1
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Abbas MA, Al-Kabariti AY, Sutton C. Comprehensive understanding of the role of GPER in estrogen receptor-alpha negative breast cancer. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 2024; 241:106523. [PMID: 38636681 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2024.106523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2023] [Revised: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 04/14/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024]
Abstract
G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) plays a prominent role in facilitating the rapid, non-genomic signaling of estrogens in breast cancer cells. Herein, a comprehensive overview of the role of GPER in ER-ɑ-negative breast cancer is provided. Activation of GPER affected proliferation, metastasis and epithelial mesenchymal transition in ER-ɑ negative breast cancer cells. Clinical studies have demonstrated that GPER positivity was strongly correlated with larger tumor size and advanced clinical stage, suggesting that GPER/ERK signaling may play a role in promoting tumor progression. Strong evidence existed that environmental contaminants like bisphenol A have a carcinogenic potential mediated by GPER activation. The complexity of the cross talk between GPER and other receptors including ER-β, ER-α36, Estrogen-related receptor α (ERRα) and androgen receptor has been discussed. The potential utility of small molecules and phytoestrogens targeting GPER, adds valuable insights into its therapeutic potential. This review holds promises in advancing our understanding of GPER role in ER-ɑ-negative breast cancer. Overall, the consequences of GPER activation are still an area of active research and the implication are not entirely clear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manal A Abbas
- Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Allied Medical Sciences, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman 19328, Jordan; Pharmacological and Diagnostic Research Centre, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman 19328, Jordan
| | - Aya Y Al-Kabariti
- Department of Biopharmaceutics and Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman 19328, Jordan; Pharmacological and Diagnostic Research Centre, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman 19328, Jordan.
| | - Chris Sutton
- School of Chemistry and Biosciences, University of Bradford, Bradford BD7 1DP, UK
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2
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Ghysbrecht S, Keller BG. Thermal isomerization rates in retinal analogues using Ab-Initio molecular dynamics. J Comput Chem 2024; 45:1390-1403. [PMID: 38414274 DOI: 10.1002/jcc.27332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2023] [Revised: 01/31/2024] [Accepted: 02/02/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
For a detailed understanding of chemical processes in nature and industry, we need accurate models of chemical reactions in complex environments. While Eyring transition state theory is commonly used for modeling chemical reactions, it is most accurate for small molecules in the gas phase. A wide range of alternative rate theories exist that can better capture reactions involving complex molecules and environmental effects. However, they require that the chemical reaction is sampled by molecular dynamics simulations. This is a formidable challenge since the accessible simulation timescales are many orders of magnitude smaller than typical timescales of chemical reactions. To overcome these limitations, rare event methods involving enhanced molecular dynamics sampling are employed. In this work, thermal isomerization of retinal is studied using tight-binding density functional theory. Results from transition state theory are compared to those obtained from enhanced sampling. Rates obtained from dynamical reweighting using infrequent metadynamics simulations were in close agreement with those from transition state theory. Meanwhile, rates obtained from application of Kramers' rate equation to a sampled free energy profile along a torsional dihedral reaction coordinate were found to be up to three orders of magnitude higher. This discrepancy raises concerns about applying rate methods to one-dimensional reaction coordinates in chemical reactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Ghysbrecht
- Department of Biology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Bettina G Keller
- Department of Biology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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3
