Preferential assembly of heteromeric kainate and AMPA receptor amino terminal domains

  1. Huaying Zhao  Is a corresponding author
  2. Suvendu Lomash
  3. Sagar Chittori
  4. Carla Glasser
  5. Mark L Mayer  Is a corresponding author
  6. Peter Schuck  Is a corresponding author
  1. National Institutes of Health, United States

Abstract

Ion conductivity and the gating characteristics of tetrameric glutamate receptor ion channels are determined by their subunit composition. Competitive homo- and hetero-dimerization of their amino-terminal domains (ATDs) is a key step controlling assembly. Here we measured systematically the thermodynamic stabilities of homodimers and heterodimers of kainate and AMPA receptors using fluorescence-detected sedimentation velocity analytical ultracentrifugation. Measured affinities span many orders of magnitude, and complexes show large differences in kinetic stabilities. The association of kainate receptor ATD dimers is generally weaker than the association of AMPA receptor ATD dimers, but both show a general pattern of increased heterodimer stability as compared to the homodimers of their constituents, matching well physiologically observed receptor combinations. The free energy maps of AMPA and kainate receptor ATD dimers provide a framework for the interpretation of observed receptor subtype combinations and possible assembly pathways.

Article and author information

Author details

  1. Huaying Zhao

    Dynamics of Molecular Assembly Section, Laboratory of Cellular Imaging and Macromolecular Biophysics, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, United States
    For correspondence
    zhaoh3@mail.nih.gov
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  2. Suvendu Lomash

    Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Neurophysiology, Porter Neuroscience Research Center, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  3. Sagar Chittori

    Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Neurophysiology, Porter Neuroscience Research Center, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
    ORCID icon "This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0003-1417-6552
  4. Carla Glasser

    Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Neurophysiology, Porter Neuroscience Research Center, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  5. Mark L Mayer

    Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Neurophysiology, Porter Neuroscience Research Center, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, United States
    For correspondence
    mark.mayer@nih.gov
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  6. Peter Schuck

    Dynamics of Molecular Assembly Section, Laboratory of Cellular Imaging and Macromolecular Biophysics, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, United States
    For correspondence
    schuckp@mail.nih.gov
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
    ORCID icon "This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0002-8859-6966

Funding

National Institutes of Health (ZIA EB000008-11)

  • Peter Schuck

The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.

Reviewing Editor

  1. Gary L Westbrook, Vollum Institute, United States

Version history

  1. Received: September 15, 2017
  2. Accepted: October 22, 2017
  3. Accepted Manuscript published: October 23, 2017 (version 1)
  4. Accepted Manuscript updated: October 25, 2017 (version 2)
  5. Version of Record published: November 1, 2017 (version 3)

Copyright

This is an open-access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication.

Metrics

  • 1,295
    views
  • 257
    downloads
  • 19
    citations

Views, downloads and citations are aggregated across all versions of this paper published by eLife.

Download links

A two-part list of links to download the article, or parts of the article, in various formats.

Downloads (link to download the article as PDF)

Open citations (links to open the citations from this article in various online reference manager services)

Cite this article (links to download the citations from this article in formats compatible with various reference manager tools)

  1. Huaying Zhao
  2. Suvendu Lomash
  3. Sagar Chittori
  4. Carla Glasser
  5. Mark L Mayer
  6. Peter Schuck
(2017)
Preferential assembly of heteromeric kainate and AMPA receptor amino terminal domains
eLife 6:e32056.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.32056

Share this article

https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.32056

Further reading

    1. Cell Biology
    2. Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics
    Shun Kai Yang, Shintaroh Kubo ... Khanh Huy Bui
    Research Article

    Acetylation of α-tubulin at the lysine 40 residue (αK40) by αTAT1/MEC-17 acetyltransferase modulates microtubule properties and occurs in most eukaryotic cells. Previous literatures suggest that acetylated microtubules are more stable and damage resistant. αK40 acetylation is the only known microtubule luminal post-translational modification site. The luminal location suggests that the modification tunes the lateral interaction of protofilaments inside the microtubule. In this study, we examined the effect of tubulin acetylation on the doublet microtubule (DMT) in the cilia of Tetrahymena thermophila using a combination of cryo-electron microscopy, molecular dynamics, and mass spectrometry. We found that αK40 acetylation exerts a small-scale effect on the DMT structure and stability by influencing the lateral rotational angle. In addition, comparative mass spectrometry revealed a link between αK40 acetylation and phosphorylation in cilia.

    1. Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics
    Sebastian Jojoa-Cruz, Adrienne E Dubin ... Andrew B Ward
    Research Advance

    The dimeric two-pore OSCA/TMEM63 family has recently been identified as mechanically activated ion channels. Previously, based on the unique features of the structure of OSCA1.2, we postulated the potential involvement of several structural elements in sensing membrane tension (Jojoa-Cruz et al., 2018). Interestingly, while OSCA1, 2, and 3 clades are activated by membrane stretch in cell-attached patches (i.e. they are stretch-activated channels), they differ in their ability to transduce membrane deformation induced by a blunt probe (poking). Here, in an effort to understand the domains contributing to mechanical signal transduction, we used cryo-electron microscopy to solve the structure of Arabidopsis thaliana (At) OSCA3.1, which, unlike AtOSCA1.2, only produced stretch- but not poke-activated currents in our initial characterization (Murthy et al., 2018). Mutagenesis and electrophysiological assessment of conserved and divergent putative mechanosensitive features of OSCA1.2 reveal a selective disruption of the macroscopic currents elicited by poking without considerable effects on stretch-activated currents (SAC). Our results support the involvement of the amphipathic helix and lipid-interacting residues in the membrane fenestration in the response to poking. Our findings position these two structural elements as potential sources of functional diversity within the family.