title: Regulation of the rod photoreceptor cyclic nucleotide-gated channel.
abstract: The cGMP-gated channel of rod photoreceptors plays a key role in phototransduction by controlling the flow of cations into the outer segment in response to light-induced changes in cGMP. The channel is a heterotetramer composed of alpha-subunits required for channel activity and beta-subunits that are important in modulating the activity of channel. Earlier studies have shown that exogenous calmodulin binds to the beta-subunit of the channel and modulates the sensitivity of the channel for cGMP in a calcium dependent manner. In addition unidentified Ca2+-dependent endogenous proteins have been reported to modulate the activity of the frog rod channel. In this paper, we investigated whether endogenous calmodulin and other Ca2+ binding proteins interact with and modulate the cGMP-gated channel in bovine rod outer segments. Using immunoaffinity techniques in conjunction with ion flux assays, we show that endogenous calmodulin, but not other Ca2+ dependent proteins, binds and modulates the rod cGMP-gated channel in bovine rod outer segments. We also show that the beta-subunit of the channel is phosphorylated by endogenous and exogenous casein kinase 2. This posttranslational modification, however, does not alter the sensitivity of the channel for cGMP.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C. Canada V6TIZ3.
authors.forename: René
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Warren
authors.forename: Robert S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Molday
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002147:Calmodulin / Q000378:metabolism; D002417:Cattle; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D054815:Cyclic Nucleotide-Gated Cation Channels; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008954:Models, Biological; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D017948:Retinal Rod Photoreceptor Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D012374:Rod Cell Outer Segment / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002147:Calmodulin; D054815:Cyclic Nucleotide-Gated Cation Channels; D007473:Ion Channels