K. Yan et N. Gautam, A DOMAIN ON THE G-PROTEIN BETA-SUBUNIT INTERACTS WITH BOTH ADENYLYL-CYCLASE-2 AND THE MUSCARINIC ATRIAL POTASSIUM CHANNEL, The Journal of biological chemistry, 271(30), 1996, pp. 17597-17600
The G protein beta gamma complex modulates the function of a variety o
f effecters in biological signaling. However, the individual roles of
the beta and gamma subunits in this interaction are unknown. Unlike in
the case of the alpha subunit, domains on the beta gamma complex that
contact effecters have not yet been identified. We show here using th
e yeast two-hybrid system that the beta subunit and not the gamma subu
nit interacts with domains specific to adenylyl cyclase type 2 (AC2) a
nd the muscarinic receptor-gated atrial inwardly rectifying potassium
channel, GIRK1. Different beta subunit types interact with these effec
tor domains with different efficacies. Furthermore, an N-terminal frag
ment of 100 residues interacts with both these effector domains as eff
ectively as the whole beta subunit. This domain includes the region wh
ere the beta subunit contacts with the alpha subunit in the crystal st
ructure and may therefore explain the ability of the alpha subunit to
shut off the activity of the beta gamma complex.