How enzymes communicate

The enzymes nitric oxide (NO) synthase (NOS1) and protein kinase C (PKC) play an important role in a variety of signal transfer processes in neurons of the brain, as well as in many cell types of other organs. Together with Prof. Dr. Bernd Fakler at the Institute of Physiology at the University of Freiburg, the scientists Dr. Cristina Constantin and Dr. Catrin Müller have shown for the first time that enzymes can be activated under physiological conditions through sole electrical stimulation of the cell membrane. Protein super complexes that rapidly transform electrical signals at the cell membrane into chemical signal processes inside the cell emerge through direct structural interaction of both enzymes with voltage-gated calcium channels. The researchers have presented their work in the current issue of the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).