The endogenous cannabinoid anandamide is removed from the synaptic space by a high-affinity transport system present in neurons and astrocytes, which is inhibited by N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-arachidonamide (AM404). After internalization, anandamide is hydrolyzed by fatty-acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), an intracellular membrane-bound enzyme that also cleaves AM404. Based on kinetic evidence, it has recently been suggested that anandamide internalization may be mediated by passive diffusion driven by FAAH activity. To test this possibility, in the present study, we have investigated anandamide internalization in wild-type and FAAH-deficient (FAAH ؊/؊ ) mice. Cortical neurons from either mouse strain internalized [ 3 H]anandamide through a similar mechanism, i.e., via a rapid temperature-sensitive and saturable process, which was blocked by AM404. Moreover, systemic administration of AM404 to either wild-type or FAAH ؊/؊ mice enhanced the hypothermic effects of exogenous anandamide, a response that was prevented by the CB 1 cannabinoid antagonist rimonabant (SR141716A). The results indicate that anandamide internalization in mouse brain neurons is independent of FAAH activity. In further support of this conclusion, the compound N-(5Z, 8Z, 11Z, 14Z eicosatetraenyl)-4-hydroxybenzamide (AM1172) blocked [ 3 H]anandamide internalization in rodent cortical neurons and human astrocytoma cells without acting as a FAAH substrate or inhibitor. AM1172 may serve as a prototype for novel anandamide transport inhibitors with increased metabolic stability.

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SUMMARY The extensive physiological influence of transmission through the CB2 cannabinoid receptor makes this G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) a promising therapeutic target for treating neuropathic pain, inflammation, and immune disorders. However, there is little direct structural information pertaining to either GPCR or CB2-receptor ligand recognition and activation. The present work helps characterize experimentally the ligand-binding interactions of the human CB2 (hCB2) receptor. This study illustrates how our overall experimental approach, “ligand-assisted protein structure” (LAPS), affords direct determination of the requirements for ligand binding to the hCB2 receptor and discrimination among the binding motifs for ligands that activate therapeutically relevant GPCRs.

Electrophysiological studies were conducted on the cloned plant cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channels AtCNGC2 and AtCNGC1 from Arabidopsis, and NtCBP4 from tobacco (Nicotiana tobacum). The nucleotide coding sequences for these proteins were expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes or HEK 293 cells. Channel characteristics were evaluated using voltage clamp analysis of currents in the presence of cAMP. AtCNGC2 was demonstrated to conduct K ϩ and other monovalent cations, but exclude Na ϩ ; this conductivity profile is unique for any ion channel not possessing the amino acid sequence found in the selectivity filter of K ϩ -selective ion channels. Application of cAMP evoked currents in membrane patches of oocytes injected with AtCNGC2 cRNA. Direct activation of the channel by cyclic nucleotide, demonstrated by application of cyclic nucleotide to patches of membranes expressing such channels, is a hallmark characteristic of this ion channel family. Voltage clamp studies (two-electrode configuration) demonstrated that AtCNGC1 and NtCBP4 are also cyclic nucleotidegated channels. Addition of a lipophilic analog of cAMP to the perfusion bath of oocytes injected with NtCBP4 and AtCNGC1 cRNAs induced inward rectified, noninactivating K ϩ currents.Cyclic nucleotide-gated nonselective cation channels (cngcs) represent a newly identified family of plant ion transport proteins (Kö hler et al., 1999;Leng et al., 1999). This putative family of plant ion channels shares deduced secondary and tertiary structural homology with a diverse family of cngcs cloned and characterized from animal systems (Zagotta and Siegelbaum, 1996). However, primary amino acid sequence homology between this family of plant proteins and their presumed animal homologs is not very great (approximately 22%; Leng et al., 1999).Animal cngcs are primarily, but not in all cases (Lee et al., 2001), expressed in sensory neurons and function in signal transduction systems. However, cngcs have been detected in cell types other than sensory receptor neurons, and have been cloned from a number of different tissue types in animals (Biel et al., 1999b;Finn et al., 1996;Lang et al., 2000), suggesting that their role in multicellular organisms may be more diverse than originally thought. Animal cngcs are characterized by the following functional parameters: They are not, or only weakly, voltage gated; they are activated by direct binding of cyclic nucleotide (cAMP and cGMP); they are selective for cations but do not discriminate between conductance of cations such as Ca 2ϩ , Na ϩ , and K ϩ ; their activation by cyclic nucleotides is blocked by calmodulin; and they show varying degrees of conductance rectification (Zagotta and Siegelbaum, 1996). It is interesting that their relative conductance of specific cations, their relative activation by cAMP versus cGMP, and the extent of their conductance rectification are typically related to the specific role they play in a diverse number of signal transduction pathways and, in addition, other physiological processes in animals.Gen...

