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The Journal of Neuroscience, July 1, 1998, 18(13):4815-4824

Identification of the Amino Terminus of Neuronal Ca2+ Channel alpha 1 Subunits alpha 1B and alpha 1E as an Essential Determinant of G-Protein Modulation

Karen M. Page, Carles Cantí, Gary J. Stephens, Nicholas S. Berrow, and Annette C. Dolphin

Department of Pharmacology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom

    ABSTRACT
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials & Methods
Results
Discussion
References

We have examined the basis for G-protein modulation of the neuronal voltage-dependent calcium channels (VDCCs) alpha 1E and alpha 1B. A novel PCR product of alpha 1E was isolated from rat brain. This contained an extended 5' DNA sequence and was subcloned onto the previously cloned isoform rbEII, giving rise to alpha 1Elong whose N terminus was extended by 50 amino acids. VDCC alpha 1 subunit constructs were co-expressed with the accessory alpha 2-delta and beta 2a subunits in Xenopus oocytes and mammalian (COS-7) cells. The alpha 1Elong showed biophysical properties similar to those of rbEII; however, when G-protein modulation of expressed alpha 1 subunits was induced by activation of co-expressed dopamine (D2) receptors with quinpirole (100 nM) in oocytes, or by co-transfection of Gbeta 1gamma 2 subunits in COS-7 cells, alpha 1Elong, unlike alpha 1E(rbEII), was found to be G-protein-modulated, in terms of both a slowing of activation kinetics and a reduction in current amplitude. However, alpha 1Elong showed less modulation than alpha 1B, and substitution of the alpha 1E1-50 with the corresponding region of alpha 1B1-55 produced a chimera alpha 1bEEEE, with G-protein modulation intermediate between alpha 1Elong and alpha 1B. Furthermore, deletion of the N-terminal 1-55 sequence from alpha 1B produced alpha 1BDelta N1-55, which could not be modulated, thus identifying the N-terminal domain as essential for G-protein modulation. Taken together with previous studies, these results indicate that the intracellular N terminus of alpha 1E1-50 and alpha 1B1-55 is likely to contribute to a multicomponent site, together with the intracellular I-II loop and/or the C-terminal tail, which are involved in Gbeta gamma binding and/or in subsequent modulation of channel gating.

Key words: calcium channel; neuronal; G-protein; alpha 1 subunit; Gbeta gamma subunit; modulation

    INTRODUCTION
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials & Methods
Results
Discussion
References

G-protein inhibition of neuronal N (alpha 1B) and P/Q type (alpha 1A) calcium currents is mediated by Gbeta gamma subunits (Herlitze et al., 1996; Ikeda, 1996). The extent of G-protein modulation for the other non-L-type voltage-dependent calcium channel (VDCC) subunit alpha 1E is less well established (for review, see Dolphin, 1998). The human alpha 1E subunit has recently been shown to be inhibited by overexpression of Gbeta gamma subunits (Shekter et al., 1997) and by the activation of G-protein-coupled receptors (Mehrke et al., 1997; Qin et al., 1997). It is of interest that these effects are attenuated by the presence of accessory VDCC beta  subunits, suggesting functional competition, as previously hypothesized (Campbell et al., 1995b). In contrast, rat brain alpha 1E(rbEII) (Soong et al., 1993) shows no G-protein modulation (Bourinet et al., 1996; Page et al., 1997).

A number of recent studies have investigated the site(s) at which Gbeta gamma subunits bind to alpha 1 subunits. Two such regions have been identified on the non-L-type VDCC subunits. First, the intracellular loop that links transmembrane domains I and II has two binding sites: one containing a QxxER amino acid consensus sequence common to many Gbeta gamma binding proteins, and one nearer the end of the I-II loop (De Waard et al., 1997; Zamponi et al., 1997). Second, a C-terminal site has recently been identified and proposed to be the unique region responsible for G-protein inhibition of human alpha 1E (Qin et al., 1997). A 38 amino acid sequence in the center of the alpha 1E C terminus has been found to bind free Gbeta gamma dimers (Qin et al., 1997).

Functionally, the site of G-protein action remains controversial. Mutations within the I-II loop have been shown either to abolish Gbeta gamma binding and prevent the slowing of activation induced by GTPgamma S (De Waard et al., 1997) or to enhance modulation (Herlitze et al., 1997), whereas conversion of the entire alpha 1A consensus sequence (QIEER) to that seen in alpha 1C (QQLEE) did attenuate modulation (Herlitze et al., 1997). We observed that transfer of the IS6 and I-II loop from alpha 1B to alpha 1E(rbEII) conferred minor aspects of G-protein sensitivity to the resultant chimera, namely a slowing of activation kinetics in the presence of GTPgamma S, but did not result in modulation of the calcium current amplitude, as seen in alpha 1B (Page et al., 1997). In contrast, the alpha 1B subunit was reported to retain G-protein modulation when its entire I-II loop was replaced by the corresponding alpha 1C sequence (Zhang et al., 1996), which does not bind Gbeta gamma (De Waard et al., 1997). Their study implicated a role of domain I together with the C terminus in G-protein modulation. In partial agreement with this, the inhibition of human alpha 1E by muscarinic agonists appears to be caused by Gbeta gamma binding solely at the C-terminal site (Qin et al., 1997).

