TY - JOUR TI - ERG-28 controls BK channel trafficking in the ER to regulate synaptic function and alcohol response in C. elegans AU - Oh, Kelly H AU - Haney, James J AU - Wang, Xiaohong AU - Chuang, Chiou-Fen AU - Richmond, Janet E AU - Kim, Hongkyun A2 - Hobert, Oliver VL - 6 PY - 2017 DA - 2017/02/07 SP - e24733 C1 - eLife 2017;6:e24733 DO - 10.7554/eLife.24733 UR - https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.24733 AB - Voltage- and calcium-dependent BK channels regulate calcium-dependent cellular events such as neurotransmitter release by limiting calcium influx. Their plasma membrane abundance is an important factor in determining BK current and thus regulation of calcium-dependent events. In C. elegans, we show that ERG-28, an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane protein, promotes the trafficking of SLO-1 BK channels from the ER to the plasma membrane by shielding them from premature degradation. In the absence of ERG-28, SLO-1 channels undergo aspartic protease DDI-1-dependent degradation, resulting in markedly reduced expression at presynaptic terminals. Loss of erg-28 suppressed phenotypic defects of slo-1 gain-of-function mutants in locomotion, neurotransmitter release, and calcium-mediated asymmetric differentiation of the AWC olfactory neuron pair, and conferred significant ethanol-resistant locomotory behavior, resembling slo-1 loss-of-function mutants, albeit to a lesser extent. Our study thus indicates that the control of BK channel trafficking is a critical regulatory mechanism for synaptic transmission and neural function. KW - alcohol KW - BK channel KW - synaptic transmission JF - eLife SN - 2050-084X PB - eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd ER -