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PubMed2000

Regulation of RYR1 activity by Ca(2+) and calmodulin.

The skeletal muscle calcium release channel (RYR1) is a Ca(2+)-binding protein that is regulated by another Ca(2+)-binding protein, calmodulin. The functional consequences of calmodulin's interaction with RYR1 are dependent on Ca(2+) concentration. At nanomolar Ca(2+) concentrations, calmodulin is an activator, but at micromolar Ca(2+) concentrations, calmodulin is an inhibitor of RYR1. This raises the question of whether the Ca(2+)-dependent effects of calmodulin on RYR1 function are due to Ca(2+) binding to calmodulin, RYR1, or both. To distinguish the effects of Ca(2+) binding to calmodulin from those of Ca(2+) binding to RYR1, a mutant calmodulin that cannot bind Ca(2+) was used to evaluate the effects of Ca(2+)-free calmodulin on Ca(2+)-bound RYR1. We demonstrate that Ca(2+)-free calmodulin enhances the affinity of RYR1 for Ca(2+) while Ca(2+) binding to calmodulin converts calmodulin from an activator to an inhibitor. Furthermore, Ca(2+) binding to RYR1 enhances its affinity for both Ca(2+)-free and Ca(2+)-bound calmodulin.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

The calmodulin binding domain of nitric oxide synthase and adenylyl cyclase.

Peptides corresponding to regions of the calmodulin-activated NO-synthase and of the calmodulin dependent adenylyl cyclase, which could represent the calmodulin binding domains of the two proteins, have been synthesized and tested for calmodulin binding. The chosen peptides were those in the sequence of the two proteins which most closely corresponded to the accepted general properties of the calmodulin binding domains, i.e., a hydrophobic sequence containing basic amino acids. In the case of the NO-synthase, the putative high-affinity calmodulin binding domain was identified by urea gel electrophoresis and fluorescence spectroscopy with dansylcalmodulin as peptide NO-30 (amino acids 725-754). The highest affinity calmodulin binding site of the calmodulin-dependent adenylyl cyclase was assigned to peptide AC-28 (amino acids 495-522) by titration with dansylcalmodulin and by the ability to inhibit the calmodulin-stimulated activity of purified calmodulin-stimulated adenylyl cyclase. The sequence 495-522 is located in the unit protruding into the cytosol from the sixth putative transmembrane domain of the molecule. It has the typical hydrophobic/basic composition of canonical calmodulin binding domains, and also contains, like most calmodulin binding domains, an aromatic amino acid in its N-terminal portion. It also contains two Cys residues in the central portion, which is an unusual feature of the calmodulin binding domain of this enzyme.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗
PubMed2002

alpha-Synuclein exhibits competitive interaction between calmodulin and synthetic membranes.

alpha-Synuclein, a pathological component of Parkinson's disease by constituting the Lewy bodies, has been suggested to be involved in membrane biogenesis via induction of amphipathic alpha-helices. Since the amphipathic alpha-helix is also known as a recognition signal of calmodulin for its target proteins, molecular interaction between alpha-synuclein and calmodulin has been investigated. By employing a chemical coupling reagent of N-(ethoxycarbonyl)-2-ethoxy-1,2-dihydroquinoline, alpha-synuclein has been shown to yield a heterodimeric 1 : 1 complex with calmodulin on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence and even absence of calcium, whereas beta-synuclein was more dependent upon calcium for its calmodulin interaction. The selective calmodulin interaction of alpha-synuclein in the absence of calcium was also demonstrated with the aggregation kinetics of the synucleins in which only the alpha-synuclein aggregation was affected by calmodulin. A reversible binding assay confirmed that alpha-synuclein interacted with the Ca2+-free as well as the Ca2+-bound calmodulins with almost identical Kds of 0.35 micro m and 0.31 micro m, respectively, while beta-synuclein preferentially recognized the Ca2+-bound form with a Kd of 0.68 micro m. By using a C-terminally truncated alpha-synuclein of alpha-syn97, the calmodulin binding site(s) on alpha-synuclein was(were) shown to be located on the N-terminal region where the amphipathic alpha-helices have been suggested to be induced upon membrane interaction. By employing liposome and calmodulin in a state of being either soluble or immobilized on agarose, actual competition of alpha-synuclein between membranes and calmodulin was demonstrated with the observation that alpha-synuclein previously bound to the liposome was released upon specific interaction with the calmodulins. Taken together, these data may suggest that alpha-synuclein could act not only as a negative regulator for calmodulin in the presence and even absence of calcium, but it could also exert its activity at the interface between calmodulin and membranes.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Calmodulin binds RalA and RalB and is required for the thrombin-induced activation of Ral in human platelets.

