G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) can modulate diverse signaling pathways, often in a ligand-specific manner. The full range of functionally relevant GPCR conformations is poorly understood. Here we use NMR spectroscopy to characterize the conformational dynamics of the transmembrane core of the β2-adrenergic receptor (β2AR), a prototypical GPCR. We labeled β2AR with 13CH3ε-methionine and obtained HSQC spectra of unliganded receptor as well as receptor bound to an inverse agonist, an agonist, and a G protein-mimetic nanobody. These studies provide evidence for conformational states not observed in crystal structures, as well as substantial conformational heterogeneity in agonist- and inverse-agonist-bound preparations. They also show that for β2AR, unlike rhodopsin, an agonist alone does not stabilize a fully active conformation, suggesting that the conformational link between the agonist-binding pocket and the G-protein-coupling surface is not rigid. The observed heterogeneity may be important for β2AR’s ability to engage multiple signaling and regulatory proteins.

No abstract

G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are seven transmembrane proteins that mediate the majority of cellular responses to hormones and neurotransmitters. They are the largest group of therapeutic targets for a broad spectrum of diseases. Recent crystal structures of GPCRs1,2,3,4,5 reveal structural conservation extending from the orthosteric ligand binding site in the transmembrane core to the cytoplasmic G protein coupling domains. In contrast, the extracellular surface (ECS) of GPCRs is remarkably diverse, and therefore represents an ideal target for the discovery of subtype-selective drugs. However, little is known about the functional role of the ECS in receptor activation, or about conformational coupling of this surface to the native ligand binding pocket. Here we use NMR spectroscopy to investigate ligand-specific conformational changes around a central structural feature in the ECS of the β2 adrenergic receptor: a salt bridge linking extracellular loops (ECLs) 2 and 3. Small molecule drugs that bind within the transmembrane core and exhibit different efficacies towards G protein activation (agonist, neutral antagonist, and inverse agonist) also stabilize distinct conformations of the ECS. We thereby demonstrate conformational coupling between the ECS and the orthosteric binding site, showing that drugs targeting this diverse surface could function as allosteric modulators with high subtype selectivity. Moreover, these studies provide new insight into the dynamic behavior of GPCRs not addressable by static, inactive-state crystal structures.

The conserved tryptophan in position 13 of TM-VI (Trp-VI:13 or Trp-6.48) of the CWXP motif located at the bottom of the main ligand-binding pocket in TM-VI is believed to function as a rotameric microswitch in the activation process of seventransmembrane (7TM) receptors. Molecular dynamics simulations in rhodopsin demonstrated that rotation around the chi1 torsion angle of Trp-VI:13 brings its side chain close to the equally highly conserved Phe-V:13 (Phe-5.47) in TM-V. In the ghrelin receptor, engineering of high affinity metal-ion sites between these positions confirmed their close spatial proximity. Mutational analysis was performed in the ghrelin receptor with multiple substitutions and with Ala substitutions in GPR119, GPR39, and the ␤ 2 -adrenergic receptor as well as the NK1 receptor. In all of these cases, it was found that mutation of the Trp-VI:13 rotameric switch itself eliminated the constitutive signaling and strongly impaired agonist-induced signaling without affecting agonist affinity and potency. Ala substitution of Phe-V:13, the presumed interaction partner for Trp-VI:13, also in all cases impaired both the constitutive and the agonist-induced receptor signaling, but not to the same degree as observed in the constructs where Trp-VI:13 itself was mutated, but again without affecting agonist potency. In a proposed active receptor conformation generated by molecular simulations, where the extracellular segment of TM-VI is tilted inwards in the main ligand-binding pocket, Trp-VI:13 could rotate into a position where it obtained an ideal aromatic-aromatic interaction with Phe-V: 13. It is concluded that Phe-V:13 can serve as an aromatic lock for the proposed active conformation of the Trp-VI:13 rotameric switch, being involved in the global movement of TM-V and TM-VI in 7TM receptor activation.Despite the fact that the large superfamily of 7TM 3 or G protein-coupled receptors are activated by agonists of incredibly different chemical nature, it is believed that they nevertheless all share a common molecular activation mechanism (1-3). A series of biochemical and biophysical studies indicate that receptor activation is associated with relatively large overall changes in the arrangement of the seven-helical bundle of transmembrane segments (4, 5). This notion has been gathered in a unifying "global toggle switch" activation model describing how in particular TM-VI performs a "vertical" see-saw movement around a pivot in the middle of the membrane during activation (2). Thus, the extracellular segment of TM-VI is supposed to tilt into the main ligand-binding pocket, whereas the intracellular segment tilts outward, away from the receptor center and thereby allows binding of the active form of the G protein. However, changes in the relative conformation of TM-V and -VII are also supposed to be important parts of the activation process in which the conserved proline residues in the middle of the transmembrane segments are involved, as in TM-VI (2, 6). Recently, the x-ray structure of opsin in complex with ...

