2. Academic Validation
  3. An evolutionarily conserved gene family encodes proton-selective ion channels

An evolutionarily conserved gene family encodes proton-selective ion channels

  • Science. 2018 Mar 2;359(6379):1047-1050. doi: 10.1126/science.aao3264.
Yu-Hsiang Tu 1,  Alexander J Cooper 1,  Bochuan Teng 1,  Rui B Chang 1,  Daniel J Artiga 1,  Heather N Turner 1,  Eric M Mulhall 1,  Wenlei Ye 2,  Andrew D Smith 3,  Emily R Liman 2 4
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Biological Sciences, Section of Neurobiology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
  • 2 Department of Biological Sciences, Section of Neurobiology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA. liman@usc.edu.
  • 3 Department of Biological Sciences, Section of Molecular and Computational Biology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
  • 4 Bridge Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
PMID: 29371428 DOI: 10.1126/science.aao3264
Abstract

Ion channels form the basis for cellular electrical signaling. Despite the scores of genetically identified ion channels selective for other monatomic ions, only one type of proton-selective ion channel has been found in eukaryotic cells. By comparative transcriptome analysis of mouse Taste Receptor cells, we identified Otopetrin1 (OTOP1), a protein required for development of gravity-sensing otoconia in the vestibular system, as forming a proton-selective ion channel. We found that murine OTOP1 is enriched in acid-detecting Taste Receptor cells and is required for their zinc-sensitive proton conductance. Two related murine genes, Otop2 and Otop3, and a Drosophila ortholog also encode proton channels. Evolutionary conservation of the gene family and its widespread tissue distribution suggest a broad role for proton channels in physiology and pathophysiology.

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