scholarly journals Alanine-261 in intracellular loop III of the human gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor is crucial for G-protein coupling and receptor internalization

1998 ◽  
Vol 331 (3) ◽  
pp. 893-896 ◽  
Author(s):  
David B. MYBURGH ◽  
Robert P. MILLAR ◽  
Janet P. HAPGOOD

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is a decapeptide that regulates reproductive function via binding to the GnRH receptor, which is a G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR). For several members of this family, the C-terminal domain of intracellular loop III is important in ligand-mediated coupling to G-proteins; mutations in that region can lead to constitutive activity. A specific alanine residue is involved in certain GPCRs, the equivalent of which is Ala-261 in the GnRH receptor. Mutation of this residue to Leu, Ile, Lys, Glu or Phe in the human GnRH receptor did not result in constitutive activity and instead led to complete uncoupling of the receptor (failure to support GnRH-stimulated inositol phosphate production). When this residue was mutated to Gly, Pro, Ser or Val, inositol phosphate production was still supported. All the mutants retained the ability to bind ligand, and the affinity for ligand, where measured, was unchanged. These results show that Ala-261 cannot be involved in ligand binding but is critical for coupling of the receptor to its cognate G-protein. Coupling is also dependent on the size of the residue in position 261. When the amino acid side chain has a molecular mass of less than 40 Da efficient coupling is still possible, but when its molecular mass exceeds 50 Da the receptor is uncoupled. Internalization studies on the Ala261 → Lys mutant showed a marked decrease in receptor internalization compared with the wild type, indicating that coupling is necessary for effective receptor internalization in the GnRH receptor system. Activation of protein kinase C (with PMA), but not protein kinase A (with forskolin) markedly increased the internalization of the mutant receptor while having a small effect on the wild-type receptor.

1993 ◽  
Vol 294 (2) ◽  
pp. 581-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
E R Prossnitz ◽  
O Quehenberger ◽  
C G Cochrane ◽  
R D Ye

The G-protein-coupled N-formyl peptide receptor (FPR) contains one of the smallest known third intracellular loops of this class of receptors, consisting of only 15 amino acids. To study the role of this region of the receptor in G protein coupling and signal transduction, we generated a deletion mutant (D3i) in which 10 amino acids of the loop were removed, as well as a series of site-directed mutants containing substitutions of the charged and polar amino acids of this loop. The D3i mutant, expressed at normal levels on the cell surface, displayed a KD for labelled N-formyl-Met-Leu-Phe ([3H]FMLP) of 165 nM. This value compares with a KD for the wild-type FPR of 1.0 nM, or 20 nM in the presence of guanosine 5′-[gamma-thio]triphosphate, which uncouples G proteins from the receptor. These results indicate that D3i contains significant structural defects, beyond the disruption of G protein coupling, that affect ligand binding properties. Ten site-directed mutants generated in the third intracellular loop (T226A, K227E, H229A, K230Q, K235Q, S236A, S236A/S237G, R238G, R241E and S244A) displayed KD values between 0.5 and 1.0 nM, with expression levels between 22% (K227E) and 111% (H229A) of that of wild type receptor. The capacity of the mutants for signal transductions was determined by measuring intracellular Ca2+ mobilization. Eight of the ten mutants displayed EC50 values for FMLP of between 0.07 and 0.9 nM, as compared with 0.12 nM for the wild-type receptor. The two mutants K227E and R238G had EC50 values of 2.7 and 2.9 nM respectively. The increase in EC50 could be accounted for partially by the low levels of receptor expression. All ten mutants gave maximum levels of Ca2+ mobilization similar to that produced by the wild-type FPR. These results contradict the conclusions reached with other G-protein-coupled receptors and indicate that the third intracellular loop of the FPR does not have a critical role in the functional coupling of G proteins.


Endocrinology ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 148 (4) ◽  
pp. 1666-1674 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine B. Kessler ◽  
Anne M. Delany

Osteonectin, or secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine, is one of the most abundant noncollagen matrix components in bone. This matricellular protein regulates extracellular matrix assembly and maturation in addition to modulating cell behavior. Mice lacking osteonectin develop severe low-turnover osteopenia, and in vitro studies of osteonectin-null osteoblastic cells showed that osteonectin supports osteoblast formation, maturation, and survival. The present studies demonstrate that osteonectin-null osteoblastic cells have increased expression of Notch 1, a well-documented regulator of cell fate in multiple systems. Furthermore, osteonectin-null cells are more plastic and less committed to osteoblastic differentiation, able to pursue adipogenic differentiation given the appropriate signals. Notch 1 transcripts are down-regulated by inducers of cAMP in both wild-type and osteonectin-null osteoblasts, suggesting that the mutant osteoblasts may have a defect in generation of cAMP in response to stimuli. Indeed, many bone anabolic agents signal through increased cAMP. Wild-type and osteonectin-null osteoblasts generated comparable amounts of cAMP in response to forskolin, a direct stimulator of adenylyl cyclase. However, the ability of osteonectin-null osteoblasts to generate cAMP in response to cholera toxin, a direct stimulator of Gs, was attenuated. These data imply that osteonectin-null osteoblasts have decreased coupling of Gs to adenylyl cyclase. Because osteonectin promotes G protein coupling to an effector, our studies support the concept that low-turnover osteopenia can result from reducing G protein coupled receptor activity.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Hall ◽  
Carley Squires ◽  
Keith K. Parker

