Structural and Functional Similarities of Calcium Homeostasis Modulator 1 (CALHM1) Ion Channel with Connexins,Pannexins, and Innexins |
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Authors: | Adam P. Siebert Zhongming Ma Jeremy D. Grevet Angelo Demuro Ian Parker J. Kevin Foskett |
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Affiliation: | From the Departments of ‡Physiology and ;¶Cell and Developmental Biology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-6085 and ;the §Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, California 92697 |
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Abstract: | CALHM1 (calcium homeostasis modulator 1) forms a plasma membrane ion channel that mediates neuronal excitability in response to changes in extracellular Ca2+ concentration. Six human CALHM homologs exist with no homology to other proteins, although CALHM1 is conserved across >20 species. Here we demonstrate that CALHM1 shares functional and quaternary and secondary structural similarities with connexins and evolutionarily distinct innexins and their vertebrate pannexin homologs. A CALHM1 channel is a hexamer, comprised of six monomers, each of which possesses four transmembrane domains, cytoplasmic amino and carboxyl termini, an amino-terminal helix, and conserved extracellular cysteines. The estimated pore diameter of the CALHM1 channel is ∼14 Å, enabling permeation of large charged molecules. Thus, CALHMs, connexins, and pannexins and innexins are structurally related protein families with shared and distinct functional properties. |
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Keywords: | Biophysics Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) Ion Channels Neurobiology Oocyte Single Molecule Biophysics Dye Transfer Ion Permeation Photobleaching Topology |
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