In the present study we have examined the major difference between rat alpha 1E(rbEII) and the corresponding human clone, which is that the latter contains an extended N-terminal sequence. We have isolated a fragment of rat brain alpha 1E containing an extended 5' DNA sequence and have found that the alpha 1Elong isoform so formed, unlike rbEII, is subject to G-protein modulation. Furthermore, an alpha 1B construct in which the corresponding N-terminal region is deleted shows no G-protein regulation. The data indicate that the N terminus of the alpha 1B and alpha 1E subunits is crucial for their G-protein modulation.

    MATERIALS AND METHODS
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials & Methods
Results
Discussion
References

Materials

The following cDNAs were used: rat alpha 1E (rbEII, GenBank accession number L15453), rabbit alpha 1B (D14157), rat beta 2a (M80545), rat alpha 2-delta (neuronal splice variant, M86621), rat D2long receptor (X17458, N5right-arrowG), bovine Gbeta 1 (M13236), bovine Ggamma 2 (M37183), and mut-3 Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP, U73901). All cDNAs were subcloned into the expression vector pMT2 (Swick et al., 1992).

Production of VDCC alpha 1 constructs

The constructs were produced by PCR methodology described previously (Page et al., 1997). Individual constructs were produced as follows.

alpha 1Elong. A 5' region of a longer isoform of alpha 1E was isolated by RT-PCR from granule cells, prepared from rat cerebella as described previously (Huston et al., 1993). Total RNA was isolated using the RNeasy miniprep kit (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany). Reverse transcription was performed using M-MLV reverse transcriptase (Promega, Madison, WI) in the presence of RNasin (Promega) and random hexamer primers (Promega) at 37°C for 60 min. The forward primer (primer 1) (see Fig. 1) for PCR (ATA GGT ACC ATG GCT CGC TTC GGG GAG GC) is based on a region completely conserved at the N terminus of the reported human (L27745), mouse (L29346), and rabbit (X67855) alpha 1E cDNA sequences, and also contains a 5' KpnI extension (GGTACC). The reverse primer E899R (GCC GAT CCA GTC CTT ACA TTC A) is specific for alpha 1E(rbEII). PCR was performed using BIO-X-ACT DNA Polymerase (Bioline), a high-fidelity enzyme mixture. The extended alpha 1E 5' region was subcloned between the KpnI site (pMT2 polylinker) and the NotI site (bp 158 of rbEII) of alpha 1E(rbEII) pMT2. The DNA and protein sequences are shown in Figure 1. RT-PCR was also performed to determine whether the short isoform of alpha 1E(rbEII) (Soong et al., 1993) could be detected in rat cerebellar granule neurons or whole rat brain. Two separate forward primers, CAT GGT ACC TTG CAG ACC CAG GAA (primer 2) (see Fig. 1) and AGC GGT ACC TGT TCT TCA TGG ATC (primer 3) (see Fig. 1), both containing mutated KpnI sites at the 5' end, were used together with the reverse primer E899R.

alpha 1bEEEE. The first 55 amino acids of the N terminus of rabbit alpha 1B was added onto the N terminus of rat alpha 1E(rbEII) to give alpha 1bEEEE. The forward primer (pMT2F) AGC TTG AGG TGT GGC AGG CTT and the reverse primer TGG GGT TGT ACA GCG CCA TGG T were used with the alpha 1B-pMT2 template to give a product of ~300 bp. This PCR product was used as a forward primer, along with the reverse primer E899R, and extended on alpha 1E(rbEII) pMT2 to give a product of ~1 kb. Digestion of the PCR product with KpnI and XbaI gave a fragment of ~800 bp, and this was subcloned onto the 5' end of alpha 1E(rbEII) in the pMT2 vector.

alpha 1B(Delta N1-55). The alpha 1B was truncated at the 5' end using the forward primer CGC ACT AGT ACC ATG GCG CTG TAC AA and the reverse primer GTC GCT TCT GCT CTT CTT GG. The PCR product was digested with the enzymes SpeI and KpnI and subcloned into alpha 1B pMT2, which had also been digested with SpeI (polylinker cloning site) and KpnI (1285 bp position in alpha 1B).

All PCR was performed using the proof-reading enzyme Pfu (Stratagene, La Jolla, CA), except for alpha 1Elong as described above. The sequences of the subcloned PCR products were verified by cycle-sequencing using SequiTherm EXCEL II (Epicenter Technologies, Madison, WI). For alpha 1Elong, a number of different RT-PCR reactions were performed, and the products were sequenced. The sequences were found to be the same for all PCR products tested, including the single clone selected for expression studies.

Expression of constructs and electrophysiological recording

Xenopus oocytes. Oocytes were surgically removed from adult Xenopus laevis females and defolliculated by treatment with 2 mg/ml collagenase type Ia in a Ca2+-free ND96 saline containing (in mM): NaCl 96, KCl 2, MgCl2 1, HEPES 5, pH adjusted to 7.4 with NaOH for 2 hr at 21°C. Plasmid cDNAs for the different alpha 1 subunits, plus accessory beta 2a and alpha 2-delta subunits and rat D2 receptors, were mixed in a ratio of 3:1:1:3 (except where stated), and ~10 nl was injected into the nuclei of stage V or VI oocytes. Injected oocytes were incubated at 18°C for 3-7 d in ND96 saline (as above plus 1.8 mM CaCl2) supplemented with 100 µg/ml penicillin, 100 IU/ml streptomycin (Life Technologies, Gaithersburg, MD), and 2.5 mM sodium pyruvate. Whole-cell recordings from oocytes were made in the two-electrode voltage-clamp configuration with a chloride-free solution containing (in mM): Ba(OH)2 40, TEA-OH 50, KOH 2, niflumic acid 0.4, HEPES 5, pH 7.4 with methanesulfonic acid. In some experiments niflumic acid was omitted, and oocytes were injected with 30-40 nl of a 100 mM solution of K3-1,2-bis(aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetra-acetic acid (BAPTA) to suppress endogenous Ca2+-activated Cl- currents. Electrodes contained 3 M KCl and had resistances of 0.3-2 MOmega . The holding potential (VH) was -100 mV, and the test potential (Vt) used for time course studies was 0 mV. All illustrated traces are at this potential, and the current amplitude was measured 100 msec after the start of the test pulse. Membrane currents were recorded every 15 sec, amplified and low-pass-filtered at 1 KHz using a Geneclamp 500 amplifier, and digitized through a Digidata 1200 interface (Axon Instruments, Foster City, CA). In all cases currents were leak-subtracted on-line by a P/4 protocol.

COS-7 cells. Cells were cultured and transfected using the electroporation technique, essentially as described previously (Campbell et al., 1995a). The alpha 1, alpha 2-delta , beta 2a, and GFP cDNAs were used at 15, 5, 5, and 1 µg, respectively. When used, Gbeta 1 and Ggamma 2 were included at 2.5 µg each. Blank pMT2 vector was included where necessary to maintain the total cDNA at 31 µg/transfection. Cells were replated using nonenzymatic cell dissociation medium (Sigma, St. Louis, MO) and then maintained at 25°C for between 1 and 16 hr before electrophysiological recording. Maximum GFP fluorescence and VDCC expression were observed between 2 and 4 d post-transfection (Brice et al., 1997). Ca2+ currents were recorded using the whole-cell patch technique. Borosilicate glass electrodes (2-4 MOmega ) were used. The internal (electrode) and external solutions were similar to those described previously (Campbell et al., 1995b). The patch pipette solution contained (in mM): Cs aspartate 140, EGTA 5, MgCl2 2, CaCl2 0.1, K2ATP 2, HEPES 10, pH 7.2, 310 mOsm with sucrose. GDPbeta S (2 mM) was included where stated. The external solution contained (in mM): tetraethylammonium (TEA) bromide 160, KCl 3, NaHCO3 1.0, MgCl2 1.0, HEPES 10, glucose 4, BaCl2 1, pH 7.4, 320 mOsm with sucrose. Whole-cell currents were elicited from VH of -100 mV and recorded using an Axopatch 1D amplifier. Data were filtered at 2 kHz and digitized at 5-10 kHz. The junction potential between external and internal solutions was 6 mV; the values given in the figures and text have not been corrected for this. Current records are shown after leak and residual capacitance current subtraction (P/4 or P/8 protocol) and series resistance compensation up to 85%.

All experiments were performed at room temperature (20-24°C). Analysis was performed using Pclamp6 and Origin software. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM. Statistical analysis was performed using paired or unpaired Student's t test as appropriate.

    RESULTS
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Abstract
Introduction
Materials & Methods
Results
Discussion
References

Isolation of a long N-terminal isoform of alpha 1E

Amino acid alignment of the rat alpha 1E(rbEII) and the rabbit alpha 1B shows that a high degree of conservation exists within these sequences but that the alpha 1E(rbEII) sequence is 55 amino acids shorter than that of alpha 1B. Alignment of the alpha 1E N termini for mouse (L29346), human (L27745), rabbit (X67855), and rat (L15453) shows that the mouse, human, and rabbit sequences also contain ~50 additional amino acids at the extreme N terminus. This region is homologous in these species but is missing from the rat sequence. Furthermore, the proximal part of the reported 5' untranslated region of rbEII shows extensive homology with the mouse, human, and rabbit alpha 1E cDNAs. The initial 5' DNA sequences in these species are completely conserved, allowing the design of a PCR primer (primer 1) (Fig. 1) that could anneal to a longer isoform of alpha 1E, including the ATG corresponding to the start codon in the human, rabbit, and mouse alpha 1E clones. RT-PCR was performed on RNA isolated from rat cerebellar granule cells. The resulting product was of the expected length, compared with the reported sequences of alpha 1E from mouse, human, and rabbit. This was subcloned onto the rat alpha 1E(rbEII) construct to give alpha 1Elong. DNA and protein sequences are shown in Figure 1. The predicted N-terminal amino acid sequence of the PCR-derived alpha 1Elong clone was found to be identical to that of the reported mouse alpha 1E sequence (Williams et al., 1994).


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Figure 1.   Sequence of alpha 1Elong used in this study. A, DNA alignment of the 5' sequences of alpha 1E(rbEII) (L15453), rat alpha 1Elong (AF057029), and mouse alpha 1E (L29346). Shaded areas show translated sequences. The vertical arrow shows the position of the restriction site NotI, which was used to subclone the extended 5' sequence onto alpha 1E(rbEII). The boxed CGG nucleotides before the ATG start site in the alpha 1E(rbEII) were found to be present in the rbEII clone but are absent from the L15453 sequence in the database. This triplet is also present in the published mouse, human, and rabbit alpha 1E sequences. The forward primers used (see Materials and Methods) are shown as horizontal arrows, below (primer 1) or above (primers 2 and 3) the corresponding sequence. Note that the extended N-terminal sequence of alpha 1Elong shows a high degree of homology with part of the reported 5' untranslated sequence of the rbEII cDNA. B, Amino acid alignment for the N termini of rat alpha 1Elong, rabbit alpha 1B (published sequence), and rat alpha 1E(rbEII, published sequence). Conserved residues are shaded. The rat alpha 1Elong N-terminal amino acid sequence was also identical to that of the published mouse alpha 1E sequence (L29346).

