μ-opioid receptors: correlation of agonist efficacy for signalling with ability to activate internalization

Mol Pharmacol. 2010 Oct;78(4):756-66. doi: 10.1124/mol.110.066613. Epub 2010 Jul 20.

Abstract

We have compared the ability of a number of μ-opioid receptor (MOPr) ligands to activate G proteins with their abilities to induce MOPr phosphorylation, to promote association of arrestin-3 and to cause MOPr internalization. For a model of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) activation where all agonists stabilize a single active conformation of the receptor, a close correlation between signaling outputs might be expected. Our results show that overall there is a very good correlation between efficacy for G protein activation and arrestin-3 recruitment, whereas a few agonists, in particular endomorphins 1 and 2, display apparent bias toward arrestin recruitment. The agonist-induced phosphorylation of MOPr at Ser(375), considered a key step in MOPr regulation, and agonist-induced internalization of MOPr were each found to correlate well with arrestin-3 recruitment. These data indicate that for the majority of MOPr agonists the ability to induce receptor phosphorylation, arrestin-3 recruitment, and internalization can be predicted from their ability as agonists to activate G proteins. For the prototypic MOPr agonist morphine, its relatively weak ability to induce MOPr internalization can be explained by its low agonist efficacy.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Analgesics, Opioid / chemistry*
  • Analgesics, Opioid / metabolism*
  • Animals
  • Cattle
  • Cell Line
  • Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer
  • Humans
  • Protein Binding / drug effects
  • Protein Binding / physiology
  • Protein Transport / drug effects
  • Protein Transport / physiology
  • Rats
  • Receptors, Opioid, mu / agonists*
  • Receptors, Opioid, mu / metabolism*
  • Signal Transduction / drug effects
  • Signal Transduction / physiology*

Substances

  • Analgesics, Opioid
  • Receptors, Opioid, mu