The human two-pore channel 1 is modulated by cytosolic and luminal calcium

Sci Rep. 2017 Mar 2:7:43900. doi: 10.1038/srep43900.

Abstract

Two-pore channels (TPC) are intracellular endo-lysosomal proteins with only recently emerging roles in organellar signalling and involvement in severe human diseases. Here, we investigated the functional properties of human TPC1 expressed in TPC-free vacuoles from Arabidopsis thaliana cells. Large (20 pA/pF) TPC1 currents were elicited by cytosolic addition of the phosphoinositide phosphatidylinositol-(3,5)-bisphosphate (PI(3,5)P2) with an apparent binding constant of ~15 nM. The channel is voltage-dependent, activating at positive potentials with single exponential kinetics and currents are Na+ selective, with measurable but low permeability to Ca2+. Cytosolic Ca2+ modulated hTPC1 in dual way: low μM cytosolic Ca2+ increased activity by shifting the open probability towards negative voltages and by accelerating the time course of activation. This mechanism was well-described by an allosteric model. Higher levels of cytosolic Ca2+ induced a voltage-dependent decrease of the currents compatible with Ca2+ binding in the permeation pore. Conversely, an increase in luminal Ca2+ decreased hTPC1 activity. Our data point to a process in which Ca2+ permeation in hTPC1 has a positive feedback on channel activity while Na+ acts as a negative regulator. We speculate that the peculiar Ca2+ and Na+ dependence are key for the physiological roles of the channel in organellar homeostasis and signalling.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Arabidopsis / enzymology
  • Arabidopsis / genetics
  • Calcium / metabolism*
  • Calcium Channels / genetics
  • Calcium Channels / metabolism*
  • Gene Expression
  • Humans
  • Membrane Potentials
  • Patch-Clamp Techniques
  • Phosphatidylinositol Phosphates / metabolism*
  • Plants, Genetically Modified / enzymology
  • Plants, Genetically Modified / genetics
  • Recombinant Proteins / genetics
  • Recombinant Proteins / metabolism
  • Sodium / metabolism*

Substances

  • Calcium Channels
  • Phosphatidylinositol Phosphates
  • Recombinant Proteins
  • TPCN1 protein, human
  • phosphatidylinositol 3,5-diphosphate
  • Sodium
  • Calcium