Dataset Information

Regulation of Neuronal Oxygen Responses in C. elegans Is Mediated through Interactions between Globin 5 and the H-NOX Domains of Soluble Guanylate Cyclases.

ABSTRACT: Soluble guanylate cyclases (sGCs) are gas-binding proteins that control diverse physiological processes such as vasodilation, platelet aggregation, and synaptic plasticity. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, a complex of sGCs, GCY-35 and GCY-36, functions in oxygen (O2) sensing. Previous studies suggested that the neuroglobin GLB-5 genetically interacts with GCY-35, and that the inhibitory effect of GLB-5 on GCY-35 function is necessary for fast recovery from prolonged hypoxia. In this study, we identified mutations in gcy-35 and gcy-36 that impact fast recovery and other phenotypes associated with GLB-5, without undermining sGC activity. These mutations, heb1 and heb3, change conserved amino acid residues in the regulatory H-NOX domains of GCY-35 and GCY-36, respectively, and appear to suppress GLB-5 activity by different mechanisms. Moreover, we observed that short exposure to 35% O2 desensitized the neurons responsible for ambient O2 sensing and that this phenomenon does not occur in heb1 animals. These observations may implicate sGCs in neuronal desensitization mechanisms far beyond the specific case of O2 sensing in nematodes. The conservation of functionally important regions of sGCs is supported by examining site-directed mutants of GCY-35, which suggested that similar regions in the H-NOX domains of O2 and NO-sensing sGCs are important for heme/gas interactions. Overall, our studies provide novel insights into sGC activity and regulation, and implicate similar structural determinants in the control of both O2 and NO sensors. Significance statement: Soluble guanylate cyclases (sGCs) control essential and diverse physiological processes, including memory processing. We used Caenorhabditis elegans to explore how a neuroglobin inhibits a complex of oxygen-sensing sGCs, identifying sGC mutants that resist inhibition. Resistance appears to arise by two different mechanisms: increased basal sGC activity or disruption of an interaction with neuroglobin. Our findings demonstrate that the inhibition of sGCs by neuroglobin is essential for rapid adaptation to either low or high oxygen levels, and that similar structural regions are key for regulating both oxygen and nitric oxide sensors. Based on our structural and functional analyses, we present the hypothesis that neuroglobin-sGC interactions may be generally important for adaptation processes, including those in organisms with more complex neurological functions.

SUBMITTER: Abergel Z

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4719025 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Regulation of Neuronal Oxygen Responses in C. elegans Is Mediated through Interactions between Globin 5 and the H-NOX Domains of Soluble Guanylate Cyclases.

Abergel Zohar Z Chatterjee Arijit Kumar AK Zuckerman Binyamin B Gross Einav E

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 20160101 3

Soluble guanylate cyclases (sGCs) are gas-binding proteins that control diverse physiological processes such as vasodilation, platelet aggregation, and synaptic plasticity. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, a complex of sGCs, GCY-35 and GCY-36, functions in oxygen (O2) sensing. Previous studies suggested that the neuroglobin GLB-5 genetically interacts with GCY-35, and that the inhibitory effect of GLB-5 on GCY-35 function is necessary for fast recovery from prolonged hypoxia. In this stud ...[more]

PMID: 26791224

Similar Datasets

Project description:The gasotransmitter nitric oxide (NO) is a critical endogenous regulator of homeostasis, in major part via the generation of cGMP (cyclic guanosine monophosphate) from GTP (guanosine triphosphate) by NO's main physiological receptor, the soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC). sGC is a heterodimer, composed of an α1 and a β1 subunit, of which the latter contains the heme-nitric oxide/oxygen (H-NOX) domain, responsible for NO recognition, binding and signal initiation. The NO/sGC/cGMP axis is dysfunctional in a variety of diseases, including hypertension and heart failure, especially since oxidative stress results in heme oxidation, sGC unresponsiveness to NO and subsequent degradation. As a central player in this axis, sGC is the focus of intense research efforts aiming to develop therapeutic molecules that enhance its activity. A class of drugs named sGC "activators" aim to replace the oxidized heme of the H-NOX domain, thus stabilizing the enzyme and restoring its activity. Although numerous studies outline the pharmacology and binding behavior of these compounds, the static 3D models available so far do not allow a satisfactory understanding of the structural basis of sGC's activation mechanism by these drugs. Herein, application NMR describes different conformational states during the replacement of the heme by a sGC activators. We show that the two sGC activators (BAY 58-2667 and BAY 60-2770) significantly decrease the conformational plasticity of the recombinant H-NOX protein domain of Nostoc sp. cyanobacterium, rendering it a lot more rigid compared to the heme-occupied H-NOX. NMR methodology also reveals, for the first time, a surprising bi-directional competition between reduced heme and these compounds, pointing to a highly dynamic regulation of the H-NOX domain. This competitive, bi-directional mode of interaction is also confirmed by monitoring cGMP generation in A7r5 vascular smooth muscle cells by these activators. We show that, surprisingly, heme's redox state impacts differently the bioactivity of these two structurally similar compounds. In all, by NMR-based and functional approaches we contribute unique experimental insight into the dynamic interaction of sGC activators with the H-NOX domain and its dependence on the heme redox status, with the ultimate goal to permit a better design of such therapeutically important molecules.

Project description:Eukaryotic nitric oxide (NO) signaling involves modulation of cyclic GMP (cGMP) levels through activation of the soluble isoform of guanylate cyclase (sGC). sGC is a heterodimeric hemoprotein that contains a Heme-Nitric oxide and OXygen binding (H-NOX) domain, a Per/ARNT/Sim (PAS) domain, a coiled-coil (CC) domain, and a catalytic domain. To evaluate the role of these domains in regulating the ligand binding properties of the heme cofactor of NO-sensitive sGC, we constructed chimeras by swapping the rat ?1 H-NOX domain with the homologous region of H-NOX domain-containing proteins from Thermoanaerobacter tengcongensis, Vibrio cholerae, and Caenorhabditis elegans (TtTar4H, VCA0720, and Gcy-33, respectively). Characterization of ligand binding by electronic absorption and resonance Raman spectroscopy indicates that the other rat sGC domains influence the bacterial and worm H-NOX domains. Analysis of cGMP production in these proteins reveals that the chimeras containing bacterial H-NOX domains exhibit guanylate cyclase activity, but this activity is not influenced by gaseous ligand binding to the heme cofactor. The rat-worm chimera containing the atypical sGC Gcy-33 H-NOX domain was weakly activated by NO, CO, and O(2), suggesting that atypical guanylate cyclases and NO-sensitive guanylate cyclases have a common molecular mechanism for enzyme activation. To probe the influence of the other sGC domains on the mammalian sGC heme environment, we generated heme pocket mutants (Pro118Ala and Ile145Tyr) in the ?1 H-NOX construct (residues 1-194), the ?1 H-NOX-PAS-CC construct (residues 1-385), and the full-length ?1?1 sGC heterodimer (?1 residues 1-619). Spectroscopic characterization of these proteins shows that interdomain communication modulates the coordination state of the heme-NO complex and the heme oxidation rate. Taken together, these findings have important implications for the allosteric mechanism of regulation within H-NOX domain-containing proteins.

Dataset Information

Regulation of Neuronal Oxygen Responses in C. elegans Is Mediated through Interactions between Globin 5 and the H-NOX Domains of Soluble Guanylate Cyclases.

Publications

Regulation of Neuronal Oxygen Responses in C. elegans Is Mediated through Interactions between Globin 5 and the H-NOX Domains of Soluble Guanylate Cyclases.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets