Regulation of calcium channels by RGK proteins

Channels (Austin). 2010 Nov-Dec;4(6):434-9. doi: 10.4161/chan.4.6.12865. Epub 2010 Nov 1.

Abstract

The RGK family of proteins, small GTPases of the Ras superfamily, are known to regulate calcium currents. It is commonly thought that this is due to an interaction with the Cavβ subunit, however, the mechanism of this inhibition is unclear. There have been conflicting reports of whether RGK proteins can affect channel trafficking or whether they reduce calcium currents by interacting with channels at the membrane. In the last year, several studies have emerged which explore the intricacies of RGK protein interaction with the channel itself and the importance of the Cavβ subunit for this interaction, in addition to providing some tantalizing suggestions for the mechanism by which RGK proteins reduce or eliminate calcium currents. In this review, we present an overview of these recent advances and suggest a model that may synthesize these latest works.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Calcium Channels / chemistry
  • Calcium Channels / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Ion Channel Gating*
  • Membrane Potentials
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Protein Conformation
  • Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs
  • Protein Multimerization
  • Structure-Activity Relationship
  • ras Proteins / chemistry
  • ras Proteins / metabolism*

Substances

  • Calcium Channels
  • ras Proteins