Ral GTPases may be involved in calcium/calmodulin-mediated intracellular signaling pathways. RalA and RalB are activated by calcium, and RalA binds calmodulin in vitro. It was examined whether RalA can bind calmodulin in vivo, whether RalB can bind calmodulin, and whether calmodulin is functionally involved in Ral activation. Yeast two-hybrid analyses demonstrated both Rals interact directly but differentially with calmodulin. Coimmunoprecipitation experiments determined that calmodulin and RalB form complexes in human platelets. In vitro pull-down experiments in platelets and in vitro binding assays showed endogenous Ral and calmodulin interact in a calcium-dependent manner. Truncated Ral constructs determined in vitro and in vivo that RalA has an additional calmodulin binding domain to that previously described, that although RalB binds calmodulin, its C-terminal region is involved in partially inhibiting this interaction, and that in vitro RalA and RalB have an N-terminal calcium-independent and a C-terminal calcium-dependent calmodulin binding domain. Functionally, in vitro Ral-GTP pull-down experiments determined that calmodulin is required for the thrombin-induced activation of Ral in human platelets. We propose that differential binding of calmodulin by RalA and RalB underlies possible functional differences between the two proteins and that calmodulin is involved in the regulation of the activation of Ral-GTPases.

Blood Platelets↗
PubMed1990

Analysis of the molecular basis of calmodulin defects that affect ion channel-mediated cellular responses: site-specific mutagenesis and microinjection.

The ability of microinjected calmodulin to temporarily restore an ion channel-mediated behavioral phenotype of a calmodulin mutant in Paramecium tetraurelia (cam1) is dependent on the amino acid side chain that is present at residue 101, even when there is extensive variation in the rest of the amino acid sequence. Analysis of conservation of serine-101 in calmodulin suggests that the ability of calmodulin to regulate this ion channel-associated cell function may be a biological role of calmodulin that is widely distributed phylogenetically. A series of mutant calmodulins that differ only at residue-101 were produced by in vitro site-specific mutagenesis and expression in Escherichia coli, purified to chemical homogeneity, and tested for their ability to temporarily restore a wild-type behavioral phenotype to cam1 (pantophobiacA1) Paramecium. Calmodulins with glycine-101 or tyrosine-101 had minimal activity; calmodulins with phenylalanine-101 or alanine-101 had no detectable activity. However, as a standard of comparison, all of the calmodulins were able to activate a calmodulin-regulated enzyme, myosin light chain kinase, that is sensitive to point mutations elsewhere in the calmodulin molecule. Overall, these results support the hypothesis that the structural features of calmodulin required for the transduction of calcium signals varies with the particular pathway that is being regulated and provide insight into why inherited mutations of calmodulin at residue 101 are nonlethal and selective in their phenotypic effects.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2000

Calmodulin and HIV type 1: interactions with Gag and Gag products.

