Glucose-regulated protein 78 binds to and regulates the melanocortin-4 receptor

Exp Mol Med. 2018 Sep 12;50(9):1-14. doi: 10.1038/s12276-018-0144-8.

Abstract

The melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) belongs to the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) family and plays an essential role in the control of energy homeostasis. Here, we identified a novel MC4R-interacting protein, glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), from a pulldown assay using hypothalamic protein extracts and the third intracellular loop of MC4R. We found that MC4R interacted with GRP78 in both the cytosol and at the cell surface and that this interaction increased when MC4R was internalized in the presence of the agonist melanotan-II (MTII). Downregulation of GRP78 using a short interfering RNA approach attenuated MTII-mediated receptor internalization. Reduction in GRP78 expression during tunicamycin-induced endoplasmic reticulum stress also suppressed MTII-mediated internalization of MC4R and cAMP-mediated transcriptional activity. Furthermore, lentiviral-mediated short hairpin RNA knockdown of endogenous GRP78 in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus resulted in an increase in body weight in mice fed a high-fat diet. These results suggest that GRP78 in the PVN binds to MC4R and may have a chaperone-like role in the regulation of MC4R trafficking and signaling.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Biphenyl Compounds / pharmacology
  • Body Weight / drug effects
  • Cricetulus
  • Down-Regulation / drug effects
  • Endoplasmic Reticulum Chaperone BiP
  • Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress / drug effects
  • Feeding Behavior / drug effects
  • HEK293 Cells
  • Heat-Shock Proteins / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mice, Obese
  • Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus / metabolism
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Structure, Secondary
  • Protein Transport / drug effects
  • RNA, Small Interfering / metabolism
  • Receptor, Melanocortin, Type 4 / chemistry
  • Receptor, Melanocortin, Type 4 / metabolism*

Substances

  • Biphenyl Compounds
  • Endoplasmic Reticulum Chaperone BiP
  • HSPA5 protein, human
  • Heat-Shock Proteins
  • Hspa5 protein, mouse
  • RNA, Small Interfering
  • Receptor, Melanocortin, Type 4
  • 4-phenylbenzoic acid