons of the retina, receive and transmit a plethora of visual informations from the surrounding world. Photoreceptors capture light and convert this energy into electrical signals that are conveyed to the inner retina. For synaptic communication with the inner retina, photoreceptors make large active zones that are marked by synaptic ribbons. These unique synapses support continuous vesicle exocytosis that is modulated by light-induced, graded changes of membrane potential. Synaptic transmission can be adjusted in an activity-dependent manner, and at the synaptic ribbons, Ca2+- and cGMP-dependent processes appear to play a central role. EF-hand-containing proteins mediate many of these Ca2+- and cGMP-dependent functions. Since continuous signaling of photoreceptors appears to be prone to malfunction, disturbances of Ca2+- and cGMP-mediated signaling in photoreceptors can lead to visual defects, retinal degeneration (rd), and even blindness. This review summarizes aspects of signal transmission at the photoreceptor presynaptic terminals that involve EF-hand-containing Ca2+-binding proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank Schmitz
- Department of Neuroanatomy, Medical School Homburg/Saar, Institute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Saarland University Saarland, Germany
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64
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Peshenko IV, Olshevskaya EV, Dizhoor AM. Interaction of GCAP1 with retinal guanylyl cyclase and calcium: sensitivity to fatty acylation. Front Mol Neurosci 2012; 5:19. [PMID: 22371697 PMCID: PMC3284189 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2012.00019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2012] [Accepted: 02/09/2012] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Guanylyl cyclase activating proteins (GCAPs) are calcium/magnesium binding proteins within neuronal calcium sensor proteins group (NCS) of the EF-hand proteins superfamily. GCAPs activate retinal guanylyl cyclase (RetGC) in vertebrate photoreceptors in response to light-dependent fall of the intracellular free Ca2+ concentrations. GCAPs consist of four EF-hand domains and contain N-terminal fatty acylated glycine, which in GCAP1 is required for the normal activation of RetGC. We analyzed the effects of a substitution prohibiting N-myristoylation (Gly2 → Ala) on the ability of the recombinant GCAP1 to co-localize with its target enzyme when heterologously expressed in HEK293 cells. We also compared Ca2+ binding and RetGC-activating properties of the purified non-acylated G2A mutant and C14:0 acylated GCAP1 in vitro. The G2A GCAP1 expressed with a C-terminal GFP tag was able to co-localize with the cyclase, albeit less efficiently than the wild type, but much less effectively stimulated cyclase activity in vitro. Ca2+ binding isotherm of the G2A GCAP1 was slightly shifted toward higher free Ca2+ concentrations and so was Ca2+ sensitivity of RetGC reconstituted with the G2A mutant. At the same time, myristoylation had little effect on the high-affinity Ca2+-binding in the EF-hand proximal to the myristoyl residue in three-dimensional GCAP1 structure. These data indicate that the N-terminal fatty acyl group may alter the activity of EF-hands in the distal portion of the GCAP1 molecule via presently unknown intramolecular mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor V Peshenko
- Department of Basic Science and Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Salus University, Elkins Park PA, USA
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65
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Burgoyne RD, Haynes LP. Understanding the physiological roles of the neuronal calcium sensor proteins. Mol Brain 2012; 5:2. [PMID: 22269068 PMCID: PMC3271974 DOI: 10.1186/1756-6606-5-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2011] [Accepted: 01/23/2012] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Calcium signalling plays a crucial role in the control of neuronal function and plasticity. Changes in neuronal Ca2+ concentration are detected by Ca2+-binding proteins that can interact with and regulate target proteins to modify their function. Members of the neuronal calcium sensor (NCS) protein family have multiple non-redundant roles in the nervous system. Here we review recent advances in the understanding of the physiological roles of the NCS proteins and the molecular basis for their specificity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert D Burgoyne
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, The Physiological Laboratory, Institute of Translational Medicine, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
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Arshavsky VY, Burns ME. Photoreceptor signaling: supporting vision across a wide range of light intensities. J Biol Chem 2011; 287:1620-6. [PMID: 22074925 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.r111.305243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 148] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
For decades, photoreceptors have been an outstanding model system for elucidating basic principles in sensory transduction and biochemistry and for understanding many facets of neuronal cell biology. In recent years, new knowledge of the kinetics of signaling and the large-scale movements of proteins underlying signaling has led to a deeper appreciation of the photoreceptor's unique challenge in mediating the first steps in vision over a wide range of light intensities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vadim Y Arshavsky
- Departments of Ophthalmology and Pharmacology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.
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Long-term RNA interference gene therapy in a dominant retinitis pigmentosa mouse model. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2011; 108:18476-81. [PMID: 22042849 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1112758108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
RNA interference (RNAi) gene silencing is a potential therapeutic strategy for dominant retinal degeneration disorders. We used self-complementary (sc) AAV2/8 vector to develop an RNAi-based gene therapy in a dominant retinal degeneration mouse model expressing bovine GCAP1(Y99C). We established an in vitro shRNA screening assay based on EGFP-tagged bovine GCAP1, and identified a shRNA that effectively silenced the bovine GCAP1 transgene with ∼80% efficiency. Subretinal injection of scAAV2/8 carrying shRNA expression cassette showed robust expression as early as 1 wk after injection. The gene silencing significantly improved photoreceptor survival, delayed disease onset, and increased visual function. Our results provide a promising strategy toward effective RNAi-based gene therapy by scAAV2/8 delivery for dominant retinal diseases.
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