The level of calmodulin increases in cells expressing HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein. Although a calmodulin increase is bound to alter many cellular metabolic and signaling pathways, the benefits to the virus of these alterations must be indirect. However, the possibility exists that increased cellular calmodulin benefits the virus by directly associating with nonenvelope viral proteins. We have, therefore, investigated whether calmodulin can interact with HIV structural proteins Gag, p17, and p24. Calmodulin binds Gag and p17 but not p24 in (125)I-labeled calmodulin overlays of SDS-polyacrylamide gels. Removal of calcium by addition of EGTA eliminates this binding. A computer algorithm for predicting helical regions that should bind calmodulin predicts that there are two calmodulin-binding regions near the N terminus of p17. Intrinsic tryptophan fluorimetry shows that two peptides, each of which includes one of the predicted regions, bind calmodulin: p17(11-25) binds calmodulin with a 2-to-1 stoichiometry and dissociation constant of approximately 10(-9) M(2), and p17(31-46) also binds calmodulin with a dissociation constant of about 10(-9) M. These binding sites are nearly contiguous, forming an extended calmodulin-binding domain p17(11-46). In H-9 cells, Gag and calmodulin colocalize within the resolution of confocal light microscopy.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Static and kinetic studies of calmodulin and melittin complex.

Ca2+ binding to calmodulin triggers conformational change of the protein which induces exposure of hydrophobic surfaces. Melittin has been believed to bind to Ca(2+)-bound calmodulin through the exposed hydrophobic surfaces. However, tryptophan fluorescence measurements and gel chromatography experiments with the melittin-calmodulin system revealed that melittin bound to calmodulin at zero salt concentration even in the absence of Ca2+; addition of salt removed melittin from Ca(2+)-free calmodulin. This means not only the hydrophobic interaction but also the electrostatic interaction contributes to the melittin-calmodulin binding. The fluorescence stopped-flow studies of the dissociation reaction of melittin-calmodulin complex revealed that Ca2+ removal from the complex induced a conformational change of calmodulin, resulting in reduction of the hydrophobic interaction between melittin and calmodulin, but the electrostatic interaction kept melittin still bound to calmodulin for a subsecond lag period, after which melittin dissociated from calmodulin. The fluorescence stopped-flow experiments on the dissociation reaction of complex of melittin and tryptic fragment(s) of calmodulin revealed that the lag period of the melittin dissociation reaction was attributable to the interaction between the C-terminal half of calmodulin and the C-terminal region of melittin.

Calcium↗
PubMed1982

Ca2+-dependent binding of [3H]calmodulin to the microsomal fraction of brain.

The binding of calmodulin to a brain microsomal fraction rich in synaptic membranes and vesicles was studied using 3H-labeled calmodulin. The binding was Ca2+-dependent and highly specific to calmodulin since it was competitively displaced only by unlabeled calmodulin and not by 200-4,000-fold excess of other proteins that included troponin-C and S-100 protein. Within the physiological pH range, the specific binding, defined as the amount of bound [3H]calmodulin which is displacable by the addition of an excess of unlabeled calmodulin, agreed well with the Ca2+-dependent binding defined as the difference between the total binding in the presence of Ca2+ and the binding obtained with EGTA in place of Ca2+. Both binding activities appeared to be greatest at about pH 7.0. The binding, either specific or Ca2+-dependent, is a calmodulin concentration-dependent saturable process. The dose-dependent curve obtained for increasing concentrations of [3H]calmodulin agreed well with that obtained for mixtures of a fixed concentration of [3H]calmodulin and increasing concentrations of unlabeled calmodulin over the entire concentration range examined. The results serve as the basis for using [3H]calmodulin in binding studies. Scatchard plot analysis of the curve gave two different Kd values for calmodulin, 8.2 X 10(-8) and 5.3 X 10(-7) M. The corresponding maximum binding capacities were 1.0 X 10(14) and 1.6 X 10(14) calmodulin molecules per mg of microsomal protein, respectively. The binding ability of the microsomal fraction was completely abolished by prior treatment with proteolytic enzymes.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Altered methylation substrate kinetics and calcium binding of a calmodulin with a Val136-->Thr substitution.

