Date of Award
Spring 2014
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Biological Sciences
First Advisor
Peoples, Robert W.
Second Advisor
Lobner, Douglas C.
Third Advisor
Buchanan, James T.
Abstract
The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, a subtype of glutamate-gated ion channel, has been shown to be a major target of ethanol in the central nervous system (CNS). Previous studies have identified positions in the third and fourth membrane-associated (M) domains of the NMDAR GluN1 and GluN2A subunits that influence ethanol sensitivity. Among the alcohol sensitive sites, a methionine residue is highly conserved in all GluN1 and GluN2 subunits. We proposed the methionine position (Met-821) in the M4 domain of the GluN2C subunit can regulate ethanol sensitivity and ion channel gating. 14 mutations were made at the methionine position, 7 substitutions yielded functional receptors, which can influence ethanol sensitivity, glutamate potency and desensitization compared to wild type NMDAR containing GluN2C subunit. The other 7 mutations showed small spontaneous currents with apparent ethanol inhibition. The predicted structure of the NMDAR indicates that alcohol sensitive positions in the M3-M4 intersubunit interfaces between the two subunit types interactively regulate ethanol sensitivity and ion channel gating. We proposed that the Met- 821 position interact with the Gly-638 or Phe-639 position in the GluN1 M3 domain to regulate ethanol sensitivity and ion channel gating. Dual tryptophan mutants G638W/M821W and F639W/M821W showed small spontaneous currents with apparent ethanol inhibition. To test the interaction between these two pairs of positions, cysteine mutations were made at Gly-638, Phe-639, and Met-821. Dual cysteine mutants G638C/M821C and F639C/M821C yielded functional receptors. G638C/M821C showed significant interaction with respect to ethanol inhibition, suggesting these pair of positions interactively regulate ethanol sensitivity and ion channel gating. DTT reducing experiments showed DTT-potentiated currents and increased deactivation time constant Tau in the dual cysteine mutant G638C/M821C. In the present studies, we showed that the Met-821 position involved in regulating ethanol sensitivity and ion channel gating. We also showed Gly-638 and Met-821 positions in the M3-M4 intersubunit interfaces between GluN1 and GluN2C subunits interactively regulate ethanol sensitivity. The results we observed from GluN2C-containing NMDAR are different from the previous discoveries in the NMDAR containing GluN2A subunit. The difference may mainly lies in the sequence difference between GluN2A and GluN2C M4 domains and small hydrophobic environment formed near the methionine position.