Effects of inserting fluorescent proteins into the α(1S) II–III loop: insights into excitation–contraction coupling

In skeletal muscle, intermolecular communication between the 1,4-dihydropyridine receptor (DHPR) and RYR1 is bidirectional: orthograde coupling (skeletal excitation–contraction coupling) is observed as depolarization-induced Ca(2+) release via RYR1, and retrograde coupling is manifested by increased L-type Ca(2+) current via DHPR. A critical domain (residues 720–765) of the DHPR α(1S) II–III loop plays an important but poorly understood role in bidirectional coupling with RYR1. In this study, we examine the consequences of fluorescent protein insertion into different positions within the α(1S) II–III loop. In four constructs, a cyan fluorescent protein (CFP)–yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) tandem was introduced in place of residues 672–685 (the peptide A region). All four constructs supported efficient bidirectional coupling as determined by the measurement of L-type current and myoplasmic Ca(2+) transients. In contrast, insertion of a CFP–YFP tandem within the N-terminal portion of the critical domain (between residues 726 and 727) abolished bidirectional signaling. Bidirectional coupling was partially preserved when only a single YFP was inserted between residues 726 and 727. However, insertion of YFP near the C-terminal boundary of the critical domain (between residues 760 and 761) or in the conserved C-terminal portion of the α(1S) II–III loop (between residues 785 and 786) eliminated bidirectional coupling. None of the fluorescent protein insertions, even those that interfered with signaling, significantly altered membrane expression or targeting. Thus, bidirectional signaling is ablated by insertions at two different sites in the C-terminal portion of the α(1S) II–III loop. Significantly, our results indicate that the conserved portion of the α(1S) II–III loop C terminal to the critical domain plays an important role in bidirectional coupling either by conveying conformational changes to the critical domain from other regions of the DHPR or by serving as a site of interaction with other junctional proteins such as RYR1.