Molecular regions controlling the activity of CNG channels.

The alpha subunits of CNG channels of retinal photoreceptors (rod) and olfactory neurons (olf) are proteins that consist of a cytoplasmic NH(2) terminus, a transmembrane core region (including the segments S1-S6), and a cytoplasmic COOH terminus. The COOH terminus contains a cyclic nucleotide monophosphate binding domain NBD) that is linked by the C-linker (CL) to the core region. The binding of cyclic nucleotides to the NBD promotes channel opening by an allosteric mechanism. We examined why the sensitivity to cGMP is 22 times higher in olf than in rod by constructing chimeric channels and determining the [cGMP] causing half maximum channel activity (EC(50)). The characteristic difference in the EC(50) value between rod and olf was introduced by the NH(2) terminus and the core-CL region, whereas the NBD showed a paradoxical effect. The difference of the free energy difference Delta(DeltaG) was determined for each of these three regions with all possible combinations of the other two regions. For rod regions with respect to corresponding olf regions, the open channel conformation was destabilized by the NH(2) terminus (Delta(DeltaG) = -1.0 to -2.0 RT) and the core-CL region (Delta(DeltaG) = -2.0 to -2.9 RT), whereas it was stabilized by the NBD (Delta(DeltaG) = 0.3 to 1.1 RT). The NH(2) terminus deletion mutants of rod and olf differed by Delta(DeltaG) of only 0.9 RT, whereas the wild-type channels differed by the much larger value of 3.1 RT. The results show that in rod and olf, the NH(2) terminus, the core-CL region, and the NBD differ by characteristic Delta(DeltaG) values that do not depend on the specific composition of the other two regions and that the NH(2) terminus generates the main portion of Delta(DeltaG) between the wild-type channels.