A novel calcineurin-interacting protein, CNP-3, modulates calcineurin deficient phenotypes in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Calcineurin (Cn) is a calcium/calmodulin-dependent serine/threonine protein phosphatase that has diverse functions in different cell types and organisms. We screened proteins interacting with the C. elegans CnA homolog, TAX-6, by the yeast two-hybrid system. CNP-3 (Calcineurin interacting protein-3) is a novel protein that physically interacts with the catalytic domain of TAX-6. It is strongly expressed in the nuclei of intestine, hypodermis, dorsal uterine regions and spermatheca. Expression begins around the 60-cell stage and proceeds during all larval stages and the adult. To elucidate the biological function of cnp-3 we isolated a cnp-3 deletion mutant. Since CNP-3 binds CnA, we looked at factors associated with calcineurin loss-of-function mutants, such as brood size, body size, serotonin- and levamisole-mediated egg-laying behavior. The cnp-3(jh145) single mutant had no gross defects compared to wild-type animal. However, the phenotypes of the double mutants, tax-6(p675);cnp-3(jh145) and cnb-1(jh103);cnp-3(jh145), were more severe in terms of brood size, body size and serotonin-mediated egg-laying defects than tax-6(p675) and cnb-1(jh103), respectively. These results suggest that dysfunction of cnp-3 enhances certain calcineurin loss-of-function phenotypes in C. elegans.