MEC-2 regulates C. elegans DEG/ENaC channels needed for mechanosensation

Miriam B. Goodman, Glen G. Ernstrom, Dattananda S. Chelur, Robert O'Hagan, C. Andrea Yao and Martin Chalfie ()
Additional contact information
Miriam B. Goodman: Columbia University
Glen G. Ernstrom: Columbia University
Dattananda S. Chelur: Columbia University
Robert O'Hagan: Columbia University
C. Andrea Yao: Columbia University
Martin Chalfie: Columbia University

Nature, 2002, vol. 415, issue 6875, 1039-1042

Abstract: Abstract Touch sensitivity in animals relies on nerve endings in the skin that convert mechanical force into electrical signals. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, gentle touch to the body wall is sensed by six mechanosensory neurons1 that express two amiloride-sensitive Na+ channel proteins (DEG/ENaC). These proteins, MEC-4 and MEC-10, are required for touch sensation and can mutate to cause neuronal degeneration2,3. Here we show that these mutant or ‘d’ forms of MEC-4 and MEC-10 produce a constitutively active, amiloride-sensitive ionic current when co-expressed in Xenopus oocytes, but not on their own. MEC-2, a stomatin-related protein needed for touch sensitivity4, increased the activity of mutant channels about 40-fold and allowed currents to be detected with wild-type MEC-4 and MEC-10. Whereas neither the central, stomatin-like domain of MEC-2 nor human stomatin retained the activity of full-length MEC-2, both produced amiloride-sensitive currents with MEC-4d. Our findings indicate that MEC-2 regulates MEC-4/MEC-10 ion channels and raise the possibility that similar ion channels may be formed by stomatin-like proteins and DEG/ENaC proteins that are co-expressed in both vertebrates and invertebrates5,6,7,8. Some of these channels may mediate mechanosensory responses.

Date: 2002
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/4151039a Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:nature:v:415:y:2002:i:6875:d:10.1038_4151039a

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/

DOI: 10.1038/4151039a

Access Statistics for this article

Nature is currently edited by Magdalena Skipper

More articles in Nature from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().