Ca2(+)-dependent regulation of the spectrin/actin interaction by calmodulin and protein 4.1.

The Ca2(+)-dependent regulation of the erythroid membrane cytoskeleton was investigated. The low-salt extract of erythroid membranes, which is mainly composed of spectrin, protein 4.1, and actin, confers a Ca2+ sensitivity on its interaction with F-actin. This Ca2+ sensitivity is fortified by calmodulin and antagonized by trifluoperazine, a potent calmodulin inhibitor. Additionally, calmodulin is detected in the low-salt extract. These results suggest that calmodulin is the sole Ca2(+)-sensitive factor in the low-salt extract. The main target of calmodulin in the erythroid membrane cytoskeleton was further examined. Under native conditions, calmodulin forms a stable and equivalent complex with protein 4.1 as determined by calmodulin affinity chromatography, cross-linking experiments, and fluorescence binding assays with an apparent Kd of 5.5 x 10(-7) M irrespective of the free Ca2+ concentration. Domain mapping with chymotryptic digestion reveals that the calmodulin-binding site resides within the N-terminal 30-kDa fragment of protein 4.1. In contrast, the interaction of calmodulin with spectrin is unexpectedly weak (Kd = 1.2 x 10(-4) M). Given the content of calmodulin in erythrocytes (2-5 microM), these results imply that the major target for calmodulin in the erythroid membrane cytoskeleton is protein 4.1. Low- and high-shear viscometry and binding assays reveal that an equivalent complex of calmodulin with protein 4.1 regulates the spectrin/actin interaction in a Ca2(+)-dependent manner. At a low Ca2+ concentration, protein 4.1 potentiates the actin cross-linking and the actin binding activities of spectrin. At a high Ca2+ concentration, the protein 4.1-potentiated actin cross-linking activity but not the actin binding activity of spectrin is suppressed by Ca2+/calmodulin. The Ca2(+)-dependent regulation of the spectrin/protein 4.1/calmodulin/actin interaction is discussed.