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Méndez-Luna D, Guzmán-Velázquez S, Padilla-Martínez II, García-Sánchez JR, Bello M, García-Vázquez JB, Mendoza-Figueroa HL, Correa-Basurto J. GPER binding site detection and description: A flavonoid-based docking and molecular dynamics simulations study. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 2024; 239:106474. [PMID: 38307214 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2024.106474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2023] [Revised: 01/12/2024] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/04/2024]
Abstract
Flavonoids, a phenolic compounds class widely distributed in the plant kingdom, have attracted much interest for their implications on several health and disease processes. Usually, the consumption of this type of compounds is approximately 1 g/d, primarily obtained from cereals, chocolate, and dry legumes ensuring its beneficial role in maintaining the homeostasis of the human body. In this context, in cancer disease prominent data points to the role of flavonoids as adjuvant treatment aimed at the regression of the disease. GPER, an estrogen receptor on the cell surface, has been postulated as a probable orchestrator of the beneficial effects of several flavonoids through modulation/inhibition of various mechanisms that lead to cancer progression. Therefore, applying pocket and cavity protein detection and docking and molecular dynamics simulations (MD), we generate, from a cluster composed of 39 flavonoids, crucial insights into the potential role as GPER ligands, of Puerarin, Isoquercetin, Kaempferol 3-O-glucoside and Petunidin 3-O-glucoside, aglycones whose sugar moiety delimits a new described sugar-acceptor sub-cavity into the cavity binding site on the receptor, as well as of the probable activation mechanism of the receptor and the pivotal residues involved in it. Altogether, our results shed light on the potential use of the aforementioned flavonoids as GPER ligands and for further evaluations in in vitro and in vivo assays to elucidate their probable anti-cancer activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Méndez-Luna
- Laboratorio de Diseño y Desarrollo de Nuevos Fármacos e Innovación Biotecnológica, Escuela Superior de Medicina, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Plan de San Luis y Díaz Mirón s/n, Col. Casco de Santo Tomas, Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo, C.P. 11340 Ciudad de México, Mexico; Departamento de Fisiología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Zacatenco, Av. Wilfrido Massieu 399, Col. Nueva Industrial Vallejo, Alcaldía Gustavo A. Madero, C.P. 07738 Ciudad de México, Mexico.
| | - Sonia Guzmán-Velázquez
- Departamento de Fisiología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Zacatenco, Av. Wilfrido Massieu 399, Col. Nueva Industrial Vallejo, Alcaldía Gustavo A. Madero, C.P. 07738 Ciudad de México, Mexico.
| | - Itzia-Irene Padilla-Martínez
- Laboratorio de Química Supramolecular y Nanociencias, Unidad Profesional Interdisciplinaria de Biotecnología, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Av. Acueducto s/n, Barrio la Laguna Ticomán, Alcaldía Gustavo A. Madero, C.P. 07340 Ciudad de México, Mexico.
| | - José-Rubén García-Sánchez
- Laboratorio de Oncología Molecular y Estrés Oxidativo, Escuela Superior de Medicina, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Plan de San Luis y Díaz Mirón, s/n, Col. Casco de Santo Tomas, Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo, C.P. 11340 Ciudad de México, Mexico.
| | - Martiniano Bello
- Laboratorio de Diseño y Desarrollo de Nuevos Fármacos e Innovación Biotecnológica, Escuela Superior de Medicina, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Plan de San Luis y Díaz Mirón s/n, Col. Casco de Santo Tomas, Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo, C.P. 11340 Ciudad de México, Mexico.
| | - Juan-Benjamín García-Vázquez
- Laboratorio de Diseño y Desarrollo de Nuevos Fármacos e Innovación Biotecnológica, Escuela Superior de Medicina, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Plan de San Luis y Díaz Mirón s/n, Col. Casco de Santo Tomas, Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo, C.P. 11340 Ciudad de México, Mexico.
| | - Humberto-Lubriel Mendoza-Figueroa
- Laboratorio de Diseño y Desarrollo de Nuevos Fármacos e Innovación Biotecnológica, Escuela Superior de Medicina, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Plan de San Luis y Díaz Mirón s/n, Col. Casco de Santo Tomas, Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo, C.P. 11340 Ciudad de México, Mexico.
| | - José Correa-Basurto
- Laboratorio de Diseño y Desarrollo de Nuevos Fármacos e Innovación Biotecnológica, Escuela Superior de Medicina, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Plan de San Luis y Díaz Mirón s/n, Col. Casco de Santo Tomas, Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo, C.P. 11340 Ciudad de México, Mexico.
