The regulative steps that control trafficking of ion channels are fundamental determinants of their qualitative and quantitative expression on the cell membrane. In this work the trafficking of the small conductance calcium-activated potassium channel, SK3 was studied in neurons in order to identify relevant molecular domains involved in this process. Hippocampal cell cultures were transfected with fusion proteins of green fluorescent protein (GFP) and different SK3 subunit truncations. The differential distribution of the mutants was analyzed by confocal microscopy and compared to the localization of the control fusion protein with full length SK3. The transport of chimeric proteins was quantified from fluorescence images by developing a morphometric analytical method. We found that the full length SK3 was distributed in cell body, axon and dendrites, whereas the deleted forms GFPΔ578–736 (deletion of the entire C-terminal domain), GFPΔCaMBD (deletion of the calmodulin-binding site) and GFPΔN (deletion of the N-terminal domain) were not transported into cell processes but accumulated in the cell body. The GFPΔ640–736 (deletion of the distal C-terminal domain) showed a distribution similar to control. The quantification and statistical analysis confirmed the differences in distribution across the three groups. In conclusion, the current work provides evidence for a fundamental role of the N-terminal domain and the calmodulin binding domain in SK3 trafficking in neurons.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
Review Article|
November 17 2006
SK3 Trafficking in Hippocampal Cells: The Role of Different Molecular Domains
Ilaria Decimo;
Ilaria Decimo
1Department of Medicine and Public Health, University of Verona, P.le L. Scuro 10, 37100 Verona, Italy
Search for other works by this author on:
Renza Roncarati;
Renza Roncarati
2Siena Biotech S.p.A. Discovery Research, Via Fiorentina 1, 53100 Siena, Italy
Search for other works by this author on:
Silvia Grasso;
Silvia Grasso
1Department of Medicine and Public Health, University of Verona, P.le L. Scuro 10, 37100 Verona, Italy
Search for other works by this author on:
Marcel Clemens;
Marcel Clemens
1Department of Medicine and Public Health, University of Verona, P.le L. Scuro 10, 37100 Verona, Italy
Search for other works by this author on:
Christian Chiamulera;
Christian Chiamulera
1Department of Medicine and Public Health, University of Verona, P.le L. Scuro 10, 37100 Verona, Italy
Search for other works by this author on:
Guido Fumagalli
Guido Fumagalli
1Department of Medicine and Public Health, University of Verona, P.le L. Scuro 10, 37100 Verona, Italy
Search for other works by this author on:
Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Online ISSN: 1573-4935
Print ISSN: 0144-8463
© 2006 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
2006
Biosci Rep (2006) 26 (6): 399–412.
Citation
Ilaria Decimo, Renza Roncarati, Silvia Grasso, Marcel Clemens, Christian Chiamulera, Guido Fumagalli; SK3 Trafficking in Hippocampal Cells: The Role of Different Molecular Domains. Biosci Rep 17 November 2006; 26 (6): 399–412. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10540-006-9029-5
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Sign in to your personal account
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Could not validate captcha. Please try again.
Biochemical Society Member Sign in
Sign InSign in via your Institution
Sign in via your InstitutionGet Access To This Article
Cited By
Open Access for all
We offer compliant routes for all authors from 2025. With library support, there will be no author nor reader charges in 5 journals. Check here |
![]() |