Icln, An Ion Channel-Forming Protein Associated with Cell Volume Regulation

PICLN modulates alternative splicing and light/temperature responses in plants

Plants undergo transcriptome reprograming to adapt to daily and seasonal fluctuations in light and temperature conditions. While most efforts have focused on the role of master transcription factors, the importance of splicing factors modulating these processes is now emerging. Efficient pre-mRNA splicing depends on proper spliceosome assembly, which in plants and animals requires the methylosome complex. Ion Chloride nucleotide-sensitive protein (PICLN) is part of the methylosome complex in both humans and Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), and we show here that the human PICLN ortholog rescues phenotypes of Arabidopsis picln mutants. Altered photomorphogenic and photoperiodic responses in Arabidopsis picln mutants are associated with changes in pre-mRNA splicing that partially overlap with those in PROTEIN ARGININE METHYL TRANSFERASE5 (prmt5) mutants. Mammalian PICLN also acts in concert with the Survival Motor Neuron (SMN) complex component GEMIN2 to modulate the late steps of UsnRNP assembly, and many alternative splicing events regulated by PICLN but not PRMT5, the main protein of the methylosome, are controlled by Arabidopsis GEMIN2. As with GEMIN2 and SM PROTEIN E1/PORCUPINE (SME1/PCP), low temperature, which increases PICLN expression, aggravates morphological and molecular defects of picln mutants. Taken together, these results establish a key role for PICLN in the regulation of pre-mRNA splicing and in mediating plant adaptation to daily and seasonal fluctuations in environmental conditions.

An ICln homolog contributes to osmotic and low-nitrate tolerance by enhancing nitrate accumulation in Arabidopsis

Nitrate (NO₃^- ) is a source of plant nutrients and osmolytes, but its delivery machineries under osmotic and low-nutrient stress remain largely unknown. Here, we report that AtICln, an Arabidopsis homolog of the nucleotide-sensitive chloride-conductance regulatory protein family (ICln), is involved in response to osmotic and low-NO₃^- stress. The gene AtICln, encoding plasma membrane-anchored proteins, was upregulated by various osmotic stresses, and its disruption impaired plant tolerance to osmotic stress. Compared with the wild type, the aticln mutant retained lower anions, particularly NO₃^- , and its growth retardation was not rescued by NO₃^- supply under osmotic stress. Interestingly, this mutant also displayed growth defects under low-NO₃ stress, which were accompanied by decreases in NO₃^- accumulation, suggesting that AtICln may facilitate the NO₃^- accumulation under NO₃^- deficiency. Moreover, the low-NO₃^- hypersensitive phenotype of aticln mutant was overridden by the overexpression of NRT1.1, an important NO₃^- transporter in Arabidopsis low-NO₃^- responses. Further genetic analysis in the plants with altered activity of AtICln and NRT1.1 indicated that AtICln and NRT1.1 play a compensatory role in maintaining NO₃^- homeostasis under low-NO₃^- environments. These results suggest that AtICln is involved in cellular NO₃^- accumulation and thus determines osmotic adjustment and low-NO₃^- tolerance in plants.

The molecular and functional interaction between ICln and HSPC038 proteins modulates the regulation of cell volume

Identifying functional partners for protein/protein interactions can be a difficult challenge. We proposed the use of the operon structure of the Caenorhabditis elegans genome as a “new gene-finding tool” (Eichmüller, S., Vezzoli, V., Bazzini, C., Ritter, M., Fürst, J., Jakab, M., Ravasio, A., Chwatal, S., Dossena, S., Bottà, G., Meyer, G., Maier, B., Valenti, G., Lang, F., and Paulmichl, M. (2004) J. Biol. Chem. 279, 7136–7146) that could be functionally translated to the human system. Here we show the validity of this approach by studying the predicted functional interaction between ICln and HSPC038. In C. elegans, the gene encoding for the ICln homolog (icln-1) is embedded in an operon with two other genes, Nx (the human homolog of Nx is HSPC038) and Ny. ICln is a highly conserved, ubiquitously expressed multifunctional protein that plays a critical role in the regulatory volume decrease after cell swelling. Following hypotonic stress, ICln translocates from the cytosol to the plasma membrane, where it has been proposed to participate in the activation of the swelling-induced chloride current (ICl_swell). Here we show that the interaction between human ICln and HSPC038 plays a role in volume regulation after cell swelling and that HSPC038 acts as an escort, directing ICln to the cell membrane after cell swelling and facilitating the activation of ICl_swell. Assessment of the NMR structure of HSPC038 showed the presence of a zinc finger motif. Moreover, NMR and additional biochemical techniques enabled us to identify the putative ICln/HSPC038 interacting sites, thereby explaining the functional interaction of both proteins on a molecular level.