scholarly journals Efficiency measures the conversion of agonist binding energy into receptor conformational change

2019 ◽  
Vol 151 (4) ◽  
pp. 465-477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tapan K. Nayak ◽  
Ridhima Vij ◽  
Iva Bruhova ◽  
Jayasha Shandilya ◽  
Anthony Auerbach
Keyword(s):  
Activation Energy ◽  
Binding Energy ◽  
Conformational Change ◽  
Acetylcholine Receptors ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Equilibrium Constants ◽  
Bk Channels ◽  
Agonist Binding ◽  
Aryl Hydrocarbon ◽  
Efficiency Measures

Receptors alternate between resting↔active conformations that bind agonists with low↔high affinity. Here, we define a new agonist attribute, energy efficiency (η), as the fraction of ligand-binding energy converted into the mechanical work of the activation conformational change. η depends only on the resting/active agonist-binding energy ratio. In a plot of activation energy versus binding energy (an “efficiency” plot), the slope gives η and the y intercept gives the receptor’s intrinsic activation energy (without agonists; ΔG0). We used single-channel electrophysiology to estimate η for eight different agonists and ΔG0 in human endplate acetylcholine receptors (AChRs). From published equilibrium constants, we also estimated η for agonists of KCa1.1 (BK channels) and muscarinic, γ-aminobutyric acid, glutamate, glycine, and aryl-hydrocarbon receptors, and ΔG0 for all of these except KCa1.1. Regarding AChRs, η is 48–56% for agonists related structurally to acetylcholine but is only ∼39% for agonists related to epibatidine; ΔG0 is 8.4 kcal/mol in adult and 9.6 kcal/mol in fetal receptors. Efficiency plots for all of the above receptors are approximately linear, with η values between 12% and 57% and ΔG0 values between 2 and 12 kcal/mol. Efficiency appears to be a general attribute of agonist action at receptor binding sites that is useful for understanding binding mechanisms, categorizing agonists, and estimating concentration–response relationships.

scholarly journals Correction: Efficiency measures the conversion of agonist binding energy into receptor conformational change

2019 ◽  
Vol 152 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tapan K. Nayak ◽  
Ridhima Vij ◽  
Iva Bruhova ◽  
Jayasha Shandilya ◽  
Anthony Auerbach
Keyword(s):  
Binding Energy ◽  
Conformational Change ◽  
Agonist Binding ◽  
Efficiency Measures

scholarly journals Gating Dynamics of the Acetylcholine Receptor Extracellular Domain

2004 ◽  
Vol 123 (4) ◽  
pp. 341-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sudha Chakrapani ◽  
Timothy D. Bailey ◽  
Anthony Auerbach
Keyword(s):  
Conformational Change ◽  
Acetylcholine Receptors ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Extracellular Domain ◽  
Mouse Muscle ◽  
Α Subunit ◽  
Acetylcholine Binding Protein ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Loop 2 ◽  
Sandwich Core

We used single-channel recording and model-based kinetic analyses to quantify the effects of mutations in the extracellular domain (ECD) of the α-subunit of mouse muscle–type acetylcholine receptors (AChRs). The crystal structure of an acetylcholine binding protein (AChBP) suggests that the ECD is comprised of a β-sandwich core that is surrounded by loops. Here we focus on loops 2 and 7, which lie at the interface of the AChR extracellular and transmembrane domains. Side chain substitutions in these loops primarily affect channel gating by either decreasing or increasing the gating equilibrium constant. Many of the mutations to the β-core prevent the expression of functional AChRs, but of the mutants that did express almost all had wild-type behavior. Rate-equilibrium free energy relationship analyses reveal the presence of two contiguous, distinct synchronously-gating domains in the α-subunit ECD that move sequentially during the AChR gating reaction. The transmitter-binding site/loop 5 domain moves first (Φ = 0.93) and is followed by the loop 2/loop 7 domain (Φ = 0.80). These movements precede that of the extracellular linker (Φ = 0.69). We hypothesize that AChR gating occurs as the stepwise movements of such domains that link the low-to-high affinity conformational change in the TBS with the low-to-high conductance conformational change in the pore.

scholarly journals An integrated catch-and-hold mechanism activates nicotinic acetylcholine receptors

2012 ◽  
Vol 140 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Snehal Jadey ◽  
Anthony Auerbach
Keyword(s):  
Binding Site ◽  
Conformational Changes ◽  
Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Equilibrium Constants ◽  
Protein Structures ◽  
Channel Gating ◽  
Structural Basis ◽  
Agonist Binding ◽  
Adult Type

