A functional nuclear localization sequence in the C. elegans TRPV channel OCR-2

PLoS One. 2011;6(9):e25047. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0025047. Epub 2011 Sep 21.

Abstract

The ability to modulate gene expression in response to sensory experience is critical to the normal development and function of the nervous system. Calcium is a key activator of the signal transduction cascades that mediate the process of translating a cellular stimulus into transcriptional changes. With the recent discovery that the mammalian Ca(v)1.2 calcium channel can be cleaved, enter the nucleus and act as a transcription factor to control neuronal gene expression, a more direct role for the calcium channels themselves in regulating transcription has begun to be appreciated. Here we report the identification of a nuclear localization sequence (NLS) in the C. elegans transient receptor potential vanilloid (TRPV) cation channel OCR-2. TRPV channels have previously been implicated in transcriptional regulation of neuronal genes in the nematode, although the precise mechanism remains unclear. We show that the NLS in OCR-2 is functional, being able to direct nuclear accumulation of a synthetic cargo protein as well as the carboxy-terminal cytosolic tail of OCR-2 where it is endogenously found. Furthermore, we discovered that a carboxy-terminal portion of the full-length channel can localize to the nucleus of neuronal cells. These results suggest that the OCR-2 TRPV cation channel may have a direct nuclear function in neuronal cells that was not previously appreciated.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Active Transport, Cell Nucleus
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / enzymology
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / genetics
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / metabolism*
  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / chemistry*
  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / metabolism*
  • Cell Nucleus / metabolism
  • Cytoplasm / metabolism
  • Gene Expression Regulation
  • Ion Channels / chemistry*
  • Ion Channels / metabolism*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins / chemistry*
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins / metabolism*
  • Neurons / cytology
  • Neurons / metabolism
  • Nuclear Localization Signals / chemistry
  • Nuclear Localization Signals / metabolism*
  • Receptors, Odorant / metabolism
  • TRPV Cation Channels

Substances

  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins
  • Ion Channels
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins
  • Nuclear Localization Signals
  • OCR-2 protein, C elegans
  • ODR-10 protein, C elegans
  • Receptors, Odorant
  • TRPV Cation Channels