To determine whether we could detect the shorter isoform of alpha 1E(rbEII) in rat brain, RT-PCR was performed using two different forward primers (labeled 2 and 3 in Fig. 1), located in the 5' noncoding region of rbEII, whose sequence is given in the database, together with the same reverse primer as above. No products were found, using mRNA from either whole rat brain or cerebellar granule cells, with either forward primer, although we have no positive control for the efficacy of the forward primers used, because the rbEII clone that we have is truncated at the NotI site in the 5'-untranslated region (Fig. 1).

Biophysical properties of alpha 1Elong

We have compared the properties of alpha 1Elong with those of alpha 1E(rbEII) and alpha 1B. Current-voltage relationships show no major differences between alpha 1Elong and alpha 1E(rbEII), in terms of either expression levels or voltage dependence of activation (Fig. 2, Table 1). Thus, the extended N terminus of alpha 1Elong does not affect its ability to show functional expression.


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Figure 2.   Properties and G-protein modulation of alpha 1Elong: comparison with alpha 1E(rbEII). A shows the lack of modulation of alpha 1E(rbEII) in the absence of co-transfected VDCC beta  subunits. alpha 1E(rbEII) was expressed with alpha 2-delta but without beta 2a subunits in Xenopus oocytes (together with D2 dopamine receptors). Left panel, Example currents, control (1), plus quinpirole (2), and after a depolarizing prepulse to +100 mV in the presence of quinpirole (3). The voltage protocol is shown above the current traces. Middle panel, Time course of IBa amplitude during quinpirole application. Right panel, I-V plot before (open circle ) and during (bullet ) quinpirole application (n = 6). The I-V data were fitted with a modified Boltzmann equation as described previously (Page et al., 1997). B shows the modulation of alpha 1Elong in the presence of co-transfected VDCC beta  subunits. alpha 1Elong was expressed with both alpha 2-delta and beta 2a subunits in Xenopus oocytes (together with D2 dopamine receptors). Activation of dopamine D2 receptors by quinpirole (100 nM) in oocytes caused a reversible inhibition of IBa. Left panel, Example currents, control (1), plus quinpirole (2), and after a depolarizing prepulse in the presence of quinpirole (3). Middle panel, Time course of inhibition by quinpirole. Right panel, I-V plot before (open circle ) and during (bullet ) quinpirole application (n = 9). The I-V data were fitted as described in A. The boxed inset shows the voltage-dependence of the inhibition by quinpirole from the I-V data of alpha 1Elong (solid bars, n = 9). Data for alpha 1B (open bars, n = 8) are plotted for comparison; * p < 0.01 (Student's t test).

                              
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Table 1.   Biophysical properties and G-protein modulation of calcium channel alpha 1 subunits

G-protein modulation of rat brain alpha 1Elong: comparison with alpha 1B

The calcium channel beta 2a subunit was co-expressed with parental or chimeric alpha 1 subunits because this auxiliary subunit markedly attenuates the voltage-dependent inactivation of all alpha 1 subunits (Olcese et al., 1994). It therefore allows G-protein modulation of activation and current amplitudes to be compared in alpha 1E and other constructs without the interference of differing intrinsic calcium channel inactivation rates. Receptor-mediated calcium current inhibition was reconstructed in Xenopus oocytes by co-expressing the dopamine D2 receptor. Modulation was examined by determining the effect of a saturating concentration of quinpirole (100 nM) on IBa and the reversibility of the inhibition by a depolarizing prepulse. In parallel studies in COS-7 cells, G-protein modulation was studied by co-expression of Gbeta 1gamma 2 subunits and examination of the effect of a depolarizing prepulse on activation kinetics and amplitude of IBa.

IBa resulting from alpha 1B expression is strongly modulated both by endogenous G-protein activation and by co-expressed Gbeta 1gamma 2 in COS-7 cells (Page et al., 1997, 1998; Stephens et al., 1998a). The inhibition induced after dopamine D2 receptor activation by 100 nM quinpirole was ~50%, associated with a 7.5 mV depolarizing shift in the voltage for 50% activation (V50) of the current-voltage (I-V) relationship (Table 1). The activation rate of alpha 1B IBa was also significantly slowed by co-expression of Gbeta 1gamma 2 (Table 1). In contrast, we observed no modulation of alpha 1E(rbEII), co-expressed with alpha 2-delta and beta 2a, either by activation of dopamine D2 receptors in Xenopus oocytes or by co-expressed Gbeta 1gamma 2 in COS-7 cells (Table 1). Because it has recently been observed that modulation of human alpha 1E is only fully manifested in the absence of co-expressed beta  subunits and is prevented by co-expression of beta 2a (Yassin et al., 1996; Qin et al., 1997), we also examined whether there was any modulation of alpha 1E(rbEII) in the absence of co-expressed beta 2a. However, no modulation of alpha 1E(rbEII) was observed by quinpirole in the absence of exogenous beta  subunits (n = 6) (Fig. 2A).

