Dataset Information

Receptor downregulation and desensitization enhance the information processing ability of signalling receptors.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In addition to initiating signaling events, the activation of cell surface receptors also triggers regulatory processes that restrict the duration of signaling. Acute attenuation of signaling can be accomplished either via ligand-induced internalization of receptors (endocytic downregulation) or via ligand-induced receptor desensitization. These phenomena have traditionally been viewed in the context of adaptation wherein the receptor system enters a refractory state in the presence of sustained ligand stimuli and thereby prevents the cell from over-responding to the ligand. Here we use the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and G-protein coupled receptors (GPCR) as model systems to respectively examine the effects of downregulation and desensitization on the ability of signaling receptors to decode time-varying ligand stimuli.

Results

Using a mathematical model, we show that downregulation and desensitization mechanisms can lead to tight and efficient input-output coupling thereby ensuring synchronous processing of ligand inputs. Frequency response analysis indicates that upstream elements of the EGFR and GPCR networks behave like low-pass filters with the system being able to faithfully transduce inputs below a critical frequency. Receptor downregulation and desensitization increase the filter bandwidth thereby enabling the receptor systems to decode inputs in a wider frequency range. Further, system-theoretic analysis reveals that the receptor systems are analogous to classical mechanical over-damped systems. This analogy enables us to metaphorically describe downregulation and desensitization as phenomena that make the systems more resilient in responding to ligand perturbations thereby improving the stability of the system resting state.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that in addition to serving as mechanisms for adaptation, receptor downregulation and desensitization can play a critical role in temporal information processing. Furthermore, engineering metaphors such as the ones described here could prove to be invaluable in understanding the design principles of biological systems.

SUBMITTER: Shankaran H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2228318 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Receptor downregulation and desensitization enhance the information processing ability of signalling receptors.

Shankaran Harish H Wiley H Steven HS Resat Haluk H

BMC systems biology 20071109

<h4>Background</h4>In addition to initiating signaling events, the activation of cell surface receptors also triggers regulatory processes that restrict the duration of signaling. Acute attenuation of signaling can be accomplished either via ligand-induced internalization of receptors (endocytic downregulation) or via ligand-induced receptor desensitization. These phenomena have traditionally been viewed in the context of adaptation wherein the receptor system enters a refractory state in the pr ...[more]

PMID: 17996096

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Project description:Wild-type AMPA receptors display a characteristic rapidly desensitizing phenotype. Many studies point to the dimer interface between pairs of extracellular ligand binding domains as the key region controlling the rate at which the receptors desensitize. However, mutations at the extracellular end of the pore-forming regions (near the putative ion channel gate) have also been shown to alter desensitization. Here we report the behavior of single GluA4 receptors carrying one of two mutations that greatly reduce desensitization at the level of ensemble currents: the dimer interface mutation L484Y and the Lurcher mutation (A623T, GluA4-Lc) in the extracellular end of M3 (the second true transmembrane helix). Analysis of unitary currents in patches with just one active receptor showed that each mutation greatly prolongs bursts of openings without prolonging the apparent duration of individual openings. Each mutation decreases the frequency with which individual receptors visit desensitized states, but both mutant receptors still desensitize multiple times per second. Cyclothiazide (CTZ) reduced desensitization of wild-type receptors and both types of mutant receptor. Analysis of shut-time distributions revealed a form of short-lived desensitization that was resistant to CTZ and was especially prominent for GluA4-Lc receptors. Despite reducing desensitization of GluA4 L484Y receptors, CTZ decreased the amplitude of ensemble currents through GluA2 and GluA4 LY receptor mutants. Single-channel analysis and comparison of the GluA2 L483Y ligand binding domain dimer in complex with glutamate with and without CTZ is consistent with the conclusion that CTZ binding to the dimer interface prevents effects of the LY mutation to modulate receptor activation, resulting in a reduction in the prevalence of large-conductance substates that accounts for the decrease in ensemble current amplitudes. Together, the results show that similar nondesensitizing AMPA-receptor phenotypes of population currents can arise from distinct underlying molecular mechanisms that produce different types of unitary activity.

Dataset Information

Receptor downregulation and desensitization enhance the information processing ability of signalling receptors.

Background

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Receptor downregulation and desensitization enhance the information processing ability of signalling receptors.

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