Calmodulin is trimethylated on Lys115 by a specific calmodulin methyltransferase. Previously, it was shown that the cam2 mutant (Ile136-->Thr) of Paramecium has a decreased level of methylated Lys115 [Lukas, T. J., Friedman, M. W., Kung, C. & Watterson, D. M. (1989) Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 86, 7331-7335]. To investigate how this substitution affects calmodulin structure, function and recognition by the calmodulin methyltransferase, a calmodulin with a Thr136 substitution ([Thr136]calmodulin) was expressed in Escherichia coli in an unmethylated form for in vitro enzyme activator, calcium binding and methylation kinetic analyses. [Thr136]calmodulin was indistinguishable from wild-type calmodulin in saturating (1 mM) calcium in its ability to activate calmodulin-dependent enzymes and in its steady-state kinetic properties with isolated calmodulin methyltransferase. However, [Thr136]calmodulin did show two defects: a complete inability to be methylated in the absence of calcium; and defective calcium binding. As a result, an approximate 10-fold shift in the K0.5 values for calcium dependence of enzyme activation (shifted from 1.1 microM to 9.1 microM of Ca2+ for NAD kinase) and methylation (from 0.71 microM to 7.2 microM of Ca2+ in 0.15 M K+, 2 mM Mg2+) were observed. Non-denaturing electrophoresis and Tyr138 spectroscopic measurements suggest a difference in the conformation of the calcium-depleted structures of normal calmodulin and [Thr136]calmodulin. Overall, the results suggest that the mutation in this conserved position in the COOH-terminal hydrophobic core lowers calcium-binding affinity and alters the calcium-depleted structure leading to decreased methylation at physiological Ca2+ concentrations.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Modulation of calmodulin properties by amiodarone and its major metabolite desethylamiodarone.

Long-term amiodarone therapy is invariably associated with some side effects. Although its mechanism of action, as an antiarrhythmic drug is well understood, the side effect profile of amiodarone is not yet established. To determine possible mechanisms, the interaction of amiodarone and its major metabolite desethylamiodarone with calmodulin was investigated, since calmodulin is known to regulate Ca2+ transport, cell proliferation and the enzymes involved in signal transduction and nucleotide metabolism. The interaction between the drugs and calmodulin was studied by monitoring intrinsic tyrosine fluorescence of calmodulin and by using a fluorescent probe, N-phenyl-1-naphthylamine (NPN). 14C-Chlorpromazine displacement studies were conducted to differentiate the specific binding sites. The effect on the biological activity of calmodulin was determined with calmodulin dependent phosphodiesterase and Ca2(+)-ATPase. The dansyl calmodulin was used as fluorescent probe to study the effect of these drugs on complex formation between calmodulin and phosphodiesterase. Both amiodarone and desethylamiodarone decreased tyrosine fluorescence of calmodulin with IC50 of 4.9 and 4.4 microM respectively and these interactions were Ca2(+)-dependent. NPN fluorescence was also affected in a concentration dependent manner. These drugs also displaced bound 14C-chlorpromazine from calmodulin and the effect was biphasic. However, desethylamiodarone was more potent than amiodarone. The binding of 3H-amiodarone to calmodulin was modified by a variety of compounds, one class of compounds decreased and the other increased 3H-amiodarone binding to calmodulin. Only, desethylamiodarone inhibited the phosphodiesterase activation by calmodulin with IC50 of 13.2 microM without changing the basal enzyme.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Amiodarone↗
PubMed1980

Pharmacological regulation of calmodulin.

A number of psychotropic drugs, particularly the phenothiazines and related antipsychotic compounds, inhibit a variety of calmodulin-dependent enzymes. The mechanism by which these compounds inhibit the activity of calmodulin is through a selective calcium-dependent binding to this protein. With the notable exception of certain stereoisomers, compounds that are clinically effective antipsychotic agents showed the greatest degree of binding to calmodulin. Other classes of pharmacological agents, including aminergic agonists and antagonists, and nonspecific central nervous system depressants and stimulants, showed little or no binding to calmodulin. In fact, the specificity with which antipsychotic drugs bind to calmodulin suggests the possibility of screening for new and clinically more effective antipsychotic agents based on their selective binding to calmodulin. Certain neuropeptides that produce behavioral effects in animals also were found to inhibit the activity of calmodulin, suggesting that there may be endogenous psychotogens or antipsychotic peptides that interact with calmodulin. Although under ordinary conditions the binding of antipsychotics to calmodulin is reversible, the binding of phenothiazine antipsychotics to calmodulin can be made irreversible either photochemically by ultraviolet irradiation, or enzymatically by a hydrogen peroxide-peroxidase system. Such a labeling technique should prove to be a useful tool to study the localization and turnover of calmodulin. These results indicate that several of the diverse biochemical actions of antipsychotic agents can be explained by a common mechanism, namely, by their binding to and inhibition of calmodulin, and raise the possibility that calmodulin may serve as one of the cellular receptors for certain antipsychotic compounds. However, further studies must be completed before we can state with any degree of certainty that these in vitro biochemical findings can explain the pharmacological and clinical actions of the antipsychotics.

3',5'-Cyclic-AMP Phosphodiesterases↗
PubMed1984

Biosynthesis of calmodulin in normal and virus-transformed chicken embryo fibroblasts.

We report here that the higher levels of calmodulin in transformed chicken embryo fibroblasts are due to an increase in the rate of synthesis of calmodulin that results from an increased amount of calmodulin-specific mRNA in transformed cells. Transformation of several types of eucaryotic cells by oncogenic viruses results in a two- to threefold increase in the intracellular levels of calmodulin. We used the normal chicken embryo fibroblast and its Rous sarcoma virus-transformed counterpart to examine the biosynthesis of calmodulin. We show that the higher levels of calmodulin found in transformed fibroblasts appear to be the consequence of a selective increase in the rate of synthesis of calmodulin above that of total soluble or total cellular protein. A significant difference in the rate of degradation of calmodulin or total protein between transformed and normal cells was not detected. We also examined the mechanism of the increased synthesis rate of calmodulin and show that the levels of calmodulin mRNA are increased in transformed fibroblasts as measured by both translational activity and hybridization to a calmodulin cDNA probe. It is suggested by these data that the higher levels of calmodulin in transformed cells may result from a specific increase in the rate of either calmodulin gene transcription or mRNA processing.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Characteristics of calmodulin phosphorylation by the insulin receptor kinase.

Calmodulin is a substrate for the insulin receptor kinase. The time sequence of events resulting in insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of calmodulin was analyzed at a number of different insulin concentrations using partially purified solubilized insulin receptor preparations from rat adipocytes. The respective insulin concentrations needed to reach half-maximal binding, phosphorylation of the beta-subunit of the insulin receptor, and phosphorylation of calmodulin were 4.5 X 10(-10), 4.3 X 10(-10), and 3.9 X 10(-10) M, respectively. At all insulin concentrations, the time to reach 50% of the maximum (defined as the value obtained at 60 min) occurred in the sequence: insulin binding less than beta-subunit phosphorylation less than calmodulin phosphorylation. Insulin binding and beta-subunit phosphorylation occurred almost immediately, whereas there was a lag phase preceding calmodulin phosphorylation. Although stoichiometry was generally low under routine assay conditions (0.01-0.10 mol phosphate/mol calmodulin), it could be increased 4.3 +/- 0.5-fold (n = 5) by pretreating the calmodulin with 0.1 N NaOH. Insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of calmodulin was exclusively on tyrosine residues. The calmodulin molecule in animals contains only two tyrosine residues, located at positions 99 and 138. The amount of phosphate incorporation into a semisynthetic calmodulin (VU1) which contains only one of these tyrosine residues (tyrosine-138) was half that obtained with porcine or chicken calmodulin. Therefore, insulin, via its receptor kinase, stimulates the phosphorylation of calmodulin; calmodulin can be phosphorylated on both tyrosine residues 99 and 138.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1990

The role of calmodulin in the responses to adrenocorticotropin of plasma membranes from adrenal cells.