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4
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Blanco-Gonzalez A, Manathunga M, Yang X, Olivucci M. Comparative quantum-classical dynamics of natural and synthetic molecular rotors show how vibrational synchronization modulates the photoisomerization quantum efficiency. Nat Commun 2024; 15:3499. [PMID: 38664371 PMCID: PMC11045841 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47477-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
We use quantum-classical trajectories to investigate the origin of the different photoisomerization quantum efficiency observed in the dim-light visual pigment Rhodopsin and in the light-driven biomimetic molecular rotor para-methoxy N-methyl indanylidene-pyrrolinium (MeO-NAIP) in methanol. Our results reveal that effective light-energy conversion requires, in general, an auxiliary molecular vibration (called promoter) that does not correspond to the rotary motion but synchronizes with it at specific times. They also reveal that Nature has designed Rhodopsin to exploit two mechanisms working in a vibrationally coherent regime. The first uses a wag promoter to ensure that ca. 75% of the absorbed photons lead to unidirectional rotations. The second mechanism ensures that the same process is fast enough to avoid directional randomization. It is found that MeO-NAIP in methanol is incapable of exploiting the above mechanisms resulting into a 50% quantum efficiency loss. However, when the solvent is removed, MeO-NAIP rotation is predicted to synchronize with a ring-inversion promoter leading to a 30% increase in quantum efficiency and, therefore, biomimetic behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Blanco-Gonzalez
- Department of Chemistry and Center for Photochemical Sciences, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, 43403, USA
| | - Madushanka Manathunga
- Department of Chemistry and Center for Photochemical Sciences, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, 43403, USA
- Department of Chemistry and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA
| | - Xuchun Yang
- Department of Chemistry and Center for Photochemical Sciences, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, 43403, USA
| | - Massimo Olivucci
- Department of Chemistry and Center for Photochemical Sciences, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, 43403, USA.
- Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Siena, I-53100, Siena, Italy.
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5
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Bertalan É, Rodrigues MJ, Schertler GFX, Bondar AN. Graph-based algorithms to dissect long-distance water-mediated H-bond networks for conformational couplings in GPCRs. Br J Pharmacol 2024. [PMID: 38636539 DOI: 10.1111/bph.16387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2023] [Revised: 02/03/2024] [Accepted: 03/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Changes in structure and dynamics elicited by agonist ligand binding at the extracellular side of G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) must be relayed to the cytoplasmic G protein binding side of the receptors. To decipher the role of water-mediated hydrogen-bond networks in this relay mechanism, we have developed graph-based algorithms and analysis methodologies applicable to datasets of static structures of distinct GPCRs. For a reference dataset of static structures of bovine rhodopsin solved at the same resolution, we show that graph analyses capture the internal protein-water hydrogen-bond network. The extended analyses of static structures of rhodopsins and opioid receptors suggest a relay mechanism whereby inactive receptors have in place much of the internal core hydrogen-bond network required for long-distance relay of structural change, with extensive local H-bond clusters observed in structures solved at high resolution and with internal water molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Éva Bertalan
- Physikzentrum, RWTH-Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | | | | | - Ana-Nicoleta Bondar
- Forschungszentrum Jülich, Institute of Computational Biomedicine, Jülich, Germany
- Faculty of Physics, University of Bucharest, Măgurele, Romania
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6
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Sasaki T, Katayama K, Imai H, Kandori H. Glu102 2.53-Mediated Early Conformational Changes in the Process of Light-Induced Green Cone Pigment Activation. Biochemistry 2024; 63:843-854. [PMID: 38458614 PMCID: PMC10993417 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.3c00594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2023] [Revised: 02/21/2024] [Accepted: 02/21/2024] [Indexed: 03/10/2024]
Abstract
