The Na/Ca-K exchanger gene family

A novel nonsense variant in SLC24A4 causing a rare form of amelogenesis imperfecta in a Pakistani family

Background

Amelogenesis imperfecta (AI) is a highly heterogeneous group of hereditary developmental abnormalities which mainly affects the dental enamel during tooth development in terms of its thickness, structure, and composition. It appears both in syndromic as well as non-syndromic forms. In the affected individuals, the enamel is usually thin, soft, rough, brittle, pitted, chipped, and abraded, having reduced functional ability and aesthetics. It leads to severe complications in the patient, like early tooth loss, severe discomfort, pain, dental caries, chewing difficulties, and discoloration of teeth from yellow to yellowish-brown or creamy type. The study aimed to identify the disease-causing variant in a consanguineous family.

Methods

We recruited a consanguineous Pashtun family of Pakistani origin. Exome sequencing analysis was followed by Sanger sequencing to identify the pathogenic variant in this family.

Results

Clinical analysis revealed hypomaturation AI having generalized yellow-brown or creamy type of discoloration in affected members. We identified a novel nonsense sequence variant c.1192C > T (p.Gln398*) in exon-12 of SLC24A4 by using exome sequencing. Later, its co-segregation within the family was confirmed by Sanger sequencing. The human gene mutation database (HGMD, 2019) has a record of five pathogenic variants in SLC24A4, causing AI phenotype.

Conclusion

This nonsense sequence variant c.1192C > T (p.Gln398*) is the sixth disease-causing variant in SLC24A4, which extends its mutation spectrum and confirms the role of this gene in the morphogenesis of human tooth enamel. The identified variant highlights the critical role of SLC24A4 in causing a rare AI type in humans.

Calcium regulation in mouse mesencephalic neurons-Differential roles of Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger, mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum

Midbrain dopaminergic (DA) neurons are the key to finely tune the voluntary movement, habit and motivation. The progressive and selective degeneration of these neurons is a pathological hallmark of Parkinson's disease (PD). The susceptibility of DA neurons in the SNpc may result from differences in how Ca(2+) is handled. However, very little information is available about the mechanisms involved in the regulation of intracellular Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)]i) in DA neurons. In this study, the relative contributions of various Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchangers and their interplay with internal Ca(2+) stores, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the mitochondria, in the regulation of the [Ca(2+)]i of mouse mesencephalic neurons were characterized. Both the K(+)-dependent Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger (NCKX) and the K(+)-independent Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger (NCX) can be detected and are functional in DA and non-DA neurons. NCX accounts for the larger component of Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchange activity. Single-cell RT-PCR analysis showed each individual neuron expressed a distinct set of the Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchangers. Furthermore, the Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchangers play prominent roles in removing [Ca(2+)]i induced by glutamate but not [Ca(2+)]i induced by depolarization. The mitochondria serve as a major Ca(2+) sink and are functionally located close to NCX. In contrast, the ER is functionally located close to NCKX and acts primarily as a Ca(2+) source with marginal effects. This study reveals that the Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchangers, the ER and the mitochondria, which cooperate interactively, act similarly when regulating [Ca(2+)]i in mesencephalic DA and non-DA neurons. The heterogeneous expression of multiple types of Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchangers and the quantitative differences found in [Ca(2+)]i regulation, together with other risk factors specific to DA neurons such as dopamine oxidation resulting in oxidative stress, may drive these cells to undergo selective degeneration.

Functional and structural properties of the NCKX2 Na(+)-Ca (2+)/K (+) exchanger: a comparison with the NCX1 Na (+)/Ca (2+) exchanger

Na(+)/Ca(2+)-K(+) exchangers (NCKX), alongside the more widely known Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchangers (NCX), are important players in the cellular Ca(2+) toolkit. But, unlike NCX, much less is known about the physiological roles of NCKX, while emergent evidence indicates that NCKX has highly specialized functions in cells and tissues where it is expressed. As their name implies, there are functional similarities in the properties of the two Ca(2+) exchanger families, but there are specific differences as well. Here, we compare and contrast their key functional properties of ionic dependence and affinities, as well as report on the effects of KB-R7943 - a compound that is widely used to differentiate the two exchangers. We also review structural similarities and differences between the two exchangers. The aim is to draw attention to key differences that will aid in differentiating the two exchangers in physiological contexts where both exist but perhaps play distinct roles.

