G protein modulation of recombinant P/Q-type calcium channels by regulators of G protein signalling proteins

Abstract

1. Fast synaptic transmission is triggered by the activation of presynaptic Ca2+ channels which can be inhibited by Gβγ subunits via G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR). Regulators of G protein signalling (RGS) proteins are GTPase-accelerating proteins (GAPs), which are responsible for >100-fold increases in the GTPase activity of G proteins and might be involved in the regulation of presynaptic Ca2+ channels. In this study we investigated the effects of RGS2 on G protein modulation of recombinant P/Q-type channels expressed in a human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cell line using whole-cell recordings. 2. RGS2 markedly accelerates transmitter-mediated inhibition and recovery from inhibition of Ba2+ currents (I(Ba)) through P/Q-type channels heterologously expressed with the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor M2 (mAChR M2). 3. Both RGS2 and RGS4 modulate the prepulse facilitation properties of P/Q-type Ca2+ channels. G protein reinhibition is accelerated, while release from inhibition is slowed. These kinetics depend on the availability of G protein α and βγ subunits which is altered by RGS proteins. 4. RGS proteins unmask the Ca2+ channel β subunit modulation of Ca2+ channel G protein inhibition. In the presence of RGS2, P/Q-type channels containing the β(2a) and β3 subunits reveal significantly altered kinetics of G protein modulation and increased facilitation compared to Ca2+ channels coexpressed with the β(1b) or β4 subunit.