Interaction of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase in the light-induced rod alpha-transducin translocation

The light-dependent subcellular translocation of rod alpha-transducin (GNAT-1, or rod Tα) has been well documented. In dark-adapted animals, rod Tα (rTα) is predominantly located in the rod outer segment (ROS) and translocates into the rod inner segment (RIS) upon exposure to the light. Neither the molecular participants nor the mechanism(s) involved in this protein trafficking are known. We hypothesized that other proteins must interact with rTα to affect the translocations. Using the MBP-rTα fusion pulldown assay, the yeast two-hybrid assay and the co-immunoprecipitation assay, we identified glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and rTα as interacting proteins. Immunoprecipitation also showed β-actin associates with rTα in the dark but not in the light. To further investigate the involvement of GAPDH in light-induced rod Tα translocation, GAPDH mRNA was knocked down in vivo by transient expression of siRNAs in rat photoreceptor cells. Under completely dark- and light-adapted conditions, the translocation of rTα was not significantly different within the 'GAPDH knock-down photoreceptor cells' compared to the non-transfected control cells. However, under partial dark-adaptation, rTα translocated more slowly in the 'GAPDH knock-down cells' supporting the conclusion that GAPDH is involved in rTα translocation from the RIS to the ROS during dark adaptation.