Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, Vol.494, No.1-2, 76-81, 2017
Dual expression of constitutively active G alpha(s)-protein-coupled receptors differentially establishes the resting activity of the cAMP-gated HCN2 channel in a single compartment
The hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated 2 (HCN2) channel is a major subtype of the HCN channel family expressed in the nervous system that sets the membrane potential, regulates cell excitability and senses changes in the extracellular environment. Neurons express various G alpha(s)-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), many of which show ligand-independent constitutive activity. These membrane-bound proteins are expressed in various subcellular compartments of neurons. Therefore, some proportion of HCN2 channels opens in response to the basal cAMP pool size produced by constitutively active GPCRs. Here, we employed an exogenous HEK293 expression system and voltage-clamp patch-clamp recordings to investigate basal HCN2 channel activity in the presence of two GPCRs with diverse basal activities in a single compartment. We utilized the beta 2-adrenoceptor (beta 2AR) together with odorant receptors (ORs), as both GPCR families are known to show strong basal activity. Consequently, beta 2AR alone strongly enhanced the activity of HCN2 channels, and co-expression of ORs further diversified the HCN2 channel activity, which was totally abolished by an adenylate cyclase inhibitor. Thus, we conclude that the dual expression of constitutively active GPCRs establishes the diverse range of the basal cAMP pool size in resting cells through mutual additive or suppressive interactions, even in the absence of external stimulation. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc.