TY - JOUR TI - A comprehensive search for calcium binding sites critical for TMEM16A calcium-activated chloride channel activity AU - Tien, Jason AU - Peters, Christian J AU - Wong, Xiu Ming AU - Cheng, Tong AU - Jan, Yuh Nung AU - Jan, Lily Yeh AU - Yang, Huanghe A2 - Aldrich, Richard VL - 3 PY - 2014 DA - 2014/06/30 SP - e02772 C1 - eLife 2014;3:e02772 DO - 10.7554/eLife.02772 UR - https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.02772 AB - TMEM16A forms calcium-activated chloride channels (CaCCs) that regulate physiological processes such as the secretions of airway epithelia and exocrine glands, the contraction of smooth muscles, and the excitability of neurons. Notwithstanding intense interest in the mechanism behind TMEM16A-CaCC calcium-dependent gating, comprehensive surveys to identify and characterize potential calcium sensors of this channel are still lacking. By aligning distantly related calcium-activated ion channels in the TMEM16 family and conducting systematic mutagenesis of all conserved acidic residues thought to be exposed to the cytoplasm, we identify four acidic amino acids as putative calcium-binding residues. Alterations of the charge, polarity, and size of amino acid side chains at these sites alter the ability of different divalent cations to activate the channel. Furthermore, TMEM16A mutant channels containing double cysteine substitutions at these residues are sensitive to the redox potential of the internal solution, providing evidence for their physical proximity and solvent accessibility. KW - TMEM16 channel KW - calcium activated chloride channel KW - calcium binding site KW - TMEM16A channel KW - ANO1 channel KW - calcium dependent activation JF - eLife SN - 2050-084X PB - eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd ER -