Coupling Drosophila melanogaster Cryptochrome Light Activation and Oxidation of the Kvβ Subunit Hyperkinetic NADPH Cofactor

Motivated by the observations on the involvement of light-induced processes in the Drosophila melanogaster cryptochrome (DmCry) in regulation of the neuronal firing rate, which is achieved by a redox-state change of its voltage-dependent K+ channel Kv beta subunit hyperkinetic (Hk) reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) cofactor, we propose in this work two hypothetical pathways that may potentially enable such coupling. In the first pathway, triggered by blue-light-induced formation of a radical pair [FAD(center dot-)TRP(center dot+]) in DmCry, the hole (TRP center dot+) may hop to Hk, for example, through a tryptophan chain and oxidize NADPH, possibly leading to inhibition of the N-terminus inactivation in the K+ channel. In a second possible pathway, DmCry's FAD(center dot- )is reoxidized by molecular oxygen, producing H2O2, which then diffuses to Hk and oxidizes NADPH. In this work, by applying a combination of quantum and empirical-based methods for free-energy calculations, we find that the oxidation of NADPH by TRP center dot+ or H2O2 and the reoxidation of FAD(center dot-) by O-2 are thermodynamically feasible. Our results may have an implication in identifying a magnetic sensing signal transduction pathway, specifically upon Drosophila's Hk NADPH cofactor oxidation, with a subsequent inhibition of the K+ channel N-terminus inactivation gate, permitting K+ flux.