Show simple item record

dc.contributor.authorStephens, Robert
dc.date.accessioned2016-07-20 19:22:40 (GMT)
dc.date.available2016-07-20 19:22:40 (GMT)
dc.date.issued2016-07-20
dc.date.submitted2016-07-15
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10012/10590
dc.description.abstractThe T-type calcium channel from the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis, LCav3, undergoes alternative splicing in exon 12. Exon 12 codes for the L5 structure (S5-P) in Domain II (DII), which is dubbed the "turret". The turret is a cysteine-rich extracellular loop near the selectivity filter. The selectivity filter is critical for ion selectivity. The DII turret is capable of influencing ion selectivity in the LCav3 channel, possibly through interactions with the selectivity filter. LCav3 with exon 12a is highly sodium-selective, whereas LCav3-12b is more calcium-selective. The turret of exon 12a is different from the turret of exon 12b in its size (number of amino acids) and cysteine configuration. Genome and transcriptome analyses have revealed that some cnidarians possess two versions of the genes encoding T-type calcium channels, and that these gene products differ from one another based on the size and cysteine configurations of their Domain IV turrets. We hypothesize that the Domain IV turret is playing a role in determining ion selectivity in T-type calcium channels. We created T-type calcium channel chimeras and investigated their ion selectivity in whole-cell patch clamp recordings of transfected HEK293T cells. Chimeras were created, in which the Domain IV turret from LCav3 was replaced by the Domain IV turret from Cav3.2. Cav3.2 is a highly calcium-selective human T-type channel. Each of the chimeras possessed increased calcium selectivity. Calcium selectivity in the LCav3-12b DIVα1hL chimera approached the levels of calcium-selectivity observed in human channels. However, we found that the Domain II turret has a dominant influence on selectivity. The research presented here provides support for a role in ion selectivity for extracellular turrets. A structural model, based on the recently resolved Cav1.1 cryo-EM structure, is proposed here to explain how turrets could influence ion selectivity.en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherUniversity of Waterlooen
dc.subjectCalcium Channelsen
dc.subjectT-type Calcium Channelen
dc.subjectGiant Pond Snailen
dc.subjectElectrophysiologyen
dc.subjectMembrane Biophysicsen
dc.subjectIon Selectivityen
dc.subjectIon Permeabilityen
dc.subjectCalcium Permeabilityen
dc.subjectSodium Permeabilityen
dc.titleThe Role of Domain II and Domain IV Extracellular Turrets in Determining Ion Selectivity in the T-type Calcium Channel from Lymnaea stagnalisen
dc.typeMaster Thesisen
dc.pendingfalse
uws-etd.degree.departmentBiologyen
uws-etd.degree.disciplineBiologyen
uws-etd.degree.grantorUniversity of Waterlooen
uws-etd.degreeMaster of Scienceen
uws.contributor.advisorSpafford, David
uws.contributor.affiliation1Faculty of Scienceen
uws.published.cityWaterlooen
uws.published.countryCanadaen
uws.published.provinceOntarioen
uws.typeOfResourceTexten
uws.peerReviewStatusUnrevieweden
uws.scholarLevelGraduateen


Files in this item

Thumbnail

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record


UWSpace

University of Waterloo Library
200 University Avenue West
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1
519 888 4883

All items in UWSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved.

DSpace software

Service outages