title: Calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase II regulates the interaction between the serotonin transporter and syntaxin 1A.
abstract: Plasma membrane serotonin transporters (SERTs) regulate serotonin (5HT) levels in brain and are a site of action of antidepressants and psychostimulant drugs of abuse. Syntaxin 1A is a component of the synaptic vesicle docking and fusion apparatus and has been shown to interact with multiple plasma membrane neurotransmitter transporters including SERT. Previously, we showed that syntaxin 1A regulates the transport stoichiometry of SERT. When not bound to syntaxin 1A, SERT shows both substrate-independent Na(+) fluxes and substrate-dependent Na(+) fluxes of variable stoichiometry; these fluxes are eliminated in the presence of syntaxin 1A as Na(+) flux becomes strictly coupled to 5HT uptake. However, not known are the endogenous signaling molecules that determine the conducting states that SERT exhibits. In the present experiments, we show that inhibitors of calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaM kinase II) modulate the stoichiometry of 5HT flux and that this effect requires syntaxin 1A. The modulation correlates with a shift in the affinity of SERT for syntaxin 1A binding. The regulation by CaM kinase II is eliminated by a mutation in the N-terminal domain of SERT. In neonatal thalomocortical neurons that endogenously express SERT and syntaxin 1A, inhibition of CaM kinase II reveals SERT-mediated currents. These data suggest that calcium-mediated signals can serve as a trigger for regulating protein-protein interactions that control SERT conducting states.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-2520, USA.
authors.forename: Marcia A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Ciccone
authors.forename: Miranda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Timmons
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: Michael W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Quick
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology; D054732:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Type 2 / Q000502:physiology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004347:Drug Interactions; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D008845:Microinjections; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects; D009865:Oocytes; D017374:Paroxetine / Q000494:pharmacology; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D051381:Rats; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D050827:Syntaxin 1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014982:Xenopus laevis
chemical_list: D054732:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Type 2; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D017374:Paroxetine; D012701:Serotonin; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; D050827:Syntaxin 1