In neuromuscular acetylcholine (ACh) receptor channels (AChRs), agonist molecules bind with a low affinity (LA) to two sites that can switch to high affinity (HA) and increase the probability of channel opening. We measured (by using single-channel kinetic analysis) the rate and equilibrium constants for LA binding and channel gating for several different agonists of adult-type mouse AChRs. Almost all of the variation in the equilibrium constants for LA binding was from differences in the association rate constants. These were consistently below the limit set by diffusion and were substantially different even though the agonists had similar sizes and the same charge. This suggests that binding to resting receptors is not by diffusion alone and, hence, that each binding site can undergo two conformational changes (“catch” and “hold”) that connect three different structures (apo-, LA-bound, and HA-bound). Analyses of ACh-binding protein structures suggest that this binding site, too, may adopt three discrete structures having different degrees of loop C displacement (“capping”). For the agonists we tested, the logarithms of the equilibrium constants for LA binding and LA↔HA gating were correlated. Although agonist binding and channel gating have long been considered to be separate processes in the activation of ligand-gated ion channels, this correlation implies that the catch-and-hold conformational changes are energetically linked and together comprise an integrated process having a common structural basis. We propose that loop C capping mainly reflects agonist binding, with its two stages corresponding to the formation of the LA and HA complexes. The catch-and-hold reaction coordinate is discussed in terms of preopening states and thermodynamic cycles of activation.

scholarly journals A single molecular distance predicts agonist binding energy in nicotinic receptors

2019 ◽  
Vol 151 (4) ◽  
pp. 452-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sushree Tripathy ◽  
Wenjun Zheng ◽  
Anthony Auerbach
Keyword(s):  
Binding Energy ◽  
Acetylcholine Receptors ◽  
Structural Parameters ◽  
Aromatic Amino Acids ◽  
Binding Pocket ◽  
Binding Energies ◽  
Agonist Binding ◽  
Response Curves ◽  
Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Experimental Binding Energy

Agonists turn on receptors because they bind more strongly to active (R*) versus resting (R) conformations of their target sites. Here, to explore how agonists activate neuromuscular acetylcholine receptors, we built homology models of R and R* neurotransmitter binding sites, docked ligands to those sites, ran molecular dynamics simulations to relax (“equilibrate”) the structures, measured binding site structural parameters, and correlated them with experimental agonist binding energies. Each binding pocket is a pyramid formed by five aromatic amino acids and covered partially by loop C. We found that in R* versus R, loop C is displaced outward, the pocket is smaller and skewed, the agonist orientation is reversed, and a key nitrogen atom in the agonist is closer to the pocket center (distance dx) and a tryptophan pair but farther from αY190. Of these differences, the change in dx shows the largest correlation with experimental binding energy and provides a good estimate of agonist affinity, efficacy, and efficiency. Indeed, concentration–response curves can be calculated from just dx values. The contraction and twist of the binding pocket upon activation resemble gating rearrangements of the extracellular domain of related receptors at a smaller scale.

scholarly journals Modal affinities of endplate acetylcholine receptors caused by loop C mutations

2015 ◽  
Vol 146 (5) ◽  
pp. 375-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ridhima Vij ◽  
Prasad Purohit ◽  
Anthony Auerbach
Keyword(s):  
Binding Site ◽  
Acetylcholine Receptors ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Equilibrium Constants ◽  
Open Probability ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Single Channel Currents ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Channel Currents

The time course of the endplate current is determined by the rate and equilibrium constants for acetylcholine receptor (AChR) activation. We measured these constants in single-channel currents from AChRs with mutations at the neurotransmitter-binding sites, in loop C. The main findings are: (a) Almost all perturbations of loop C generate heterogeneity in the channel open probability (“modes”). (b) Modes are generated by different affinities for ACh that can be either higher or lower than in the wild-type receptors. (c) The modes are stable, in so far as each receptor maintains its affinity for at least several minutes. (d) Different agonists show different degrees of modal activity. With the loop C mutation αP197A, there are four modes with ACh but only two with partial agonists. (e) The affinity variations arise exclusively from the αδ-binding site. (f) Substituting four γ-subunit residues into the δ subunit (three in loop E and one in the β5–β5′ linker) reduces modal activity. (g) At each neurotransmitter-binding site, affinity is determined by a core of five aromatic residues. Modes are eliminated by an alanine mutation at δW57 but not at the other aromatics. (h) Modes are eliminated by a phenylalanine substitution at all core aromatics except αY93. The results suggest that, at the αδ agonist site, loop C and the complementary subunit surface can each adopt alternative conformations and interact with each other to influence the position of δW57 with respect to the aromatic core and, hence, affinity.

