The pre-mRNA of this protein is subject to
RNA editing.
Type A to I RNA editing is catalyzed by a family of
adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (ADARs) that specifically recognize adenosines within double-stranded regions of pre-mRNAs (e.g.
Potassium channel RNA editing signal) and deaminate them to
inosine. Inosines are recognised as guanosine by the cells translational machinery. There are three members of the ADAR family ADARs 1-3 with
ADAR1 and
ADAR2 being the only enzymatically active members.
ADAR3 is thought to have a regulatory role in the brain. ADAR1 and ADAR2 are widely expressed in tissues while ADAR3 is restricted to the brain. The double stranded regions of RNA are formed by base-pairing between residues in the region close to the editing site with residues usually in a neighboring intron but can sometimes be an exonic sequence too. The region that base pairs with the editing region is known as an Editing Complementary Sequence (ECS).
Location The modified residue is found at amino acid 400 of the final protein. This is located in the sixth
transmembrane region found, which corresponds to the inner vestibule of the pore. A stem loop hairpin structure mediates the RNA editing.
ADAR2 is likely to be the preferred editing enzyme at the I/V site. Editing results in a codon alteration from ATT to GTT, resulting in an amino acid change from
isoleucine to
valine. ADAR2 enzyme is the major editing enzyme. The MFOLD programme predicted that the minimum region required for editing would form an imperfect inverted repeat
hairpin. This region is composed of a 114 base pairs. Similar regions have been identified in mouse and rat. The edited adenosine is found in a 6-base pair duplex region. Mutation experiment in the region near the 6-base pair duplex have shown that the specific bases in this region were also essential for editing to occur. The region required for editing is unusual in that the hairpin structure is formed by
exonic sequences only. In the majority of A to I editing the ECS is found within an
intronic sequence.
Consequences Structure Editing results in a codon (I/V) change from (ATT) to (GTT) resulting in translation of a
valine instead of an
isoleucine at the position of the editing site. Valine has a larger side-chain. RNA editing at this position occurs at a highly conserved ion conducting pore of the channel. This may affect the channels role in the process of fast inactivation. The length of time the membrane is depolarised is decreased, which also reduces the efficiency of transmitter release. Since editing can cause amino acid changes in 1- 4 in potassium channel tetramers, it can have a wide variety of effects on channel inactivation.
Dysregulation Changes in the process of fast inactivation are known to have behavioral and neurological consequences in vivo. == Clinical ==