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The lack of experimental characterization of the structures and ligand-binding motifs of therapeutic G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) hampers rational drug discovery. The human cannabinoid receptor 2 (hCB2R) is a class-A GPCR and promising therapeutic target for small-molecule cannabinergic agonists as medicines. Prior mutational and modeling data constitute provisional evidence that AM-841, a high-affinity classical cannabinoid, interacts with cysteine C6.47(257) in hCB2R transmembrane helix 6 (TMH6) to afford improved hCB2R selectivity and unprecedented agonist potency. We now apply bottom-up mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics to define directly the hCB2R-AM-841 interaction at the amino-acid level. Recombinant hCB2R, overexpressed as an N-terminal FLAG-tagged/C-terminal 6His-tagged protein (FLAG-hCB2R-6His) with a baculovirus system, was solubilized and purified by immunochromatography as functional receptor. A multiplex multiple reaction monitoring (MRM)-MS method was developed that allowed us to observe unambiguously all seven discrete TMH peptides in the tryptic digest of purified FLAG-hCB2R-6His and demonstrate that AM-841 modifies hCB2R TMH6 exclusively. High-resolution mass spectra of the TMH6 tryptic peptide obtained by Q-TOF MS/MS analysis demonstrated that AM-841 covalently and selectively modifies hCB2R at TMH6 cysteine C6.47(257). These data demonstrate how integration of MS-based proteomics into a ligand-assisted protein structure (LAPS) experimental paradigm can offer guidance to structure-enabled GPCR agonist design.

Understanding of the molecular architecture necessary for selective K+ permeation through the pore of ion channels is based primarily on analysis of the crystal structure of the bacterial K+ channel KcsA, and structure:function studies of cloned animal K+ channels. Little is known about the conduction properties of a large family of plant proteins with structural similarities to cloned animal cyclic nucleotide-gated channels (CNGCs). Animal CNGCs are nonselective cation channels that do not discriminate between Na+ and K+ permeation. These channels all have the same triplet of amino acids in the channel pore ion selectivity filter, and this sequence is different from that of the selectivity filter found in K+-selective channels. Plant CNGCs have unique pore selectivity filters; unlike those found in any other family of channels. At present, the significance of the unique pore selectivity filters of plant CNGCs, with regard to discrimination between Na+ and K+ permeation is unresolved. Here, we present an electrophysiological analysis of several members of this protein family; identifying the first cloned plant channel (AtCNGC1) that conducts Na+. Another member of this ion channel family (AtCNGC2) is shown to have a selectivity filter that provides a heretofore unknown molecular basis for discrimination between K+ and Na+ permeation. Specific amino acids within the AtCNGC2 pore selectivity filter (Asn-416, Asp-417) are demonstrated to facilitate K+ over Na+ conductance. The selectivity filter of AtCNGC2 represents an alternative mechanism to the well-known GYG amino acid triplet of K+ channels that has been identified as the critical basis for K+ over Na+ permeation through the pore of ion channels.

The cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) cannabinoid receptor is an essential component of the cannabinergic system. It has been recognized as a therapeutic target for treating numerous diseases and is currently receiving considerable attention by the pharmaceutical community. Target-based drug design, utilizing three-dimensional information of receptor structure and ligand-binding motifs, requires significant amounts of purified protein. To facilitate the purification of CB1, we have expressed the receptor fused to various epitope tags using the baculovirus expression system. In addition, expression levels and ligand-binding profiles corresponding to the expressed fusion proteins have been compared. C-terminal histidine (His)-tagged CB1 gave a Bmax higher than most other systems previously reported in the literature, and was selected for subsequent metal affinity chromatography purification and mass spectroscopic (MS) analysis. Moreover, cells expressing C-terminal His-tagged CB1 were shown to inhibit forskolin-stimulated cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) production in a concentration-dependent manner in the presence of CP-55,940, confirming the expressed receptor's functional characteristics. A Western blot analysis of the purified receptor showed several forms of CB1, the most abundant being a 57 kDa monomeric protein. The purified CB1 preparations were subjected to protein digestion followed by MS. Fragments corresponding to >70% of the receptor were identified by this method, confirming the identity and purity of the expressed protein. The work presented here demonstrates that epitope-tagged CB1 can be expressed in sufficient amounts and purified to homogeneity for MS analysis. Moreover, these results will serve as a basis for future experiments aimed at characterizing the ligand-binding domains using covalently reacting receptor probes.