Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 31, 2026

Expression and Purification of the Human Lipid-sensitive Cation Channel TRPC3 for Structural Determination by Single-particle Cryo-electron Microscopy
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Expression and Purification of the Human Lipid-sensitive Cation Channel TRPC3 for Structural Determination by Single-particle Cryo-electron Microscopy

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TRPC1 transcript variants, inefficient nonsense-mediated decay and low up-frameshift-1 in vascular smooth muscle

Alexandra M Dedman1, Yasser Majeed, Sarka Tumova

  • 1Multidisciplinary Cardiovascular Research Centre, Institute of Membrane & Systems Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Mount Preston Street, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK.

BMC Molecular Biology
|July 14, 2011
PubMed
Abstract

Insights

Researchers found extensive alternative splicing in Transient Receptor Potential Canonical 1 (TRPC1) gene transcripts, leading to NMD-sensitive variants. Inefficient clearance of these variants, due to low UPF1 levels, promotes vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Cardiovascular Biology
  • Gene Regulation

Background:

  • Transient Receptor Potential Canonical 1 (TRPC1) channels are involved in cardiovascular remodeling.
  • Understanding TRPC1 gene expression is crucial for cardiovascular health.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate variations in TRPC1-encoding gene transcripts.
  • To explore the role of alternative splicing and nonsense-mediated decay (NMD) in TRPC1 regulation.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of TRPC1 transcript alternative splicing.
  • Treatment with cycloheximide to assess NMD sensitivity.
  • Quantification of up-frameshift-1 (UPF1) protein levels in different cell types.
  • UPF1 rescue experiments in vascular smooth muscle cells.

Main Results:

  • Extensive alternative splicing of TRPC1 transcripts was observed, with frequent exon omissions leading to premature termination codons.
  • These NMD-sensitive variants increased with cycloheximide treatment.
  • NMD efficiency varied between cell types, being less prominent in human vascular smooth muscle cells due to low UPF1 abundance.
  • Exogenous UPF1 expression suppressed vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation.

Conclusions:

  • TRPC1 exhibits extensive NMD-sensitive transcript variants.
  • Inefficient clearance of aberrant TRPC1 transcripts and low UPF1 expression contribute to enhanced vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation.

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