scholarly journals Oxytocin Is a Positive Allosteric Modulator of κ-Opioid Receptors but Not δ-Opioid Receptors in the G Protein Signaling Pathway

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 2651
Author(s):  
Kanako Miyano ◽  
Yuki Yoshida ◽  
Shigeto Hirayama ◽  
Hideki Takahashi ◽  
Haruka Ono ◽  
...  

Oxytocin (OT) influences various physiological functions such as uterine contractions, maternal/social behavior, and analgesia. Opioid signaling pathways are involved in one of the analgesic mechanisms of OT. We previously showed that OT acts as a positive allosteric modulator (PAM) and enhances μ-opioid receptor (MOR) activity. In this study, which focused on other opioid receptor (OR) subtypes, we investigated whether OT influences opioid signaling pathways as a PAM for δ-OR (DOR) or κ-OR (KOR) using human embryonic kidney-293 cells expressing human DOR or KOR, respectively. The CellKeyTM results showed that OT enhanced impedance induced by endogenous/exogenous KOR agonists on KOR-expressing cells. OT did not affect DOR activity induced by endogenous/exogenous DOR agonists. OT potentiated the KOR agonist-induced Gi/o protein-mediated decrease in intracellular cAMP, but did not affect the increase in KOR internalization caused by the KOR agonists dynorphin A and (-)-U-50488 hydrochloride (U50488). OT did not bind to KOR orthosteric binding sites and did not affect the binding affinities of dynorphin A and U50488 for KOR. These results suggest that OT is a PAM of KOR and MOR and enhances G protein signaling without affecting β-arrestin signaling. Thus, OT has potential as a specific signaling-biased PAM of KOR.

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (673) ◽  
pp. eaax3053
Author(s):  
Mieke Metzemaekers ◽  
Anneleen Mortier ◽  
Alessandro Vacchini ◽  
Daiane Boff ◽  
Karen Yu ◽  
...  

The inflammatory human chemokine CXCL5 interacts with the G protein–coupled receptor CXCR2 to induce chemotaxis and activation of neutrophils. CXCL5 also has weak agonist activity toward CXCR1. The N-terminus of CXCL5 can be modified by proteolytic cleavage or deimination of Arg9 to citrulline (Cit), and these modifications can occur separately or together. Here, we chemically synthesized native CXCL5(1–78), truncated CXCL5 [CXCL5(9–78)], and the citrullinated (Cit9) versions and characterized their functions in vitro and in vivo. Compared with full-length CXCL5, N-terminal truncation resulted in enhanced potency to induce G protein signaling and β-arrestin recruitment through CXCR2, increased CXCL5-initiated internalization of CXCR2, and greater Ca2+ signaling downstream of not only CXCR2 but also CXCR1. Citrullination did not affect the capacity of CXCL5 to activate classical or alternative signaling pathways. Administering the various CXCL5 forms to mice revealed that in addition to neutrophils, CXCL5 exerted chemotactic activity toward monocytes and that this activity was increased by N-terminal truncation. These findings were confirmed by in vitro chemotaxis and Ca2+ signaling assays with primary human CD14+ monocytes and human THP-1 monocytes. In vitro and in vivo analyses suggested that CXCL5 targeted monocytes through CXCR1 and CXCR2. Thus, truncation of the N-terminus makes CXCL5 a more potent chemoattractant for both neutrophils and monocytes that acts through CXCR1 and CXCR2.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. e0205015
Author(s):  
Tomás Osorno ◽  
Oscar Arenas ◽  
Nelson J. Ramírez-Suarez ◽  
Fabio A. Echeverry ◽  
María del Pilar Gomez ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 234 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isaac J. Dripps ◽  
Qin Wang ◽  
Richard R. Neubig ◽  
Kenner C. Rice ◽  
John R. Traynor ◽  
...  

