Conformational plasticity of ligand-bound and ternary GPCR complexes studied by 19F NMR of the β1-adrenergic receptor

Nat Commun. 2020 Feb 3;11(1):669. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-14526-3.

Abstract

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are allosteric signaling proteins that transmit an extracellular stimulus across the cell membrane. Using 19F NMR and site-specific labelling, we investigate the response of the cytoplasmic region of transmembrane helices 6 and 7 of the β1-adrenergic receptor to agonist stimulation and coupling to a Gs-protein-mimetic nanobody. Agonist binding shows the receptor in equilibrium between two inactive states and a pre-active form, increasingly populated with higher ligand efficacy. Nanobody coupling leads to a fully active ternary receptor complex present in amounts correlating directly with agonist efficacy, consistent with partial agonism. While for different agonists the helix 6 environment in the active-state ternary complexes resides in a well-defined conformation, showing little conformational mobility, the environment of the highly conserved NPxxY motif on helix 7 remains dynamic adopting diverse, agonist-specific conformations, implying a further role of this region in receptor function. An inactive nanobody-coupled ternary receptor form is also observed.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Cell Membrane / metabolism
  • Fluorine-19 Magnetic Resonance Imaging*
  • Humans
  • Ligands
  • Membrane Proteins / chemistry
  • Models, Molecular
  • Protein Conformation
  • Receptors, Adrenergic, beta-1 / chemistry*
  • Receptors, Adrenergic, beta-1 / isolation & purification
  • Receptors, Adrenergic, beta-1 / metabolism
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / chemistry*
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / metabolism

Substances

  • Ligands
  • Membrane Proteins
  • Receptors, Adrenergic, beta-1
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled