Syntaxin 1 interacts with the L D subtype of voltage-gated Ca 2+ channels in pancreatic β cells

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Abstract
Interaction of syntaxin 1 with the α1D subunit of the voltage-gated L type Ca2+ channel was investigated in the pancreatic β cell. Coexpression of the enhanced green fluorescent protein-linked α1D subunit with the enhanced blue fluorescent protein-linked syntaxin 1 and Western blot analysis together with subcellular fractionation demonstrated that the α1D subunit and syntaxin 1 were colocalized in the plasma membrane. Furthermore, the α1D subunit was coimmunoprecipitated efficiently by a polyclonal antibody against syntaxin 1. Syntaxin 1 also played a central role in the modulation of L type Ca2+ channel activity because there was a faster Ca2+ current run-down in cells incubated with antisyntaxin 1 compared with controls. In parallel, antisyntaxin 1 markedly reduced insulin release in both intact and permeabilized cells, subsequent to depolarization with K+ or exposure to high Ca2+. Exchanging Ca2+ for Ba2+ abolished the effect of antisyntaxin 1 on both Ca2+ channel activity and insulin exocytosis. Moreover, antisyntaxin 1 had no significant effects on Ca2+-independent insulin release trigged by hypertonic stimulation. This suggests that there is a structure–function relationship between the α1D subunit of the L type Ca2+ channel and the exocytotic machinery in the pancreatic β cell.