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  • The EMBO Journal (2002) 21, 2547 - 2556
  • doi:10.1093/emboj/21.11.2547

Ca2+ sensor S100bold beta-modulated sites of membrane guanylate cyclase in thephotoreceptor-bipolar synapse

Teresa Duda1,4, Karl-Wilhelm Koch2,4, Venkateswar Venkataraman1, Christian Lange2, Michael Beyermann3 and Rameshwar K. Sharma1

  1. The Unit of Regulatory and Molecular Biology, Departments of Cell Biology and Ophthalmology, NJMS & SOM, UMDNJ, Stratford, NJ 08084, USA
  2. Institut für Biologische Informationsverarbeitung-1, Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich, Germany
  3. Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie, D-10315 Berlin, Germany
  4. T.Duda and K.-W.Koch contributed equally to this work

Correspondence to:

Rameshwar K. Sharma, E-mail: sharmark@umdnj.edu

Received 10 January 2002; Accepted 5 April 2002; Revised 2 April 2002

This study documents the identity of a calcium- regulated membrane guanylate cyclase transduction system in the photoreceptor-bipolar synaptic region. The guanylate cyclase is the previously characterized ROS-GC1 from the rod outer segments and its modulator is S100beta. S100beta senses increments in free Ca2+ and stimulates the cyclase. Specificity of photoreceptor guanylate cyclase activation by S100beta is validated by the identification of two S100beta-regulatory sites. A combination of peptide competition, surface plasmon resonance binding and deletion mutation studies has been used to show that these sites are specific for S100beta and not for another regulator of ROS-GC1, guanylate cyclase-activating protein 1. One site comprises amino acids (aa) Gly962–Asn981, the other, aa Ile1030–Gln1041. The former represents the binding site. The latter binds S100beta only marginally, yet it is critical for control of maximal cyclase activity. The findings provide evidence for a new cyclic GMP transduction system in synaptic layers and thereby extend existing concepts of how a membrane-bound guanylate cyclase is regulated by small Ca2+-sensor proteins.

  • Keywords:

    • calcium,
    • membrane guanylate cyclase,
    • retinal synapse,
    • ROS-GC1,
    • S100beta