We next examined whether the longer alpha 1E subunit (alpha 1Elong) showed the ability to be G-protein-modulated. When alpha 1Elong was expressed in oocytes (with alpha 2-delta and beta 2a), quinpirole (100 nM) caused an inhibition of IBa amplitude of ~26% at 0 mV (Fig. 2B, Table 1). This inhibition was associated with a significant depolarizing shift in the V50 for activation of IBa of 3.6 mV (Table 1) and was reversed by a depolarizing prepulse (Fig. 2B). However, the inhibition was significantly less than the modulation observed for alpha 1B (Fig. 2B, inset box; Table 1). We then examined whether the smaller quinpirole-induced inhibition of alpha 1Elong, compared with alpha 1B, was because of co-expression of beta 2a, but we observed 27.0 ± 2.6% (n = 7) inhibition by 100 nM quinpirole of alpha 1Elong in the absence of co-expressed Ca2+ channel beta  subunits. Furthermore, inhibition by quinpirole was not abolished when three times the normal amount of beta 2a cDNA was injected but remained at 22.2 ± 1.9% (n = 7).

Modulation of alpha 1Elong by co-expressed Gbeta gamma  subunits

When alpha 1Elong was co-expressed with Gbeta 1gamma 2 in COS-7 cells, there was a clear slowing of activation kinetics, compared with IBa recorded in control cells in the presence of GDPbeta S (Fig. 3A, Table 1), although again this was less than for alpha 1B. In Figure 3B, the voltage-dependence of the activation kinetics of alpha 1Elong are compared in the presence and absence of Gbeta 1gamma 2. Data for alpha 1E(rbEII), showing the lack of effect of Gbeta gamma co-expression, are also included for comparison. A depolarizing prepulse to +120 mV, applied 10 msec before the test pulse to activate the calcium channel current, is able to provide an estimate of the amount of tonic G-protein modulation attributable to co-expressed Gbeta gamma (Ikeda, 1996). In the presence of co-expressed Gbeta 1gamma 2, there was marked prepulse facilitation of the amplitude of alpha 1Elong (Fig. 3C, Table 1), whereas this was not seen in the absence of co-expressed Gbeta 1gamma 2 or for alpha 1E(rbEII) (Table 1). However, facilitation of alpha 1Elong in the presence of Gbeta gamma was significantly less than that observed for alpha 1B (Table 1).


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Figure 3.   G-protein modulation of alpha 1Elong expressed in COS-7 cells. alpha 1Elong was expressed with accessory VDCC alpha 2-delta and beta 2a subunits in the presence or absence of co-expressed Gbeta 1gamma 2. A, Examples of current density-voltage profiles for alpha 1Elong in a control cell in the presence of GDPbeta S to limit any tonic G-protein modulation (left), and a cell co-expressing Gbeta 1gamma 2 (right) (Vt = -40 to -10 mV, in 10 mV steps). B, Voltage-dependence of tau act for alpha 1Elong with co-expressed Gbeta 1gamma 2 (bullet , n = 10), alpha 1Elong in the presence of GDPbeta S (square , n = 7), and alpha 1E(rbEII) with co-expressed Gbeta 1gamma 2 (open circle , n = 5), * p < 0.01 compared with respective control. C, Example of facilitation of alpha 1Elong IBa in the presence of co-expressed Gbeta 1gamma 2 by a depolarizing prepulse to +120 mV, 10 msec before and immediately after equivalent test pulses P1 and P2, to test potentials (Vt) between -40 and -10 mV in 10 mV intervals. The voltage protocol is shown above the current traces. Facilitation was then determined as the P2/P1 ratio of the current amplitudes in P1 and P2 (Table 1).

Role of the N terminus of the VDCC alpha 1B subunit in G-protein-mediated inhibition

The inhibition of alpha 1B was significantly more extensive than that of alpha 1Elong, for all parameters measured relating to the extent of modulation both by receptor activation and by Gbeta 1gamma 2 co-expression (Table 1). Therefore, we next examined whether substitution of the corresponding N-terminal sequence from alpha 1B would confer further G-protein modulation on alpha 1E. There is a marked divergence of sequence when alpha 1B1-55 is compared with the N-terminal sequence of alpha 1Elong identified here, although the remaining 40 amino acids of the N-terminal tail, proximal to the first transmembrane domain, are highly conserved (Fig. 1). For this reason, a cDNA sequence corresponding to the first 55 amino acids from alpha 1B was added to alpha 1E(rbEII) to give the alpha 1bEEEE chimera (Fig. 4A). This construct exhibited a degree of G-protein modulation in oocytes that was similar, although somewhat greater throughout the potential range, to that of alpha 1Elong (Table 1; and compare boxed insets in Figs. 2B, 4A). The extent of inhibition by quinpirole (100 nM) was ~30% (Table 1), and there was a 4.2 mV depolarizing shift in the V50 for activation of IBa compared with control (Fig. 4B, Table 1). Similarly, in COS-7 cells, the slowing of activation kinetics with Gbeta 1gamma 2 was less than that seen with alpha 1B (Fig. 4C, Table 1), and the facilitation of alpha 1bEEEE IBa in the presence of Gbeta 1gamma 2, by a depolarizing prepulse, was also less than that shown by alpha 1B (Table 1).


