Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, The Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, Illinois, United States of America.
PLoS Genet. 2010 Aug 26;6(8):e1001077. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1001077.
The large conductance, voltage- and calcium-dependent potassium (BK) channel serves as a major negative feedback regulator of calcium-mediated physiological processes and has been implicated in muscle dysfunction and neurological disorders. In addition to membrane depolarization, activation of the BK channel requires a rise in cytosolic calcium. Localization of the BK channel near calcium channels is therefore critical for its function. In a genetic screen designed to isolate novel regulators of the Caenorhabditis elegans BK channel, SLO-1, we identified ctn-1, which encodes an α-catulin homologue with homology to the cytoskeletal proteins α-catenin and vinculin. ctn-1 Mutants resemble slo-1 loss-of-function mutants, as well as mutants with a compromised dystrophin complex. We determined that CTN-1 uses two distinct mechanisms to localize SLO-1 in muscles and neurons. In muscles, CTN-1 utilizes the dystrophin complex to localize SLO-1 channels near L-type calcium channels. In neurons, CTN-1 is involved in localizing SLO-1 to a specific domain independent of the dystrophin complex. Our results demonstrate that CTN-1 ensures the localization of SLO-1 within calcium nanodomains, thereby playing a crucial role in muscles and neurons.
大电导、电压和钙依赖性钾 (BK) 通道是钙介导的生理过程的主要负反馈调节剂,与肌肉功能障碍和神经紊乱有关。除了膜去极化外,BK 通道的激活还需要细胞浆钙离子的增加。因此,BK 通道在钙通道附近的定位对于其功能至关重要。在一个旨在分离新型调控线虫 BK 通道 SLO-1 的基因筛选中,我们发现了 ctn-1,它编码一种与细胞骨架蛋白 α-连环蛋白和 vinculin 同源的 α-微管蛋白同源物。ctn-1 突变体类似于 slo-1 功能丧失突变体,以及与营养不良复合物受损的突变体。我们确定 CTN-1 利用两种不同的机制将 SLO-1 定位于肌肉和神经元中。在肌肉中,CTN-1 利用营养不良复合物将 SLO-1 通道定位于 L 型钙通道附近。在神经元中,CTN-1 参与将 SLO-1 定位于一个独立于营养不良复合物的特定区域。我们的结果表明,CTN-1 确保了 SLO-1 在钙纳米域内的定位,从而在肌肉和神经元中发挥了关键作用。