Inhibitors of calmodulin [trifluoperazine, chlorpromazine, pimozide, and calmidazolium N-(6-aminohexyl)5-chloro-1-napthalenesulphonamide (W7)] and calmodulin antibodies were used to investigate the role of calmodulin in the response of Y-1 mouse adrenal cells to ACTH, with particular reference to events in the plasma membrane. In whole cells it was found that two responses (production of steroids and cAMP) to two stimulating agents (ACTH and forskolin) were inhibited by trifluoperazine at concentrations consistent with those involved in binding of the inhibitor to pure calmodulin (10-25 microM). The steroidogenic responses were also inhibited by the three other inhibitors of calmodulin (chlorpromazine, calmidazolium, and W-7). Trifluoperazine and pimozide (1-500 microM) did not inhibit binding of an [125I]ACTH analog to highly purified plasma membranes of Y-1 cells or to the cells themselves. With Y-1 plasma membranes it was found that trifluoperazine, pimozide, W-7, and calmodulin antibodies inhibited the increase in adenylate cyclase activity in response to ACTH, but not the cyclase responses to cholera toxin or forskolin. Moreover, the effect of cholera toxin on the ADP-ribosylation of specific membrane substrates was independent of the presence or absence of endogenous and/or exogenous Ca2+/calmodulin. The response of adenylate cyclase to ACTH was also decreased in plasma membranes from which calmodulin was removed by washing, and exogenous calmodulin partly reversed this decrease. Anti-calmodulin immunoglobulin inhibited the stimulation of adenylate cyclase produced in plasma membrane by ACTH, but was without effect on the responses to cholera toxin and forskolin. Exogenous calmodulin partly reversed the inhibition of stimulation by ACTH of adenylate cyclase produced by the antibody. It is concluded that calmodulin influences the events taking place in the plasma membrane in response to ACTH, after the binding of the hormone to its receptor and before the action of the G protein (Gs). That is, calmodulin is involved in coupling the occupied receptor to Gs. The effects of inhibitors of calmodulin in whole cells must involve some additional effect(s) requiring the intact cell.

Adenosine Diphosphate Ribose↗
PubMed2000

Ca2+-calmodulin inhibits Ca2+ release mediated by type-1, -2 and -3 inositol trisphosphate receptors.

InsP(3) binding to type-1, but not type-3, InsP(3) receptors is inhibited by calmodulin in a Ca(2+)-independent fashion [Cardy and Taylor (1998) Biochem. J. 334, 447-455], and Ca(2+) mobilization by type-1 InsP(3) receptors of cerebellum is inhibited by calmodulin [Patel, Morris, Adkins, O'Beirne and Taylor (1997) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 94, 11627-11632]. Using cell types expressing predominantly type-1, -2 or -3 InsP(3) receptors, we show that InsP(3)-evoked Ca(2+) mobilization from each is similarly inhibited by calmodulin. In SH-SY5Y cells, which express largely type-1 receptors, calmodulin (IC(50) approximately 15 microM) inhibited InsP(3)-evoked Ca(2+) release only in the presence of Ca(2+). The inhibition was unaffected by calcineurin inhibitors. The effect of calmodulin did not result from enhanced metabolism of InsP(3) because calmodulin also decreased the sensitivity of the Ca(2+) stores to adenophostin A, a non-metabolizable InsP(3)-receptor agonist. Protein kinase A-catalysed phosphorylation of type-1 InsP(3) receptors was unaffected by Ca(2+)-calmodulin. Using a scintillation proximity assay to measure (125)I-calmodulin binding to glutathione S-transferase-fusion proteins, we identified two regions of the type-1 InsP(3) receptor (cyt1, residues -6 to 159; and cyt11, residues 1499-1649) that bound (125)I-calmodulin. The higher-affinity site (cyt11) was also photoaffinity labelled with N-hydroxysuccinimidyl-4-azidobenzoate (HSAB)-calmodulin. We speculate that Ca(2+)-independent binding of calmodulin to a site within the first 159 residues of the type-1 InsP(3) receptor inhibits InsP(3) binding and may thereby regulate the kinetics of Ca(2+) release. Ca(2+)-dependent inhibition of Ca(2+) release by calmodulin is mediated by a different site: it may reside on an accessory protein that associates with all three receptor subtypes, or Ca(2+)-calmodulin binding to a site lying between residues 1499 and 1649 of the type-1 receptor may inhibit Ca(2+) release from any tetrameric receptor that includes a type-1 subunit.

