Calcium-binding protein 1 is an inhibitor of agonist-evoked, inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-mediated calcium signaling.

Intracellular calcium signals are responsible for initiating a spectrum of physiological responses. The caldendrins/calcium-binding proteins (CaBPs) represent mammal-specific members of the CaM superfamily. CaBPs display a restricted pattern of expression in neuronal/retinal tissues, suggesting a specialized role in Ca2+ signaling in these cell types. Recently, it was reported that a splice variant of CaBP1 functionally interacts with inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3) receptors to elicit channel activation in the absence of InsP3 (Yang, J., McBride, S., Mak, D.-O. D., Vardi, N., Palczewski, K., Haeseleer, F., and Foskett, J. K. (2002) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 99, 7711-7716). These data indicate a new mode of InsP3 receptor modulation and hence control of intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) in neuronal tissues. We have analyzed the biochemistry of the long form splice variant of CaBP1 (L-CaBP1) and show that, in vitro, a recombinant form of the protein is able to bind Ca2+ with high affinity and undergo a conformational change. We also describe the localization of endogenous and overexpressed L-CaBP1 in the model neuroendocrine PC12 cell system, where it was associated with the plasma membrane and Golgi complex in a myristoylation-dependent manner. Furthermore, we show that overexpressed L-CaBP1 is able to substantially suppress rises in [Ca2+]i in response to physiological agonists acting on purinergic receptors and that this inhibition is due in large part to blockade of release from intracellular Ca2+ stores. The related protein neuronal calcium sensor-1 was without effect on the [Ca2+]i responses to agonist stimulation. Measurement of [Ca2+] within the ER of permeabilized PC12 cells demonstrated that LCaBP1 directly inhibited InsP3-mediated Ca2+ release. Expression of L-CaBP1 also inhibited histamine-induced [Ca2+]i oscillations in HeLa cells. Together, these data suggest that L-CaBP1 is able to specifically regulate InsP3 receptor-mediated alterations in [Ca2+]i during agonist stimulation.