title: Homo- and heteromeric assembly of TRPV channel subunits.
abstract: The vanilloid receptor-related TRP channels (TRPV1-6) mediate thermosensation, pain perception and epithelial Ca(2+) entry. As the specificity of TRPV channel heteromerization and determinants governing the assembly of TRPV subunits were largely elusive, we investigated the TRPV homo- and heteromultimerization. To analyze the assembly of TRPV subunits in living cells, we generated fluorescent fusion proteins or FLAG-tagged TRPV channel subunits. The interaction between TRPV subunits was assessed by analysis of the subcellular colocalization, fluorescence resonance energy transfer and coimmunoprecipitation. Our results demonstrate that TRPV channel subunits do not combine arbitrarily. With the exception of TRPV5 and TRPV6, TRPV channel subunits preferentially assemble into homomeric complexes. Truncation of TRPV1, expression of cytosolic termini of TRPV1 or TRPV4 and construction of chimeric TRPV channel subunits revealed that the specificity and the affinity of the subunit interaction is synergistically provided by interaction modules located in the transmembrane domains and in the cytosolic termini. The relative contribution of intramolecularly linked interaction modules presumably controls the overall affinity and the specificity of TRPV channel assembly.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Pharmakologie, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Thielallee 67-73, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hellwig
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Albrecht
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Harteneck
authors.forename: Günter
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schultz
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schaefer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D002118:Calcium / Q000737:chemistry*; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000737:chemistry*; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D002460:Cell Line; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D003600:Cytosol / Q000378:metabolism; D019281:Dimerization; D004848:Epithelium / Q000378:metabolism; D031541:Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer; D017353:Gene Deletion; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D047468:Immunoprecipitation; D015640:Ion Channel Gating; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D018715:Microscopy, Video; D008954:Models, Biological; D010957:Plasmids / Q000378:metabolism; D011485:Protein Binding; D011487:Protein Conformation; D020836:Protein Structure, Quaternary; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D050916:TRPV Cation Channels; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D015220:Calcium Channels; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins; D007473:Ion Channels; D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D050916:TRPV Cation Channels; C494482:TRPV1 protein, human; C416986:TRPV4 protein, human; C492239:TRPV5 protein, human; C120776:TRPV6 channel; C054562:yellow fluorescent protein, Bacteria; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D002118:Calcium