A highly conserved tryptophan residue in the fourth transmembrane domain of the A adenosine receptor is essential for ligand binding but not receptor homodimerization.
Dimerization between G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) is a clearly established phenomenon. However, limited information is currently available on the interface essential for this process. Based on structural comparisons and sequence homology between rhodopsin and A(1) adenosine receptor (A(1)R), we initially hypothesized that four residues in transmembrane (TM) 4 and TM5 are involved in A(1)R homodimerization. Accordingly, these residues were substituted with Ala by site-directed mutagenesis. Interestingly, the mutant protein displayed no significant decrease in homodimer formation compared with wild-type A(1)R, as evident from coimmunoprecipitation and BRET(2) analyses (improved bioluminescence resonance energy transfer system offered by Perkin-Elmer Life Sciences), but lost ligand binding activity almost completely. Further studies disclosed that this effect was derived from the mutation of one particular residue, Trp132, which is highly conserved among many GPCRs. Confocal immunofluorescence and cell-surface biotinylation studies revealed that the mutant receptors localized normally at transfected cell membranes, signifying that loss of ligand binding was not because of defective cellular trafficking. Molecular modeling of the A(1)R-ligand complex disclosed that Trp132 interacted with several residues located in TM3 and TM5 that stabilized agonist binding. Thus, loss of interactions of Trp with these residues may, in turn, disrupt binding to agonists. Our study provides strong evidence of the essential role of the highly conserved Trp132 in TM4 of adenosine receptors.
Suzuki
Tokiko
T
Department of Molecular Cell Signaling, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Neuroscience, Tokyo, Japan.
Namba
Kazunori
K
Yamagishi
Ryosuke
R
Kaneko
Hiroki
H
Haga
Tatsuya
T
Nakata
Hiroyasu
H
D000241:Adenosine / Q000819:agonists / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism*; D058907:Adenosine A1 Receptor Agonists; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence / Q000502:physiology; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D017124:Conserved Sequence / Q000502:physiology; D031541:Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006801:Humans; D008024:Ligands; D008958:Models, Molecular; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D011485:Protein Binding / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D055503:Protein Multimerization; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary / Q000502:physiology; D043682:Receptor, Adenosine A1 / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D014364:Tryptophan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*
D058907:Adenosine A1 Receptor Agonists; D008024:Ligands; D043682:Receptor, Adenosine A1; D014364:Tryptophan; D000241:Adenosine