Polymodal sensory function of the Caenorhabditis elegans OCR-2 channel arises from distinct intrinsic determinants within the protein and is selectively conserved in mammalian TRPV proteins

Irina Sokolchik, Takahiro Tanabe, Pierre F. Baldi, Ying Sze Ji

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

25 Scopus citations

Abstract

Caenorhabditis elegans OCR-2 (OSM-9 and capsaicin receptor-related) is a TRPV (vanilloid subfamily of transient receptor potential channel) protein that regulates serotonin (5-HT) biosynthesis in chemosensory neurons and also mediates olfactory and osmotic sensation. Here, we identify the molecular basis for the polymodal function of OCR-2 in its native cellular environment. We show that OCR-2 function in 5-HT production and osmotic sensing is governed by its N-terminal region upstream of the ankyrin repeats domain, but the diacetyl sensitivity is mediated by independent mechanisms. The ocr-2(yz5) mutation results in a glycine-to-glutamate substitution (G36E) within the N-terminal region. The G36E substitution causes dramatic downregulation of 5-HT synthesis in the ADF neurons, eliminates osmosensation mediated by the ASH neurons, but does not affect the response to the odorant diacetyl mediated by the AWA neurons. Conversely, wild-type sequence of the N-terminal segment confers osmotic sensitivity and upregulation of 5-HT production to a normally insensitive C. elegans homolog, OCR-4, but this chimeric channel does not respond to diacetyl stimuli. Furthermore, expression of either the mouse or human TRPV2 gene under the ocr-2 promoter can substantially restore 5-HT biosynthesis in ocr-2-null mutants but cannot improve the deficits in osmotic or olfactory sensation, suggesting that TRPV2 can substitute for the role of OCR-2 only in serotonergic neurons. Thus, different sensory functions of OCR-2 arise from separable intrinsic determinants, and specific functional properties of TRPV channel proteins may be selectively conserved across phyla.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1015-1023
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Neuroscience
Volume25
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 26 2005
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Behavior
  • C. elegans
  • Gene expression
  • Sensory modality
  • Serotonin
  • TRPV channel

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Neuroscience

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