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Calmodulin (CaM) and S100A1 fine-tune skeletal muscle Ca2+ release via opposite modulation of the ryanodine receptor type 1 (RyR1). Binding to and modulation of RyR1 by CaM and S100A1 occurs predominantly at the region ranging from amino acid residue 3614-3640 of RyR1 (here referred to as CaMBD2). Using synthetic peptides, it has been shown that CaM binds to two additional regions within the RyR1, specifically residues 1975-1999 and 4295-4325 (CaMBD1 and CaMBD3, respectively). Because S100A1 typically binds to similar motifs as CaM, we hypothesized that S100A1 could also bind to CaMBD1 and CaMBD3. Our goals were: (1) to establish whether S100A1 binds to synthetic peptides containing CaMBD1 and CaMBD3 using isothermal calorimetry (ITC), and (2) to identify whether S100A1 and CaM modulate RyR1 Ca2+ release activation via sites other than CaMBD2 in RyR1 in its native cellular context. We developed the mouse model (RyR1D-S100A1KO), which expresses point mutation RyR1-L3625D (RyR1D) that disrupts the modulation of RyR1 by CaM and S100A1 at CaMBD2 and also lacks S100A1 (S100A1KO). ITC assays revealed that S100A1 binds with different affinities to CaMBD1 and CaMBD3. Using high-speed Ca2+ imaging and a model for Ca2+ binding and transport, we show that the RyR1D-S100A1KO muscle fibers exhibit a modest but significant increase in myoplasmic Ca2+ transients and enhanced Ca2+ release flux following field stimulation when compared to fibers from RyR1D mice, which were used as controls to eliminate any effect of binding at CaMBD2, but with preserved S100A1 expression. Our results suggest that S100A1, similar to CaM, binds to CaMBD1 and CaMBD3 within the RyR1, but that CaMBD2 appears to be the primary site of RyR1 regulation by CaM and S100A1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structure-based drug discovery is under way to identify and develop small-molecule S100B inhibitors (SBiXs). Such inhibitors have therapeutic potential for treating malignant melanoma, since high levels of S100B downregulate wild-type p53 tumor suppressor function in this cancer. Computational and X-ray crystallographic studies of two S100B-SBiX complexes are described, and both compounds (apomorphine hydrochloride and ethidium bromide) occupy an area of the S100B hydrophobic cleft which is termed site 3. These data also reveal novel protein-inhibitor interactions which can be used in future drug-design studies to improve SBiX affinity and specificity. Of particular interest, apomorphine hydrochloride showed S100B-dependent killing in melanoma cell assays, although the efficacy exceeds its affinity for S100B and implicates possible off-target contributions. Because there are no structural data available for compounds occupying site 3 alone, these studies contribute towards the structure-based approach to targeting S100B by including interactions with residues in site 3 of S100B. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is a life-threatening pharmacogenetic condition triggered by volatile anesthetics, which activate pathogenic RyR1 mutants. The small molecule therapeutic dantrolene has long been used to treat MH. However, the binding site and mechanism of dantrolene remain unclear. Here, we present cryo-EM structures of RyR1 bound to dantrolene and the MH trigger agent 4-chloro-m-cresol (4CmC), revealing the dantrolene and 4CmC binding sites in atomic detail. Dantrolene binds stacked with ATP or ADP in the RY12 domain at the corner of the receptor, inducing a conformational change in this domain which is allosterically coupled to pore closure. Functional analyses revealed that ATP or ADP was required for dantrolene inhibition, and a single point mutation that disrupts the peripheral ATP binding site abolished ATP/ADP-dependent dantrolene inhibition. Strikingly, in the absence of dantrolene, this site selectively binds two ADP molecules, suggesting a possible role in ATP/ADP ratio sensing.