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Figure 4.   G-protein modulation of an alpha 1E construct containing the N terminus of alpha 1B. A, The alpha 1 subunit construct in which the alpha 1B1-55 sequence was added to alpha 1E(rbEII) to form alpha 1bEEEE was expressed with accessory VDCC alpha 2-delta and beta 2a subunits in Xenopus oocytes (together with D2 receptors) or in COS-7 cells (together with Gbeta 1gamma 2 subunits). B, alpha 1bEEEE currents expressed in oocytes. Left panel, Example currents, control (1), plus quinpirole (2), and after a depolarizing prepulse in the presence of quinpirole (3). The voltage protocol is the same as shown in Figure 2A. Middle panel, Time course of inhibition by quinpirole. Right panel, I-V plot before (open circle ) and during (bullet ) quinpirole application (n = 9). The I-V data were fitted according to the legend to Figure 2. The boxed inset shows the voltage-dependence of the inhibition by quinpirole from the I-V data (open bars, n = 9). Data for alpha 1Elong (solid bars, n = 9) are plotted for comparison; * p < 0.05 (Student's t test). C, alpha 1bEEEE currents expressed in COS-7 cells. Left panel, Example current density-voltage profiles for control alpha 1bEEEE IBa in the presence of 2 mM GDPbeta S. Middle panel, alpha 1bEEEE IBa in the presence of Gbeta 1gamma 2 (Vt = -40 to -10 mV in 10 mV steps). Right panel, Voltage-dependence of tau act for alpha 1bEEEE in the presence (bullet , n = 5) or absence (open circle , n = 3) of co-expressed Gbeta 1gamma 2; * p < 0.01 compared with respective control.

Examination of the role of alpha 1B1-55 in G-protein modulation of alpha 1B

Because G-protein modulation was observed only in alpha 1Elong and alpha 1bEEEE and not in the N-terminal truncated isoform alpha 1E(rbEII), although the expression levels and biophysical properties of the currents were very similar (Table 1), we next examined whether alpha 1B1-55 also played an essential role in the G-protein modulation of alpha 1B. We therefore created an alpha 1B construct in which this N-terminal sequence was deleted (alpha 1BDelta N1-55) (Fig. 5A). The expression level of alpha 1BDelta N1-55 was similar to that of alpha 1B in both COS-7 cells and Xenopus oocytes (Table 1). However, this construct was no longer subject to modulation by 100 nM quinpirole in oocytes co-expressing the dopamine D2 receptor, either in the presence of co-injected beta 2a cDNA (Fig. 5B, Table 1) or in its absence (-0.6 ± 1.6% inhibition; n = 7). Similarly, there was no effect of Gbeta 1gamma 2 on the activation kinetics of IBa in COS-7 cells, compared with controls recorded in the presence of GDPbeta S (Fig. 5C, Table 1). Furthermore, there was no facilitation by a depolarizing prepulse of the amplitude of IBa in the presence of Gbeta 1gamma 2 (Table 1). These findings highlight the essential role of the alpha 1B1-55 sequence in G-protein inhibition, in terms of both slowed activation kinetics and inhibition of current amplitude.


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Figure 5.   Lack of G-protein modulation of an N-terminally truncated alpha 1B construct. A, The alpha 1 construct in which the alpha 1B1-55 sequence was deleted from alpha 1B to form alpha 1BDelta N1-55 was expressed with accessory VDCC alpha 2-delta and beta 2a subunits in Xenopus oocytes (together with D2 receptors) or in COS-7 cells (together with Gbeta 1gamma 2 subunits). B, alpha 1BDelta N1-55 currents expressed in oocytes. Left panel, Example currents, control (1), plus quinpirole (2), and after a depolarizing prepulse in the presence of quinpirole (3). The voltage protocol is the same as shown in Figure 2A. Middle panel, Time course of IBa amplitude during quinpirole application. Right panel, I-V plot before (open circle ) and during (bullet ) quinpirole application (n = 7). The I-V data were fitted according to the legend to Figure 2. C, alpha 1BDelta N1-55 currents expressed in COS-7 cells. Left panel, Example current density-voltage profiles in the absence or presence of Gbeta 1gamma 2 (Vt = -40 to -10 mV in 10 mV steps). Right panel, Voltage-dependence of tau act in the presence (bullet , n = 10) or absence (open circle , n = 7) of co-expressed Gbeta 1gamma 2.

Comparison of the reinhibition kinetics of alpha 1E(long) and alpha 1B

A characteristic feature of voltage-dependent G-protein modulation is that after a large depolarizing prepulse to remove modulation, the G-protein effect may be reinstated in a time- and voltage-dependent manner. The time constant of this reinhibition (tau reinhibition) can be determined from the exponential increase of current amplitude, when the duration of the interpulse interval (Delta t) between the depolarizing prepulse and test pulse is increased (Fig. 6). When this analysis was performed for the quinpirole-induced inhibition of alpha 1B and alpha 1Elong in oocytes, there was no difference in their reinhibition rates (measured at -100 mV, after a 50 msec depolarizing prepulse to +100 mV). The tau reinhibition was 96.6 ± 5.9 msec (n = 9) for alpha 1B and 93.5 ± 5.4 msec (n = 9) for alpha 1Elong. This result suggests that the binding site for Gbeta gamma shows a similar affinity in these two alpha 1 subunits.


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Figure 6.   Reinhibition kinetics of alpha 1Elong and alpha 1B. Prepulses of 50 msec duration to +100 mV were applied, and the time between prepulse and test pulse to 0 mV (interpulse interval Delta t at -100 mV) was increased, in 10 msec steps, up to 220 msec. There was no difference between the tau reinhibition for alpha 1Elong (open circle , n = 9) and alpha 1B (bullet , n = 9) IBa.

