Characterisation of the interaction of the C-terminus of the dopamine D2 receptor with neuronal calcium sensor-1

PLoS One. 2011;6(11):e27779. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0027779. Epub 2011 Nov 16.

Abstract

NCS-1 is a member of the neuronal calcium sensor (NCS) family of EF-hand Ca(2+) binding proteins which has been implicated in several physiological functions including regulation of neurotransmitter release, membrane traffic, voltage gated Ca(2+) channels, neuronal development, synaptic plasticity, and learning. NCS-1 binds to the dopamine D2 receptor, potentially affecting its internalisation and controlling dopamine D2 receptor surface expression. The D2 receptor binds NCS-1 via a short 16-residue cytoplasmic C-terminal tail. We have used NMR and fluorescence spectroscopy to characterise the interactions between the NCS-1/Ca(2+) and D2 peptide. The data show that NCS-1 binds D2 peptide with a K(d) of ∼14.3 µM and stoichiometry of peptide binding to NCS-1 of 2:1. NMR chemical shift mapping confirms that D2 peptide binds to the large, solvent-exposed hydrophobic groove, on one face of the NCS-1 molecule, with residues affected by the presence of the peptide spanning both the N and C-terminal portions of the protein. The NMR and mutagenesis data further show that movement of the C-terminal helix 11 of NCS-1 to fully expose the hydrophobic groove is important for D2 peptide binding. Molecular docking using restraints derived from the NMR chemical shift data, together with the experimentally-derived stoichiometry, produced a model of the complex between NCS-1 and the dopamine receptor, in which two molecules of the receptor are able to simultaneously bind to the NCS-1 monomer.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Calcium Signaling / physiology*
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Neuronal Calcium-Sensor Proteins / genetics
  • Neuronal Calcium-Sensor Proteins / metabolism*
  • Neuropeptides / genetics
  • Neuropeptides / metabolism*
  • Peptide Fragments / metabolism*
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Multimerization
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Rats
  • Receptors, Dopamine D2 / genetics
  • Receptors, Dopamine D2 / metabolism*

Substances

  • Neuronal Calcium-Sensor Proteins
  • Neuropeptides
  • Peptide Fragments
  • Receptors, Dopamine D2
  • frequenin calcium sensor proteins