Peptide mimics of intracellular loop 2 (ic2) of the human 5HT1a receptor have been studied with respect to their ability to inhibit agonist binding via interference with receptor-G-protein coupling. These peptides give shallow concentration-effect relationships. Additionally, these peptides have been studied with respect to their ability to trigger the signal transduction system of this Gi-coupled receptor. Two signaling parameters have been quantified: concentration of intracellular cAMP and changes in incorporation into the G protein of a stable analog of GTP. In both cases, peptide mimics near midloop of ic2 actually show agonist activity with efficacy falling off toward both loop termini near TM 3 and TM 4. Previous results have suggested that the loop region near the TM3/ic2 interface is primarily responsible for receptor-G-protein coupling, while the current result emphasizes the mid-ic2 loop region's ability to activate the G protein following initial coupling. A limited number of peptides from the receptor's TM5/ic3 loop vicinity were also studied regarding agonist inhibition and G-protein activation. These peptides provide additional evidence that the human 5HT1a receptor, TM5/ic3 loop region, is involved in both coupling and activation actions. Overall, these results provide further information about potential pharmacological intervention and drug development with respect to the human 5HT1a receptor/G-protein system. Finally, the structural evidence generated here provides testable models pending crystallization and X-ray analysis of the receptor.


2008 ◽  
Vol 89 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa P. M. Stropes ◽  
William E. Miller

The human cytomegalovirus (HCMV)-encoded viral G protein-coupled receptor pUS28 contributes to an array of biological effects, including cell migration and proliferation. Using FIX-BAC (bacterial artificial chromosome, derived from the HCMV clinical isolate VR1814) and lambda red recombination techniques, we generated HCMV recombinants expressing amino-terminally FLAG-tagged versions of wild-type pUS28 (FLAG–US28/WT), G-protein coupling deficient pUS28 (FLAG–US28/R129A) and chemokine-binding domain deficient pUS28 (FLAG–US28/ΔN). Infection with the FLAG–US28/R129A virus failed to induce inositol phosphate accumulation, indicating that G-protein coupling is essential for pUS28 signalling to phospholipase C-β (PLC-β) during HCMV infection. The FLAG–US28/ΔN virus induced about 80 % of the level of PLC-β signalling induced by the FLAG–US28/WT virus, demonstrating that the N-terminal chemokine-binding domain is not required for pUS28-induced PLC-β signalling in infected cells. The data presented here are the first to describe the functional analyses of several key pUS28 mutants in HCMV-infected cells. Elucidating the mechanisms by which pUS28 signals during infection will provide important insights into HCMV pathogenesis.


Endocrinology ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 149 (3) ◽  
pp. 1415-1422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam J. Pawson ◽  
Elena Faccenda ◽  
Stuart Maudsley ◽  
Zhi-Liang Lu ◽  
Zvi Naor ◽  
...  

Regulatory elements present in the cytoplasmic carboxyl-terminal tails of G protein-coupled receptors contribute to agonist-dependent receptor desensitization, internalization, and association with accessory proteins such as β-arrestin. The mammalian type I GnRH receptors are unique among the rhodopsin-like G protein-coupled receptors because they lack a cytoplasmic carboxyl-terminal tail. In addition, they do not recruit β-arrestin, nor do they undergo rapid desensitization. By measuring the internalization of labeled GnRH agonists, previous studies have reported that mammalian type I GnRH receptors undergo slow agonist-dependent internalization. In the present study, we have measured the internalization of epitope-tagged GnRH receptors, both in the absence and presence of GnRH stimulation. We demonstrate that mammalian type I GnRH receptors exhibit a low level of constitutive agonist-independent internalization. Stimulation with GnRH agonist did not significantly enhance the level of receptor internalization above the constitutive level. In contrast, the catfish GnRH and rat TRH receptors, which have cytoplasmic carboxyl-terminal tails, displayed similar levels of constitutive agonist-independent internalization but underwent robust agonist-dependent internalization, as did chimeras of the mammalian type I GnRH receptor with the cytoplasmic carboxyl-terminal tails of the catfish GnRH receptor or the rat TRH receptor. When the carboxyl-terminal Tyr325 and Leu328 residues of the mammalian type I GnRH receptor were replaced with alanines, these two mutant receptors underwent significantly impaired internalization, suggesting a function for the Tyr-X-X-Leu sequence in mediating the constitutive agonist-independent internalization of mammalian type I GnRH receptors. These findings provide further support for the underlying notion that the absence of the cytoplasmic carboxyl-terminal tail of the mammalian type I GnRH receptors has been selected for during evolution to prevent rapid receptor desensitization and internalization to allow protracted GnRH signaling in mammals.


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