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 189
Author(s):  
V. H. Dang ◽  
E.-B. Jeung

Calbindin-D9k (CaBP-9k), a cytosolic protein, is one of the members of the family of vitamin D-dependent calcium-binding proteins with high affinity for calcium. The previous in vitro studies indicated that this gene is controlled by 17β-estradiol (E2), a physiological estrogen, via both genomic (through its classical nuclear receptors) and non-genomic (through different cypoplasmic signals) mechanisms. In order to provide a better understanding in molecular events by which E2 exerts its actions in the regulation of CaBP-9k, we employed GH3 cells as an in vitro model to examine the possible non-genomic effects of E2 on the induction of CaBP-9k. GH3 cells were treated dose-dependently (10–5, 10–6, 10–7, 10–8, and 10–9 m) with E2-BSA, a membrane-impermeable E2 conjugated with BSA, for 24 h. To examine the time dependency, the cells were also exposed to a high concentration (10–6 m) of E2-BSA and harvested at various time points (5 min, 15 min, 30 min, 1 h, 3 h, 6 h, 12 h, 24 h, and 48 h). Furthermore, in order to determine the potential involvement of non-genomic signaling pathways in E2-BSA-induced expression of CaBP-9k, several inhibitors also were employed, including ICI 182 780 for membrane estrogen receptor (ER) pathway, pertussis toxin (PTX) for G protein signaling, U0126 for ERK pathway, and wortmannin for Akt pathway. The non-genomic effects of E2-BSA on the induction of CaBP-9k mRNA and protein were determined by semi-quantitative RT-PCR and Western blotting, respectively. In a dose-dependent manner, administration with E2-BSA (10–6 m) induced the highest response of CaBP-9k at transcriptional (mRNA) level, whereas protein level of CaBP-9k peaked at E2-BSA concentration (10–7 m) at 24 h. In a time course, E2-BSA (10–6 m) exposure caused a significant increase in both CaBP-9k mRNA and protein expressions as early as 15 min and peaked at 24 h. Co-treatment with ICI 182 780 and PTX completely inhibited E2-BSA-induced CaBP-9k mRNA and protein expressions. Interestingly, although co-treatments with U0126 and/or wortmannin alone failed to attenuate the effects of E2-BSA, a combination of 2 inhibitors completely reversed E2-BSA-induced CaBP-9k expressions at both transcriptional (mRNA) and translational (protein) levels, suggesting their involvement in the regulation of CaBP-9k in GH3 cells. Taken together, these results demonstrate that various signaling pathways may be involved in E2-induced regulation of CaBP-9k in which membrane ER and G protein signaling pathways play a central role in non-genomic responses. Further in vitro experiments are required to elucidate additional details of the interaction of ERK and Akt pathways in the regulation of CaBP-9k in these cells, offering a new insight into the mode of E2 action in the pituitary gland of human and wildlife.


2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 416-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Travis W. Grim ◽  
Cullen L. Schmid ◽  
Edward L. Stahl ◽  
Fani Pantouli ◽  
Jo-Hao Ho ◽  
...  

Pathogens ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 902
Author(s):  
Hee-Soo Park ◽  
Min-Ju Kim ◽  
Jae-Hyuk Yu ◽  
Kwang-Soo Shin

The heterotrimeric G-protein (G-protein) signaling pathway is one of the most important signaling pathways that transmit external signals into the inside of the cell, triggering appropriate biological responses. The external signals are sensed by various G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and transmitted into G-proteins consisting of the α, β, and γ subunits. Regulators of G-protein signaling (RGSs) are the key controllers of G-protein signaling pathways. GPCRs, G-proteins, and RGSs are the primary upstream components of the G-protein signaling pathway, and they are highly conserved in most filamentous fungi, playing diverse roles in biological processes. Recent studies characterized the G-protein signaling components in the opportunistic pathogenic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus. In this review, we have summarized the characteristics and functions of GPCRs, G-proteins, and RGSs, and their regulatory roles in governing fungal growth, asexual development, germination, stress tolerance, and virulence in A. fumigatus.


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