Signal Transduction
Retinal degeneration 3 (RD3) protein, a retinal guanylyl cyclase regulator, forms a monomeric and elongated four-helix bundle
Retinal degeneration 3 (RD3) protein promotes accumulation of retinal membrane guanylyl cyclase (RetGC) in the photoreceptor outer segment and suppresses RetGC activation by guanylyl cyclase–activating proteins (GCAPs). Mutations truncating RD3 cause severe congenital blindness by preventing the inhibitory binding of RD3 to the cyclase. The high propensity of RD3 to aggregate in solution has prevented structural analysis. Here, we produced a highly soluble variant of human RD3 (residues 18–160) that is monomeric and can still bind and negatively regulate RetGC.Structure of Guanylyl Cyclase Activator Protein 1 (GCAP1) Mutant V77E in a Ca2+-free/Mg2+-bound Activator State
GCAP1, a member of the neuronal calcium sensor subclass of the calmodulin superfamily, confers Ca2+-sensitive activation of retinal guanylyl cyclase 1 (RetGC1). We present NMR resonance assignments, residual dipolar coupling data, functional analysis, and a structural model of GCAP1 mutant (GCAP1V77E) in the Ca2+-free/Mg2+-bound state. NMR chemical shifts and residual dipolar coupling data reveal Ca2+-dependent differences for residues 170–174. An NMR-derived model of GCAP1V77E contains Mg2+ bound at EF2 and looks similar to Ca2+ saturated GCAP1 (root mean square deviations = 2.0 Å).
