Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Brief Communications Arising
  • Published:

Rahman et al. reply

Abstract

Replying to H. Vais, J. K. Foskett & D.-O. D. Mak Nature 478, doi:10.1038/nature10493 (2011)

We observe that under conditions designed to mimic those of an unstimulated cell, InsP3 causes InsP3R to assemble rapidly and reversibly into small clusters of about 4–5 channels, and that gating of lone and clustered InsP3R by InsP3 and Ca2+ is different. We speculate that dynamic assembly of InsP3R clusters by InsP3 may contribute to the genesis of elementary Ca2+ release events by both assembling clusters and re-tuning the behaviour of InsP3R within them1,2,3. Vais et al.4 report that they have been unable to replicate some of our findings.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: InsP 3 -evoked clustering of InsP 3 R alters their gating.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Rahman, T. U., Skupin, A., Falcke, M. & Taylor, C. W. Clustering of InsP3 receptors by InsP3 retunes their regulation by InsP3 and Ca2+ . Nature 458, 655–659 (2009)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. Rahman, T. & Taylor, C. W. Dynamic regulation of IP3 receptor clustering and activity by IP3 . Channels 3, 226–232 (2009)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Taylor, C. W. & Tovey, S. C. IP3 receptors: toward understanding their activation. Cold Spring Harb. Perspect. Biol. 2, a004010 (2010)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Vais, H., Foskett, J. K. & Mak, D.-O. D . InsP3R channel gating altered by clustering? Nature 478, 10.1038/nature10493 (2011).

  5. Vais, H. et al. Redox-regulated heterogeneous thresholds for ligand recruitment among InsP3R Ca2+-release channels. Biophys. J. 99, 407–416 (2010)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Ionescu, L. et al. Graded recruitment and inactivation of single InsP3 receptor Ca2+-release channels: implications for quantal Ca2+ release. J. Physiol. (Lond.) 573, 645–662 (2006)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Mak, D.-O. D., White, C., Ionescu, L. & Foskett, J. K. in Calcium Signaling (ed. Putney, J. W., Jr ) 203–229 (Taylor and Francis, 2006)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Vais, H., Foskett, J. K. & Mak, D. O. Unitary Ca2+ current through recombinant type 3 InsP3 receptor channels under physiological ionic conditions. J. Gen. Physiol. 136, 687–700 (2010)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

T.R. performed the experiments and, with C.W.T., analysed the data. C.W.T. and T.R. wrote the paper with input from A.S. and M.F. The project was directed by C.W.T.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Colin W. Taylor.

PowerPoint slides

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Rahman, T., Skupin, A., Falcke, M. et al. Rahman et al. reply. Nature 478, E2–E3 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10494

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10494

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing