title: Locking CNGA1 channels in the open and closed state.
abstract: With the aim of understanding the relation between structure and gating of CNGA1 channels from bovine rod, an extensive cysteine scanning mutagenesis was performed. Each residue from Phe-375 to Val-424 was mutated into a cysteine one at a time and the modification caused by various sulfhydryl reagents was analyzed. The addition of the mild oxidizing agent copper phenanthroline (CuP) in the open (presence of 1 mM cGMP) or closed state locked the channel in the respective states. A subsequent treatment with the reducing agent DTT restored normal gating fully in the open state and partially in the closed state. This action of CuP was not observed when F380 was mutated into a cysteine in the cysteine-free CNGA1 channel and in the double mutant C314S&F380C. These observations suggest that these effects are mediated by the formation of a disulfide bond (S-S) between F380C and the endogenous Cys-314 in the S5 segment. It can be rationalized by supposing that during gating the S6 segment rotates anticlockwise-when viewed from the extracellular side-by approximately 30 degrees .
authors.affiliation: International School for Advanced Studies and Instituto Nazionale Fisica della Materia, I-34014 Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: Anil V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Nair
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mazzolini
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Codega
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giorgetti
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Torre
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D054815:Cyclic Nucleotide-Gated Cation Channels; D003545:Cysteine / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015640:Ion Channel Gating / Q000502:physiology*; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D009865:Oocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D011487:Protein Conformation; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D014982:Xenopus laevis
chemical_list: C475741:CNGA1 protein, bovine; D054815:Cyclic Nucleotide-Gated Cation Channels; D007473:Ion Channels; D003545:Cysteine