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Polyunsaturated fatty acids activate the Drosophila light-sensitive channels TRP and TRPL

Nature volume 397, pages 255–259 (1999)Cite this article

Abstract

Phototransduction in invertebrate microvillar photoreceptors is thought to be mediated by the activation of phospholipase C (PLC), but how this leads to gating of the light-sensitive channels is unknown1,2. Most attention has focused on inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate, a second messenger produced by PLC from phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate; however, PLC also generates diacylglycerol, a potential precursor for several polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as arachidonic acid and linolenic acid. Here we show that both of these fatty acids reversibly activate native light-sensitive channels (transient receptor potential (TRP) and TRP-like (TRPL)) in Drosophila photoreceptors as well as recombinant TRPL channels expressed in Drosophila S2 cells. Recombinant channels are activated rapidly in both whole-cell recordings and inside-out patches, with a half-maximal effector concentration for linolenic acid of ∼10 µM. Four different lipoxygenase inhibitors, which might be expected to lead to build-up of endogenous fatty acids, also activate native TRP and TRPL channels in intact photoreceptors. As arachidonic acid may not be found in Drosophila, we suggest that another polyunsaturated fatty acid, such as linolenic acid, may be a messenger of excitation in Drosophila photoreceptors.

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Figure 1: Activation of light-sensitive channels by linolenic acid (LNA).
Figure 2: Activation of recombinant TRPL channels by linolenic acid (LNA).
Figure 3: Activation of photoreceptors by lipoxygenase inhibitors.
Figure 4: CDC is a new inhibitor of TRPL channels.

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Acknowledgements

We thank C. Taylor and Z. Selinger for discussions, and L. Kelly and W. A. Harris for discussions and comments on an earlier version of this paper. The work was supported by the Wellcome Trust and the BBSRC.

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Author notes

  1. Sylwester Chyb

    Present address: Department of Biochemistry, Cambridge University, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1GA, UK

  2. Roger C. Hardie: Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to R.C.H.

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  1. Cambridge University Department of Anatomy, Downing St, Cambridge, CB2 3DY, UK

    Padinjat Raghu & Roger C. Hardie

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  1. Sylwester Chyb
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Correspondence to Roger C. Hardie.

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Chyb, S., Raghu, P. & Hardie, R. Polyunsaturated fatty acids activate the Drosophila light-sensitive channels TRP and TRPL. Nature 397, 255–259 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/16703

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