Alternative splicing of a protein domain indispensable for function of transient receptor potential melastatin 3 (TRPM3) ion channels.

ABSTRACT: TRPM3 channels form ionotropic steroid receptors in the plasma membrane of pancreatic β and dorsal root ganglion cells and link steroid hormone signaling to insulin release and pain perception, respectively. We identified and compared the function of a number of TRPM3 splice variants present in mouse, rat and human tissues. We found that variants lacking a region of 18 amino acid residues display neither Ca(2+) entry nor ionic currents when expressed alone. Hence, splicing removes a region that is indispensable for channel function, which is called the ICF region. TRPM3 variants devoid of this region (TRPM3ΔICF), are ubiquitously present in different tissues and cell types where their transcripts constitute up to 15% of the TRPM3 isoforms. The ICF region is conserved throughout the TRPM fa

SUBMITTER: Fruhwald J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3481270 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature