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Hoffmann, R. A wiki for the life sciences where authorship matters. Nature Genetics (2008)
 
 
 
 
 

Homer 2 tunes G protein-coupled receptors stimulus intensity by regulating RGS proteins and PLCbeta GAP activities.

Homers are scaffolding proteins that bind G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate (IP3) receptors (IP3Rs), ryanodine receptors, and TRP channels. However, their role in Ca2+ signaling in vivo is not known. Characterization of Ca2+ signaling in pancreatic acinar cells from Homer2-/- and Homer3-/- mice showed that Homer 3 has no discernible role in Ca2+ signaling in these cells. In contrast, we found that Homer 2 tunes intensity of Ca2+ signaling by GPCRs to regulate the frequency of [Ca2+]i oscillations. Thus, deletion of Homer 2 increased stimulus intensity by increasing the potency for agonists acting on various GPCRs to activate PLCbeta and evoke Ca2+ release and oscillations. This was not due to aberrant localization of IP3Rs in cellular microdomains or IP3R channel activity. Rather, deletion of Homer 2 reduced the effectiveness of exogenous regulators of G proteins signaling proteins (RGS) to inhibit Ca2+ signaling in vivo. Moreover, Homer 2 preferentially bound to PLCbeta in pancreatic acini and brain extracts and stimulated GAP activity of RGS4 and of PLCbeta in an in vitro reconstitution system, with minimal effect on PLCbeta-mediated PIP2 hydrolysis. These findings describe a novel, unexpected function of Homer proteins, demonstrate that RGS proteins and PLCbeta GAP activities are regulated functions, and provide a molecular mechanism for tuning signal intensity generated by GPCRs and, thus, the characteristics of [Ca2+]i oscillations.[1]

References

  1. Homer 2 tunes G protein-coupled receptors stimulus intensity by regulating RGS proteins and PLCbeta GAP activities. Shin, D.M., Dehoff, M., Luo, X., Kang, S.H., Tu, J., Nayak, S.K., Ross, E.M., Worley, P.F., Muallem, S. J. Cell Biol. (2003) [Pubmed]
 
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