Identification of Serine-875 as an Inhibitory Phosphorylation Site in the Calcium-Sensing Receptor.

The calcium-sensing receptor (CaS) is the principal controller of extracellular calcium (Ca2+ o) homeostasis and is inhibited in vitro and in vivo by protein kinase C (PKC)-mediated phosphorylation at CaST888 However, PKC inhibition enhances signaling even in CaSs lacking Thr-888, suggesting that an additional inhibitory site exists. An apparently equivalent PKC regulatory site in metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (Ser-839) aligns not with CaST888 but instead with CaSS875, which was not previously considered to be a PKC site. CaSS875A (nonphosphorylatable) exhibited significantly enhanced Ca2+ o sensitivity of both intracellular Ca2+ mobilization and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 activation, whereas the phosphomimetic CaSS875D mutant exhibited a loss of function. The CaSS875A/T888A double mutant exhibited even greater Ca2+ o sensitivity than CaST888A alone, a response no longer enhanced by PKC inhibition. Finally, when expressed in CaS lacking its extracellular domain, the CaSS875A/T888A double mutation elicited maximal activation even under control conditions, but remained sensitive to negative allosteric modulation [N-(2-hydroxy-3-(2-cyano-3-chlorophenoxy)propyl)-1,1-dimethyl-2-(2-nephthyl)ethylamine] or Ca2+ o removal. Therefore, we have now identified CaSS875 as the missing PKC phosphorylation site that, together with CaST888, shapes the CaS signaling that underpins Ca2+ o homeostasis. Together with the inactive form of the CaS extracellular domain, these sites attenuate Ca2+ o sensitivity to attain appropriate physiologic Ca2+ o sensing. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Serine-875 represents the missing inhibitory PKC phosphorlyation site in CaS that in tandem with Thr-888 controls receptor activity.