Adenosine↗
PubMed2000

Inorganic lead and calcium interact positively in activation of calmodulin.

Calmodulin is a ubiquitous calcium-binding protein that mediates many of the intracellular actions of Ca2+ ions. The calcium-binding sites of calmodulin consist of four EF-hand motifs; full activation of calmodulin normally occurs when all four sites are occupied by Ca2+. Inorganic lead (PY2+) has been shown to activate calmodulin at total lead concentrations similar to the concentrations of Ca2+ required for activation (Goldstein and Ar, 1983; Habermann et al., 1983), but the free Pb2+ concentrations required for calmodulin activation have not been determined. In addition, it is possible that activation may occur with different sites occupied by different divalent cations, for example Ca2+ and Pb2+. We investigated the ability of free Pb2+, alone or in combination with Ca2+, to activate calmodulin. In aqueous media, N-phenyl-1-naphthylamine (NPN) and 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonate (ANS) show increased fluorescence when bound to hydrophobic regions of proteins. This increased fluorescence has been used to monitor the conformational change that occurs during calmodulin activation (LaPorte et al., 1980). In the presence of calmodulin, both Ca2+ and Pb2+ stimulated increased fluorescence of NPN and ANS. Threshold and EC50 free metal concentrations were approximately 100 nM and 450-500 nM, respectively, for Ca2+ and 100 pM and 400-550 pM, respectively, for Pb2+. Fluorescence was enhanced by combinations of low concentrations of free Ca2+ and Pb2+; for example, as little as 20 pM free Pb2+ enhanced fluorescence in combination with 200 nM free Ca2+. The activity of the PDE1 isoform of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase is stimulated by Ca2+/calmodulin (Wang et al., 1990). In the presence of calmodulin, we found that Ca2+ and Pb2+ activated calmodulin-stimulated PDE activity, with threshold and EC50 free metal concentrations of approximately 200 nM and 1200 nM, respectively, for Ca2+ and 300 pM and 430 pM, respectively, for Pb2+. PDE activity was stimulated by combinations of Ca2+ and Pb2+. For example, with 100 nM free Ca2+, as little as 50 to 100 pM free Pb2+ further stimulated PDE activity; with 1000 nM free Ca2+, 20 to 50 pM free Pb2+ further stimulated PDE activity. Isobolographic analysis indicated that stimulation of PDE by Ca2+ and Pb2+ was additive. These results show that concentrations of free Pb2+ as low as 100 to 300 pM activate calmodulin and that, in the presence of physiological concentrations of free Ca2+, Pb2+ can activate calmodulin at concentrations below 50 pM. The intracellular free Ca2+ concentration in Ca2+ "hot spots," for example near sites of influx through Ca2+-permeable plasma membrane channels, can reach dozens of pM, with the free Ca2+ concentration decreasing rapidly with distance from the source of the hot spot. Our results suggest that picomolar concentrations of intracellular free Pb2+ should expand both the effective amplitude and volume of Ca2+ hot spots with respect to calmodulin activation, and thus may amplify intracellular Ca2+ signaling in lead-exposed cells.

Calcium↗
PubMed1992

High and intermediate affinity calmodulin binding domains of the alpha and beta subunits of phosphorylase kinase and their potential role in phosphorylation-dependent activation of the holoenzyme.