    DISCUSSION
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials & Methods
Results
Discussion
References

The molecular determinants for the inhibition of neuronal VDCC alpha 1 subunits by Gbeta gamma have been the subject of intense investigation. However, there remains no consensus of opinion concerning the functional importance of biochemically identified Gbeta gamma -binding sites on the I-II loop and C terminus (De Waard et al., 1997; Page et al., 1997; Qin et al., 1997; Zamponi et al., 1997; for review, see Dolphin, 1998). Furthermore, there has been little agreement on the extent of modulation of the E-type VDCCs (Bourinet et al., 1996; Toth et al., 1996; Yassin et al., 1996; Mehrke et al., 1997; Page et al., 1997; Qin et al., 1997).

Existence of an extended N-terminal isoform of rat brain alpha 1E

We have demonstrated the presence of a longer isoform of rat brain alpha 1E (alpha 1Elong) in rat cerebellar granule cells. This has an N-terminal sequence extended by 50 amino acids compared with rbEII and shows extensive homology with the mouse, rabbit, and human alpha 1E sequences. The alpha 1Elong was the only isoform detected in rat brain, although we have no positive control for the two different forward primers in the reported 5' untranslated sequence of rbEII that were used (Fig. 1).

The rat alpha 1Elong isoform is G-protein-modulated

Initially, both rat and human alpha 1E were reported not to be modulated by G-proteins (Bourinet et al., 1996; Toth et al., 1996; Page et al., 1997). However, it then became clear that human alpha 1E was capable of being G-protein-modulated (Mehrke et al., 1997; Qin et al., 1997) but showed high sensitivity to functional antagonism by VDCC beta  subunits (Shekter et al., 1997), and particularly to beta 2a, which occluded G-protein modulation (Qin et al., 1997). This would also be a possible explanation for the lack of inhibition of alpha 1E(rbEII) by co-expressed Gbeta gamma or by activation of dopamine D2 receptors. However, a number of points argue against this explanation. First, the novel rat alpha 1Elong isoform identified here is clearly modulated despite the presence of beta 2a, and second, we also observed no receptor-mediated modulation of alpha 1E(rbEII) expressed in Xenopus oocytes in the absence of beta 2a. Thus, the presence of alpha 1E1-50 in alpha 1Elong confers G-protein sensitivity onto alpha 1E(rbEII). The alpha 1E clone has been suggested to be the molecular counterpart of the resistant R-type calcium current in cerebellar granule neurons, which makes up ~15-20% of the total calcium current in these cells (Randall and Tsien, 1995); however, it is not known whether R-type current shows G-protein modulation.

The alpha 1B1-55 sequence contributes to G-protein inhibition of alpha 1B

Our initial studies have shown that transfer of a sequence corresponding to alpha 1B1-483 (representing the N terminus, domain I, and the I-II loop of the alpha 1B subunit) into alpha 1E(rbEII) conferred both slowing of activation kinetics and reduction in current amplitude in response to either Gbeta gamma overexpression or activation of a G-protein-linked receptor (Stephens et al., 1998b), whereas a region corresponding to the IS6/I-II loop of alpha 1B conferred only partial slowing of activation kinetics, with no modulation of current amplitude (Page et al., 1997). The alpha 1E(rbEII) N-terminal tail is 55 amino acids shorter than that of alpha 1B, although the 40 amino acids that form the alpha 1E(rbEII) N-terminal tail do have a highly (82%) conserved counterpart in alpha 1B56-95 (Fig. 1). The present study provides compelling evidence for the involvement of alpha 1B1-55 in its G-protein modulation. Deletion of alpha 1B1-55 (forming the alpha 1BDelta N1-55 construct) renders the alpha 1B subunit, which exhibits the strongest degree of G-protein sensitivity of all the alpha 1 subunits, completely refractory to receptor-mediated inhibition and to the direct effect of Gbeta gamma overexpression. For both alpha 1E and alpha 1B, the biophysical properties of the truncated and N-terminal extended forms are very similar, suggesting that the truncation does not produce global structural changes. When the alpha 1B1-55 sequence was transferred to rbEII, the alpha 1bEEEE construct showed slowed activation kinetics and prepulse-induced facilitation in the presence of Gbeta gamma and receptor-mediated inhibition, but in these measures the G-protein modulation was less than that shown by alpha 1B itself. This suggests that other elements of alpha 1B are also important for its modulation. It is also relevant to compare alpha 1bEEEE with alpha 1Elong, which forms the backbone of the channel and was also less modulated than alpha 1B. In fact, alpha 1bEEEE was inhibited to a slightly greater extent than alpha 1Elong in all parameters measured. Thus, part of the basis for the greater intrinsic G-protein modulation of alpha 1B than alpha 1E is likely to be located within the first 55 amino acids of the N terminus, and part is located elsewhere in the first domain/I-II loop sequence of alpha 1, because we have shown that the alpha 1B-alpha 1E chimera containing alpha 1B1-483 (to the end of the I-II loop) is modulated by a similar extent as alpha 1B itself (Stephens et al., 1998b). Furthermore, alpha 1Elong was not further inhibited by quinpirole in the absence of exogenously expressed beta  subunits, whereas the difference in the extent of modulation between alpha 1A and alpha 1B was attenuated in the absence of co-expressed beta 3 subunits (Roche and Treistman, 1998).

