RESUMO
The stoichiometry of macromolecular interactions is fundamental to cellular signalling yet challenging to detect from living cells. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) is a powerful phenomenon for characterizing close-range interactions whereby a donor fluorophore transfers energy to a closely juxtaposed acceptor. Recognizing that FRET measured from the acceptor's perspective reports a related but distinct quantity versus the donor, we utilize the ratiometric comparison of the two to obtain the stoichiometry of a complex. Applying this principle to the long-standing controversy of calmodulin binding to ion channels, we find a surprising Ca2+-induced switch in calmodulin stoichiometry with Ca2+ channels-one calmodulin binds at basal cytosolic Ca2+ levels while two calmodulins interact following Ca2+ elevation. This feature is curiously absent for the related Na channels, also potently regulated by calmodulin. Overall, our assay adds to a burgeoning toolkit to pursue quantitative biochemistry of dynamic signalling complexes in living cells.
Assuntos
Transferência Ressonante de Energia de Fluorescência , Substâncias Macromoleculares/metabolismo , Animais , Canais de Cálcio/metabolismo , Calmodulina/metabolismo , Sobrevivência Celular , Células HEK293 , Humanos , Proteínas Luminescentes/metabolismo , Camundongos , Miosina Tipo V/química , Miosina Tipo V/metabolismo , Ligação Proteica , Domínios Proteicos , Reprodutibilidade dos Testes , Canais de Sódio/metabolismoRESUMO
Voltage-gated Na and Ca(2+) channels represent two major ion channel families that enable myriad biological functions including the generation of action potentials and the coupling of electrical and chemical signaling in cells. Calmodulin regulation (calmodulation) of these ion channels comprises a vital feedback mechanism with distinct physiological implications. Though long-sought, a shared understanding of the channel families remained elusive for two decades as the functional manifestations and the structural underpinnings of this modulation often appeared to diverge. Here, we review recent advancements in the understanding of calmodulation of Ca(2+) and Na channels that suggest a remarkable similarity in their regulatory scheme. This interrelation between the two channel families now paves the way towards a unified mechanistic framework to understand vital calmodulin-dependent feedback and offers shared principles to approach related channelopathic diseases. An exciting era of synergistic study now looms.