Phosphorylase kinase is a calcium-regulated multimeric enzyme of composition (alpha beta gamma delta)4, which contains calmodulin as the integral delta subunit and also is activated further by addition of extrinsic calmodulin. Previous studies by Dasgupta, M., Honeycutt, T., and Blumenthal, D.K. ((1989) J. Biol. Chem. 264, 17156-17163) have identified gamma 302-326 and gamma 342-366 as two calmodulin binding regions. Using peptides that were synthesized based on alpha and beta primary structure and that were predicted to contain the basic amphiphilic alpha-helix motif thought important for calmodulin binding, four additional potential calmodulin binding domains have now been identified: one of high affinity, beta 770-794; two of intermediate affinity, beta 5-28 and beta 920-946; and one with marginally low affinity, alpha 1070-1093. Peptide beta 770-794 was of higher calmodulin affinity than either gamma 302-326 or gamma 342-366; it was of higher affinity than the model synthetic peptide IV defined by O'Neil, K.T., and DeGrado, W.F. ((1990) Trends Biochem. Sci. 15, 59-64); and it is currently the most potent calmodulin-binding peptide so far described. Correlated with their affinity for calmodulin, all six phosphorylase kinase-derived peptides and several other established calmodulin-binding peptides inhibited phosphorylase kinase previously activated by cAMP-dependent phosphorylation, reducing its activity to the level of the nonactivated enzyme. However, these peptides did not inhibit (and some peptides slightly activated) the nonphosphorylated enzyme. Even in the presence of these peptides both activated and nonactivated enzyme remained fully Ca(2+)-dependent. The beta 770-794 peptide has at least a 5-fold greater calmodulin binding affinity than the holo-phosphorylase kinase. This, and its higher affinity for calmodulin than either of the sites on the gamma subunit, raises the possibility that in the native enzyme it may be involved in binding the intrinsic delta subunit. Further, inhibition of activated but not nonactivated enzyme by calmodulin-binding peptides would suggest that the phosphorylation-dependent activation of phosphorylase kinase may be mediated by changes in the binding interactions of the intrinsic calmodulin delta subunit.

3',5'-Cyclic-AMP Phosphodiesterases↗
PubMed1990

Fluorescent adducts of wheat calmodulin implicate the amino-terminal region in the activation of skeletal muscle myosin light chain kinase.

Considerable attention is being directed toward defining a binding site in the central region of calmodulin that forms a high affinity interaction with certain enzymes and amphiphilic peptides. However, other regions of calmodulin are also known to be involved in the activation of enzymes such as myosin light chain kinase, regions which may not be directly involved in the binding of small peptides, e.g. mastoparan X. We investigated the properties of wheat calmodulin fluorescent derivatives, which were modified chemically in the first calcium binding site at Cys-27, in the activation of rabbit fast skeletal muscle myosin light chain kinase. Unmodified wheat calmodulin stimulated myosin light chain kinase to a greater maximal velocity than wheat calmodulin that was modified at Cys-27 by any of four fluorescent compounds, IAANS (2-[4'-iodoacetamidoanilino]naphthalene-6-sulfonic acid), 5-[2'-[[iodoacetyl]amino]ethyl]aminonaphthalene]-1-sulfonic acid, 5-iodoacetamidofluorescein, and 7-diethylamino-3-[4'-maleimidylphenyl]-4-methylcoumarin; the midpoints for activation of myosin light chain kinase were not significantly different for unmodified wheat calmodulin and three of the four wheat calmodulin derivatives. Myosin light chain kinase, but not mastoparan X, enhanced the fluorescence emission intensity of wheat calmodulin-IAANS. Mastoparan X reversed, in a dose-dependent manner, the changes in fluorescence intensity of a preformed complex of myosin light chain kinase and wheat calmodulin-IANNS. Thus, we propose that the region vicinal to Cys-27 participates in the activation but not the high affinity association of myosin light chain kinase. Lastly, a comparison of mammalian and plant calmodulin showed that the Vmax for the stimulation of myosin light chain kinase was 1.6-fold greater for bovine than wheat calmodulin. The difference between the two calmodulins was more pronounced at lower Ca2+ because less Ca2+ was needed to saturate the kinase rate when stimulated by bovine calmodulin.

Animals↗