Having implicated the N-terminal domains of alpha 1B and alpha 1Elong in their G-protein modulation, it is of interest to compare our results with those of a previous study of the determinants of G-protein modulation that compared a series of chimeras between alpha 1B and alpha 1A or alpha 1C (Zhang et al., 1996). However, in this paper, alpha 1B and all the constructs containing the alpha 1B first domain were composed of approximately the first 70 amino acids of alpha 1A ligated onto a truncated alpha 1B subunit, which was found to improve the expression of rat alpha 1B (Ellinor et al., 1994). In our study we report receptor-mediated inhibition of alpha 1B of ~50%, in line with most other reported values (Bourinet et al., 1996; Currie and Fox, 1997), all of which are higher than the inhibition of alpha 1B (~20%) seen by Zhang and co-workers (1996). Such an atypically small amount of receptor-mediated inhibition of alpha 1B might be explained by the overexpression of Gbeta gamma in their study, which will partially occlude agonist effects (Herlitze et al., 1996; Ikeda, 1996). However, given the role of alpha 1B1-55, these differences may also be attributable to the exchange of the alpha 1B N-terminal sequence for that of alpha 1A, a subunit that has been widely reported to be more weakly G-protein-modulated than alpha 1B (Bourinet et al., 1996). Nevertheless, a difference in modulation was still found between the alpha 1B construct used in their study and alpha 1A, indicating that other regions in domain I are of importance (Zhang et al., 1996).

Comparison of reinhibition kinetics of alpha 1B and alpha 1Elong

Zhang et al. (1996) proposed that the weaker modulation of the alpha 1A subunit relative to alpha 1B is attributable to an increased rate of dissociation of Gbeta gamma from alpha 1A than from alpha 1B; however, differing results were obtained in another expression study (Roche and Treistman, 1998). Furthermore, when N and P/Q currents, which are their native counterparts, were compared in chromaffin cells, no difference in reinhibition kinetics was observed (Currie and Fox, 1997). In the present study, we found that although G-protein inhibition of alpha 1Elong was significantly less than that of alpha 1B, their reinhibition kinetics were very similar. Thus, our findings may be more consistent with intrinsic differences existing between these alpha 1 subunits in terms of Gbeta gamma efficacy. One important caveat is the competitive role of accessory beta  subunits, which have been shown to differentially affect G-protein-alpha 1 subunit interactions (Roche and Treistman, 1998). However, even in the absence of exogenous beta  subunits, quinpirole inhibition of alpha 1Elong remained significantly less than that of alpha 1B, although differential effects of the endogenous oocyte beta 3 (Tareilus et al., 1997) cannot be discounted.

Molecular mechanism of G-protein inhibition

Our findings implicating the N terminus of alpha 1B and alpha 1E subunits in G-protein modulation prompt a reevaluation of the composition of the Gbeta gamma binding site. An unanswered question is whether the N-terminal region comprises a Gbeta gamma binding site or whether it contributes an element to a multifaceted site, in which high-affinity Gbeta gamma binding occurs elsewhere, and the N-terminal region contributes to the functional consequences of binding. Some evidence against the former possibility comes from Qin et al. (1997), who found no high-affinity binding of purified Gbeta gamma subunits to a fusion protein containing N-terminal amino acids 1-89 of human alpha 1E, which has a high degree of homology with the corresponding sequence of rat brain alpha 1Elong (Fig. 1). It is therefore unlikely, although not impossible, that Gbeta gamma binding would differ significantly between such highly conserved sequences. Gbeta gamma subunits are capable of binding to the I-II loop of alpha 1A, alpha 1B, and alpha 1E and to the C terminus of alpha 1E and possibly other alpha 1 subunits; therefore, it is likely that one (or both) of these elements contributes to a multicomponent site. Recent evidence supports the hypothesis that different elements may also contribute to VDCC alpha 1-beta binding sites, with the demonstration that some beta  subunits (beta 2a and beta 4) may bind at two sites on the alpha 1 subunit, one of high affinity (I-II loop) and the other of much lower affinity (C-terminal tail) (Walker et al., 1998). Any interaction between Gbeta gamma or the VDCC beta  subunit and the alpha 1 N-terminal tail may be of a secondary, low-affinity nature, or the N-terminal tail may be essential for subsequent inhibition of the channel gating.

    FOOTNOTES

Received Feb. 19, 1998; revised April 6, 1998; accepted April 10, 1998.

This work was supported by The Wellcome Trust and the European Community (Marie Curie Fellowship to C.C.). We thank the following for generous gifts of cDNAs: T. Snutch (University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada), alpha 1E(rbEII); H. Chin (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD), alpha 2-delta ; Y. Mori (Seriken, Okazaki, Japan), alpha 1B; E. Perez-Reyes (Loyola, New Orleans, LA), beta 2a; P. G. Strange (Reading, UK), rat D2 receptor; M. Simon (CalTech, CA), Gbeta 1 and Ggamma 2; T. Hughes (Yale, New Haven, CT), mut-3 GFP; and Genetics Institute (CA), pMT2. We thank I. Tedder, M. Li, and J. May for technical assistance, and J. Millar and A. G. Jones for the cerebellar granule cells. This work benefited from the use of the Seqnet facility (Daresbury, UK).

Correspondence should be addressed to Professor A. C. Dolphin, Department of Pharmacology (Medawar Building), University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.

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Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials & Methods
Results
Discussion
References

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J. Biol. Chem., December 15, 2000; 275(51): 39846 - 39854.
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M. Kinoshita, T. Nukada, T. Asano, Y. Mori, A. Akaike, M. Satoh, and S. Kaneko
Binding of Galpha o N Terminus Is Responsible for the Voltage-resistant Inhibition of alpha 1A (P/Q-type, Cav2.1) Ca2+ Channels
J. Biol. Chem., July 27, 2001; 276(31): 28731 - 28738.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


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