The domain structure of the calmodulin-dependent phosphodiesterase isozymes

Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases: relating structure and function

Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases (PDEs) comprise a superfamily of metallophosphohydrolases that specifically cleave the 3',5'-cyclic phosphate moiety of cAMP and/or cGMP to produce the corresponding 5'-nucleotide. PDEs are critical determinants for modulation of cellular levels of cAMP and/or cGMP by many stimuli. Eleven families of PDEs with varying selectivities for cAMP or cGMP have been identified in mammalian tissues. Within these families, multiple isoforms are expressed either as products of different genes or as products of the same gene through alternative splicing. Regulation of PDEs is important for controlling myriad physiological functions, including the visual response, smooth muscle relaxation, platelet aggregation, fluid homeostasis, immune responses, and cardiac contractility. PDEs are critically involved in feedback control of cellular cAMP and cGMP levels. Activities of the various PDEs are highly regulated by a panoply of processes, including phosphorylation events, interaction with small molecules such as cGMP or phosphatidic acid, subcellular localization, and association with specific protein partners. The PDE superfamily continues to be a major target for pharmacological intervention in a number of medically important maladies.

The calmodulin-binding domain of the inducible (macrophage) nitric oxide synthase

A domain in the inducible, macrophage nitric oxide (NO) synthase has been selected as the putative calmodulin-binding site. The domain was synthesized as a peptide of 29 residues [P29, NO synthase-(504-532)-peptide], having the accepted hydrophobic/basic composition of calmodulin-binding domains and containing, like most of them, an aromatic amino acid at its N-terminus and a long chain aliphatic residue 12 amino acids downstream of it. A 34-residue peptide from the synthase sequence [P34, NO synthase-(499-532)-peptide], consisting of peptide P29 and of the five extra N-terminal amino acids, three of them basic, was also synthesized. Both peptides bound calmodulin in the presence as well as in the absence of Ca2+ (i.e. in the presence of excess EGTA). The KD of the binding in the presence of Ca2+ was < or = 1 nM. The binding affinity was lower, but still remarkably high in the presence of EGTA. The peptides counteracted the stimulation by calmodulin of a classical calmodulin-target enzyme, the Ca2+ pump of the plasma membrane.