The carboxyamidated wFwLL peptide was used as a core ligand to probe the structural basis for agonism versus inverse agonism in the constitutively active ghrelin receptor. In the ligand, an efficacy switch could be built at the N terminus, as exemplified by AwFwLL, which functioned as a high potency agonist, whereas KwFwLL was an equally high potency inverse agonist. The wFw-containing peptides, agonists as well as inverse agonists, were affected by receptor mutations covering the whole main ligand-binding pocket with key interaction sites being an aromatic cluster in transmembrane (TM)-VI and -VII and residues on the opposing face of TM-III. Gain-of-function in respect of either increased agonist or inverse agonist potency or swap between high potency versions of these properties was obtained by substitutions at a number of positions covering a broad area of the binding pocket on TM-III, -IV, and -V. However, in particular, space-generating substitutions at position III:04 shifted the efficacy of the ligands from inverse agonism toward agonism, whereas similar substitutions at position III: 08, one helical turn below, shifted the efficacy from agonism toward inverse agonism. It is suggested that the relative position of the ligand in the binding pocket between this "efficacy shift region" on TM-III and the opposing aromatic cluster on TM-VI and TM-VII leads either to agonism, i.e. in a superficial binding mode, or it leads to inverse agonism, i.e. in a more profound binding mode. This relationship between different binding modes and opposite efficacy is in accordance with the Global Toggle Switch model for 7TM receptor activation. 7TM3 receptors (G-protein-coupled receptors) constitute one of the largest superfamilies of proteins, which also serve as targets for a large proportion of current medical drugs. In particular members of the family A or rhodopsin-like 7TM receptors, which also is the largest family, are considered to be rather easy drug targets. Most of these receptors are antagonist-prone, i.e. if they are screened with libraries of small organic, drug-like molecules, most if not all of the hits will be antagonists, inhibiting agonist-induced signal transduction, when they are tested in functional assays (1). However, a small proportion of the 7TM receptors, including, for example, the complement C5a receptor, the melanocortin MC4 receptor, and the ghrelin receptor, are instead agonist-prone, i.e. most of the screening hits are agonists in functional assays (2). Part of the reason for this is probably that these receptors are characterized by a rather high degree of constitutive, ligand-independent signaling activity, i.e. in the conformational equilibrium these receptors are at least partly biased for active conformation(s) (1). The ghrelin receptor (Fig. 1), for example, is among the most constitutively active receptors as it signals with ϳ50%, depending on the signal transduction pathway, of its maximal signaling capacity without the presence of any hormone (3, 4). High constitutive activity has b...

Most nonpeptide antagonists for CC-chemokine receptors share a common pharmacophore with a centrally located, positively charged amine that interacts with the highly conserved glutamic acid (Glu) located in position 6 of transmembrane helix VII (VII:06). We present a novel CCR8 nonpeptide agonist, -268), and N-(1-(3-(2-methoxyphenoxy)benzyl)piperidin-4-yl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-2-oxoquinoline-4-carboxamide (LMD-174)] included several key-residues for nonpeptide antagonists targeting CCR1, -2, and -5. It is noteworthy that a decrease in potency of nearly 1000-fold was observed for all five compounds for the Ala substitution of the anchor-point GluVII:06 (Glu 286 ) and a gain-of-function of 19-fold was observed for LMD-009 (but not the four other analogs) for the Ala substitution of PheVI:16 (Phe 254 ). These structural hallmarks were particularly important in the generation of a model of the molecular mechanism of action for LMD-009. In conclusion, we present the first molecular mapping of the interaction of a nonpeptide agonist with a chemokine receptor and show that the binding pocket of LMD-009 and of analogs overlaps considerably with the binding pockets of CCchemokine receptor nonpeptide antagonists in general.Chemokine receptors belong to the superfamily of rhodopsin-like G protein-coupled 7TM receptors (Murphy et al., 2000). The chemokine ligands (chemotactic cytokines) are a family of large peptides (70 -80 amino acids in length) composed of around 50 members. The CC-chemokines are characterized by the absence of an amino acid between the first two of four conserved cysteines and constitute the largest group (CCL1-28), whereas the CXC-chemokines constitute the other major group (CXCL1-16). Two additional chemokines, the XCL1 and the CX3CL1, have been described previously (Murphy et al., 2000). The chemokine system regulates the development, activation, and recruitment of leukocytes and plays important roles outside the immune system (for instance, on organogenesis, angiogenesis, and carcinogenesis) (Gerard and Rollins, 2001). CCR8 is selectively expressed on a subset of T-helper-2 (Th2) and regulatory T cells and is upregulated on Th2 cells upon activation (Soler et al

No abstract

PYY3-36 is a biopharmaceutical antiobesity agent under development as well as an endogenous satiety hormone, which is generated by dipeptidyl peptidase-IV digestion of polypetide YY (PYY), and in contrast to the parent hormone, PYY is highly selective for the Y2 versus the Y1 receptor. NMR analysis revealed a highly ordered, back-folded structure for human PYY in aqueous solution similar to the classical PP-fold structure of pancreatic polypeptide. The NMR analysis of PYY3-36 also showed a folded structure resembling a PP-fold, which however was characterized by far fewer long distance NOEs than the PP-fold observed in the full-length peptide. This suggests that either a conformational change has occurred in the N-terminal segment of PYY3-36 or that this segments is characterized by larger dynamics. The study supports the notion that the PP-fold is crucial for establishing simultaneous interactions with two subsites in the receptor for binding of, respectively, the N- and C-terminal ends of PYY. The Y2 receptor only requires recognition of the C-terminal segment of the molecule as displayed by the Y2 selective PYY3-36.