Molecular diversity of cyclic nucleotide-gated cation channels.
Cyclic nucleotide-gated cation channels (CNG channels) form a multi-gene family consisting of at least five distinct members (CNG1-5). Expression studies have indicated that only CNG1-3 are able to form functional homooligomeric channels. Although structurally related, the cDNAs of CNG4-5 fail to induce cyclic nucleotide-dependent currents when expressed alone. However, when co-expressed with CNG1-3 they confer some of the physiologically observed properties of native CNG channels which are absent from the homooligomeric CNG1-3 channels. CNG channels are expressed in several tissues and cell types pointing to a general function of these channels in a wide variety of cellular systems. There is now increasing evidence that a major function of CNG channels may consist in providing a second messenger-regulated pathway for Ca2+ influx.
Biel
M
M
Institut fuer Pharmakologie und Toxikologie der Technischen Universitaet Muenchen, Muenchen, Germany.
Zong
X
X
Hofmann
F
F
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D002147:Calmodulin / Q000494:pharmacology; D006152:Cyclic GMP / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D015640:Ion Channel Gating; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010766:Phosphorylation
D002147:Calmodulin; D007473:Ion Channels; D006152:Cyclic GMP; D002118:Calcium