Segregation of Ca2+ signaling in olfactory signal transduction.

Hiroko Takeuchi, Takashi Kurahashi

The Journal of general physiology 2023 Apr 03

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Olfactory signal transduction is conducted through a cAMP-mediated second messenger cascade. The cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration increases through the opening of CNG channels, a phenomenon that underlies two major functions, namely, signal boosting and olfactory adaptation. Signal boosting is achieved by an additional opening of the Ca2+-activated Cl- channel whereas adaptation is regulated by Ca2+ feedback to the CNG channel. Thus, the influx of Ca2+ and the resultant increase in cytoplasmic Ca2+ levels play seemingly opposing effects: increasing the current while reducing the current through adaptation. The two functions could be interpreted as compensating for each other. However, in real cells, both functions should be segregated. Ca2+ dynamics in olfactory cilia need to be directly measured, but technical difficulties accompanying the thin structure of olfactory cilia have prevented systematic analyses. In this study, using a combination of electrophysiology, local photolysis of caged cAMP, and Ca2+ imaging, we found that free Ca2+ in the local ciliary cytoplasm decreased along with a reduction in the current containing Ca2+-activated Cl- components returning to the basal level, whereas Ca2+-dependent adaptation persisted for a longer period. The activity of Cl- channels is highly likely to be regulated by the free Ca2+ that is present only immediately after the influx through the CNG channel, and an exclusive interaction between Ca2+ and Ca2+-binding proteins that mediate the adaptation may modulate the adaptation lifetime. © 2023 Takeuchi and Kurahashi.

Citation

Hiroko Takeuchi, Takashi Kurahashi. Segregation of Ca2+ signaling in olfactory signal transduction. The Journal of general physiology. 2023 Apr 03;155(4)