Rat inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor isoform 2 interacts with itself in its C-terminal portion and upstream of the first transmembrane domain

The regulatory domain of the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor is necessary to keep the channel domain closed: possible physiological significance of specific cleavage by caspase 3

The type 1 inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP(3)R1) is an intracellular Ca(2+) channel protein that plays crucial roles in generating complex Ca(2+) signalling patterns. IP(3)R1 consists of three domains: a ligand-binding domain, a regulatory domain and a channel domain. In order to investigate the function of these domains in its gating machinery and the physiological significance of specific cleavage by caspase 3 that is observed in cells undergoing apoptosis, we utilized various IP(3)R1 constructs tagged with green fluorescent protein (GFP). Expression of GFP-tagged full-length IP(3)R1 or IP(3)R1 lacking the ligand-binding domain in HeLa and COS-7 cells had little effect on cells' responsiveness to an IP(3)-generating agonist ATP and Ca(2+) leak induced by thapsigargin. On the other hand, in cells expressing the caspase-3-cleaved form (GFP-IP(3)R1-casp) or the channel domain alone (GFP-IP(3)R1-ES), both ATP and thapsigargin failed to induce increase of cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration. Interestingly, store-operated (-like) Ca(2+) entry was normally observed in these cells, irrespective of thapsigargin pre-treatment. These findings indicate that the Ca(2+) stores of cells expressing GFP-IP(3)R1-casp or GFP-IP(3)R1-ES are nearly empty in the resting state and that these proteins continuously leak Ca(2+). We therefore propose that the channel domain of IP(3)R1 tends to remain open and that the large regulatory domain of IP(3)R1 is necessary to keep the channel domain closed. Thus cleavage of IP(3)R1 by caspase 3 may contribute to the increased cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration often observed in cells undergoing apoptosis. Finally, GFP-IP(3)R1-casp or GFP-IP(3)R1-ES can be used as a novel tool to deplete intracellular Ca(2+) stores.

Oligomerization of the cardiac ryanodine receptor C-terminal tail

The C-terminal 100 amino acids of the RyR (ryanodine receptor), referred to as the C-terminal tail, is a highly conserved sequence that is present in all known RyR isoforms and which has been implicated in channel function. Deleting the final 15 amino acids from the full-length skeletal muscle RyR resulted in an inactive channel, attributed to impaired assembly of a tetrameric RyR complex [Gao, Tripathy, Lu and Meissner (1997) FEBS Lett. 412, 223-226]. To account for these observations, the C-terminal tail itself may be an important molecular determinant of oligomerization. Alternatively, the large N-terminal cytoplasmic domain may fold back upon itself to interact with the C-terminal tail to provide a correctly folded tetrameric structure. We explored these possibilities for RyR2 (cardiac RyR) using the yeast two-hybrid interaction assay and in vitro translation followed by immunoprecipitation and chemical cross-linking. The data indicate that the C-terminal tail of RyR2 is capable of self-tetramerization. Moreover, a truncated C-terminal tail, lacking the final 15 amino acids, failed to self-associate. These observations suggest that the intrinsic ability of the RyR C-terminal tail to self-tetramerize may be vitally important for the oligomeric assembly of the native RyR channel.

Carboxyl-terminal sequences critical for inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor subunit assembly

The inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (InsP(3)R) is a tetrameric assembly of conserved subunits that each contains six transmembrane regions (TMRs) localized near the carboxyl terminus. Receptor subunit assembly into a tetramer appears to be a multideterminant process involving an additive contribution of membrane spanning helices and the short cytosolic carboxyl terminus (residues 2590-2749). Previous studies have shown that of the six membrane-spanning regions in each subunit, the 5th and 6th transmembrane regions, and the carboxyl terminus are strong determinants for assembly. The fifth and sixth TMRs contain numerous beta-branched amino acids that may participate in coiled/coil formation via putative leucine zipper motifs. InsP(3)R truncation mutants were expressed in COS-1 cells and analyzed by sucrose density gradient sedimentation and gel filtration for their ability to assemble. Chemical cross-linking with the homobifunctional reagents sDST or DMS of mammalian and bacterially expressed carboxyl-terminal containing receptor fragments reveals that sequences within the carboxyl terminus confer the formation of subunit dimers. A series of InsP(3) receptor carboxyl-terminal fragments and glutathione S-transferase (GST)/InsP(3)R chimeras were expressed in Escherichia coli and used in an in vitro assay to elucidate the minimal sequence responsible for association of the carboxyl termini into dimers. The results presented here indicate that this minimal sequence is approximately 30 residues in length and is localized between residues 2629 and 2654. These residues are highly conserved between the three InsP(3)R isoforms ( approximately 80% identity) as well as the ryanodine receptor ( approximately 40% identity) and suggest that a conserved assembly motif may exist between the two intracellular receptor families. We propose that assembly of the InsP(3) receptor to a tetramer involves intersubunit interactions mediated through both the membrane-spanning regions and residues 2629-2654 of the carboxyl terminus possibly through the formation of a dimer of dimers.