Purification of Endogenous Drosophila Transient Receptor Potential Channels

Drosophila phototransduction is one of the fastest known G protein-coupled signaling pathways. To ensure the specificity and efficiency of this cascade, the calcium (Ca²⁺)-permeable cation channel, transient receptor potential (TRP), binds tightly to the scaffold protein, inactivation-no-after-potential D (INAD), and forms a large signaling protein complex with eye-specific protein kinase C (ePKC) and phospholipase Cβ/No receptor potential A (PLCβ/NORPA). However, the biochemical properties of the Drosophila TRP channel remain unclear. Based on the assembling mechanism of INAD protein complex, a modified affinity purification plus competition strategy was developed to purify the endogenous TRP channel. First, the purified histidine (His)-tagged NORPA 863-1095 fragment was bound to Ni-beads and used as bait to pull down the endogenous INAD protein complex from Drosophila head homogenates. Then, excessive purified glutathione S-transferase (GST)-tagged TRP 1261-1275 fragment was added to the Ni-beads to compete with the TRP channel. Finally, the TRP channel in the supernatant was separated from the excessive TRP 1261-1275 peptide by size-exclusion chromatography. This method makes it possible to study the gating mechanism of the Drosophila TRP channel from both biochemical and structural angles. The electrophysiology properties of purified Drosophila TRP channels can also be measured in the future.