[HTML][HTML] Ancient origins of RGK protein function: modulation of voltage-gated calcium channels preceded the protostome and deuterostome split

HL Puhl III, VB Lu, YJ Won, Y Sasson, JA Hirsch, F Ono… - Plos one, 2014 - journals.plos.org
HL Puhl III, VB Lu, YJ Won, Y Sasson, JA Hirsch, F Ono, SR Ikeda
Plos one, 2014journals.plos.org
RGK proteins, Gem, Rad, Rem1, and Rem2, are members of the Ras superfamily of small
GTP-binding proteins that interact with Ca2+ channel β subunits to modify voltage-gated
Ca2+ channel function. In addition, RGK proteins affect several cellular processes such as
cytoskeletal rearrangement, neuronal dendritic complexity, and synapse formation. To probe
the phylogenetic origins of RGK protein–Ca2+ channel interactions, we identified potential
RGK-like protein homologs in genomes for genetically diverse organisms from both the …
RGK proteins, Gem, Rad, Rem1, and Rem2, are members of the Ras superfamily of small GTP-binding proteins that interact with Ca2+ channel β subunits to modify voltage-gated Ca2+ channel function. In addition, RGK proteins affect several cellular processes such as cytoskeletal rearrangement, neuronal dendritic complexity, and synapse formation. To probe the phylogenetic origins of RGK protein–Ca2+ channel interactions, we identified potential RGK-like protein homologs in genomes for genetically diverse organisms from both the deuterostome and protostome animal superphyla. RGK-like protein homologs cloned from Danio rerio (zebrafish) and Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies) expressed in mammalian sympathetic neurons decreased Ca2+ current density as reported for expression of mammalian RGK proteins. Sequence alignments from evolutionarily diverse organisms spanning the protostome/deuterostome divide revealed conservation of residues within the RGK G-domain involved in RGK protein – Cavβ subunit interaction. In addition, the C-terminal eleven residues were highly conserved and constituted a signature sequence unique to RGK proteins but of unknown function. Taken together, these data suggest that RGK proteins, and the ability to modify Ca2+ channel function, arose from an ancestor predating the protostomes split from deuterostomes approximately 550 million years ago.
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