Sodium-calcium exchangers contribute to the regulation of cytosolic calcium levels in mouse taste cells

Taste cells use multiple signalling mechanisms to generate unique calcium responses to distinct taste stimuli. Some taste stimuli activate G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) that cause calcium release from intracellular stores while other stimuli depolarize taste cells to cause calcium influx through voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs). We recently demonstrated that a constitutive calcium influx exists in taste cells that is regulated by mitochondrial calcium transport and that the magnitude of this calcium influx correlates with the signalling mechanisms used by the taste cells. In this study, we used calcium imaging to determine that sodium-calcium exchangers (NCXs) also routinely contribute to the regulation of basal cytosolic calcium and that their relative role correlates with the signalling mechanisms used by the taste cells. RT-PCR analysis revealed that multiple NCXs and sodium-calcium-potassium exchangers (NCKXs) are expressed in taste cells. Thus, a dynamic relationship exists between calcium leak channels and calcium regulatory mechanisms in taste cells that functions to keep cytosolic calcium levels in the appropriate range for cell function.

Structure-function relationships of the NCKX2 Na+/Ca2+-K+ exchanger

K+-dependent Na+/Ca2+ exchangers (NCKX) have been shown to play important roles in physiological processes as diverse as phototransduction in rod photoreceptors, motor learning and memory in mice, and skin pigmentation in humans. Most structure-function studies on NCKX proteins have been carried out on the NCKX2 isoform, but sequence similarity suggests that the results obtained with the NCKX2 isoform are likely to apply to all NCKX1-5 members of the human SLC24 gene family. Here we review our recent work on the NCKX2 protein concerning the topological arrangement of transmembrane segments carrying out cation transport, and concerning residues important for transport function and cation binding.

Cytosolic [Ca2+] transients in dictyostelium discoideum depend on the filling state of internal stores and on an active sarco/endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase (SERCA) Ca2+ pump

Stimulation of Dictyostelium discoideum with cAMP evokes a change of the cytosolic free Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)). We analyzed the role of the filling state of Ca(2+) stores for the [Ca(2+)] transient. Parameters tested were the height of the [Ca(2+)](i) elevation and the percentage of responding amoebae. After loading stores with Ca(2+), cAMP induced a [Ca(2+)](i) transient in many cells. Without prior loading, cAMP evoked a [Ca(2+)](i) change in a few cells only. This indicates that the [Ca(2+)](i) elevation is not mediated exclusively by Ca(2+) influx but also by Ca(2+) release from stores. Reducing the Ca(2+) content of the stores by EGTA preincubation led to a cAMP-activated [Ca(2+)](i) increase even at low extracellular [Ca(2+)]. Moreover, the addition of Ca(2+) itself elicited a capacitative [Ca(2+)](i) elevation. This effect was not observed when stores were emptied by the standard technique of inhibiting internal Ca(2+) pumps with 2,5-di-(t-butyl)-1,4-hydroquinone. Therefore, in Dictyostelium, an active internal Ca(2+)-ATPase is absolutely required to allow for Ca(2+) entry. No influence of the filling state of stores on Ca(2+) influx characteristics was found by the Mn(2+)-quenching technique, which monitors the rate of Ca(2+) entry. Both basal and cAMP-activated Mn(2+) influx rates were similar in control cells and cells with empty stores. By contrast, determination of extracellular free Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](e)) changes, which represent the sum of Ca(2+) influx and efflux, revealed a higher rate of [Ca(2+)](e) decrease in EGTA-treated than in control amoebae. We conclude that emptying of Ca(2+) stores does not change the rate of Ca(2+) entry but results in inhibition of the plasma membrane Ca(2+)-ATPase. Furthermore, the activities of the Ca(2+) transport ATPases of the stores are of crucial importance for the regulation of [Ca(2+)](i) changes.