scholarly journals Lack of negative slope in I-V plots for BK channels at positive potentials in the absence of intracellular blockers

2013 ◽  
Vol 141 (4) ◽  
pp. 493-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanyan Geng ◽  
Xiaoyu Wang ◽  
Karl L. Magleby
Keyword(s):  
Single Channel ◽  
Bk Channels ◽  
Negative Slope ◽  
Channel Conductance ◽  
Single Channel Conductance ◽  
Linear Current ◽  
Joint Application ◽  
Current Voltage ◽  
Α Subunits

Large-conductance, voltage- and Ca2+-activated K+ (BK) channels display near linear current–voltage (I-V) plots for voltages between −100 and +100 mV, with an increasing sublinearity for more positive potentials. As is the case for many types of channels, BK channels are blocked at positive potentials by intracellular Ca2+ and Mg2+. This fast block progressively reduces single-channel conductance with increasing voltage, giving rise to a negative slope in the I-V plots beyond about +120 mV, depending on the concentration of the blockers. In contrast to these observations of pronounced differences in the magnitudes and shapes of I-V plots in the absence and presence of intracellular blockers, Schroeder and Hansen (2007. J. Gen. Physiol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1085/jgp.200709802) have reported identical I-V plots in the absence and presence of blockers for BK channels, with both plots having reduced conductance and negative slopes, as expected for blockers. Schroeder and Hansen included both Ca2+ and Mg2+ in the intracellular solution rather than a single blocker, and they also studied BK channels expressed from α plus β1 subunits, whereas most previous studies used only α subunits. Although it seems unlikely that these experimental differences would account for the differences in findings between previous studies and those of Schroeder and Hansen, we repeated the experiments using BK channels comprised of α plus β1 subunits with joint application of 2.5 mM Ca2+ plus 2.5 mM Mg2+, as Schroeder and Hansen did. In contrast to the findings of Schroeder and Hansen of identical I-V plots, we found marked differences in the single-channel I-V plots in the absence and presence of blockers. Consistent with previous studies, we found near linear I-V plots in the absence of blockers and greatly reduced currents and negative slopes in the presence of blockers. Hence, studies of conductance mechanisms for BK channels should exclude intracellular Ca2+/Mg2+, as they can reduce conductance and induce negative slopes.

Some properties of acetylcholine receptors in human cultured myotubes

1985 ◽  
Vol 224 (1235) ◽  
pp. 183-196 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Acetylcholine Receptors ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Resting Potential ◽  
Patch Clamp Technique ◽  
Membrane Hyperpolarization ◽  
Human Myotubes ◽  
Cultured Myotubes ◽  
Channel Open Time ◽  
Ach Receptors

The distribution and single channel properties of acetylcholine (ACh) receptors in human myotubes grown in tissue culture have been examined. Radioautography of myotubes labelled with [ 125 I]α-bungarotoxin showed that ACh receptors are distributed uniformly over the myotube surface at a density of 3.9 ± 0.5 receptors per square micrometre. Ac­cumulations of ACh receptors (hot spots) were found rarely. The conductance and kinetics of ACh-activated channels were investi­gated with the patch-clamp technique. Cell-attached membrane patches were used in all experiments. A single channel conductance in the range 40–45 pS was calculated. No sublevels of conductance (substates) of the activated channel were observed. The distribution of channel open-times varied with ACh concentration. With 100 nM ACh, the distribution was best fitted by the sum of two exponentials, whereas with 1 μM ACh a single exponential could be fitted. The mean channel open-time at the myotube resting potential (ca. — 70 mV, 22°C) was 8.2 ms. The distribution of channel closed-times was complex at all concentrations of ACh studied (100 nM to 10 μm). With desensitizing doses of ACh (10 μM), channel openings occurred in obvious bursts; each burst usually appeared as part of a ‘cluster’ of bursts. Both burst duration and mean interval between bursts increased with membrane hyperpolarization. Individual channel open-times and burst durations showed similar voltage dependence (e-fold increase per 80 mV hyperpolarization), whereas both the channel closed-times within a burst and the number of openings per burst were independent of membrane potential.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document