Ligand-triggered activation of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) relies on the phenomenon of loose allosteric coupling, which involves conformational alterations spanning from the extracellular ligand-binding domain to the cytoplasmic region, where interactions with G proteins occur. During the GPCR activation process, several intermediate and equilibrium states orchestrate the movement of the flexible and rigid transmembrane (TM) segments of the GPCR. Monitoring early conformational changes is important in unraveling the structural intricacies of the loose allosteric coupling. Here, we focus on the lumi intermediate formed by thermal relaxation from the initial photointermediate, batho in primate green cone pigment (MG), a light-sensitive GPCR responsible for color vision. Our findings from light-induced Fourier transform infrared difference spectroscopy reveal its similarity with rhodopsin, which mediates twilight vision, specifically involving the flip motion of the β-ionone ring, the relaxation of the torsional structure of the retinal, and local perturbations in the α-helix upon lumi intermediate formation. Conversely, we observe a hydrogen bond modification specific to MG's protonated carboxylic acid, identifying its origin as Glu1022.53 situated in TM2. The weakening of the hydrogen bond strength at Glu1022.53 during the transition from the batho to the lumi intermediates corresponds to a slight outward movement of TM2. Additionally, within the X-ray crystal structure of the rhodopsin lumi intermediate, we note the relocation of the Met862.53 side chain in TM2, expanding the volume of the retinal binding pocket. Consequently, the position of 2.53 emerges as the early step in the conformational shift toward light-induced activation. Moreover, given the prevalence of IR-insensitive hydrophobic amino acids at position 2.53 in many rhodopsin-like GPCRs, including rhodopsin, the hydrogen bond alteration in the C═O stretching band at Glu1022.53 of MG can be used as a probe for tracing conformational changes during the GPCR activation process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takuma Sasaki
- Department
of Life Science and Applied Chemistry, Nagoya
Institute of Technology, Showa-ku,Nagoya 466-8555, Japan
| | - Kota Katayama
- Department
of Life Science and Applied Chemistry, Nagoya
Institute of Technology, Showa-ku,Nagoya 466-8555, Japan
- OptoBioTechnology
Research Center, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Showa-ku,Nagoya 466-8555, Japan
- PRESTO,
Japan Science and Technology Agency, 4-1-8 Honcho, Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012, Japan
| | - Hiroo Imai
- Center
for the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior, Kyoto University, Inuyama 484-8506, Japan
| | - Hideki Kandori
- Department
of Life Science and Applied Chemistry, Nagoya
Institute of Technology, Showa-ku,Nagoya 466-8555, Japan
- OptoBioTechnology
Research Center, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Showa-ku,Nagoya 466-8555, Japan
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7
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Kojima K, Yanagawa M, Imamoto Y, Yamano Y, Wada A, Shichida Y, Yamashita T. Convergent mechanism underlying the acquisition of vertebrate scotopic vision. J Biol Chem 2024; 300:107175. [PMID: 38499150 PMCID: PMC11007431 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2024.107175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2024] [Revised: 03/10/2024] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024] Open
Abstract
High sensitivity of scotopic vision (vision in dim light conditions) is achieved by the rods' low background noise, which is attributed to a much lower thermal activation rate (kth) of rhodopsin compared with cone pigments. Frogs and nocturnal geckos uniquely possess atypical rods containing noncanonical cone pigments that exhibit low kth, mimicking rhodopsin. Here, we investigated the convergent mechanism underlying the low kth of rhodopsins and noncanonical cone pigments. Our biochemical analysis revealed that the kth of canonical cone pigments depends on their absorption maximum (λmax). However, rhodopsin and noncanonical cone pigments showed a substantially lower kth than predicted from the λmax dependency. Given that the λmax is inversely proportional to the activation energy of the pigments in the Hinshelwood distribution-based model, our findings suggest that rhodopsin and noncanonical cone pigments have convergently acquired low frequency of spontaneous-activation attempts, including thermal fluctuations of the protein moiety, in the molecular evolutionary processes from canonical cone pigments, which contributes to highly sensitive scotopic vision.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keiichi Kojima
- Department of Biophysics, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan; Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan
| | - Masataka Yanagawa
- Cellular Informatics Laboratory, RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research, Wako, Japan; Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
| | - Yasushi Imamoto
- Department of Biophysics, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Yumiko Yamano
- Comprehensive Education and Research Center, Kobe Pharmaceutical University, Kobe, Japan
| | - Akimori Wada
- Laboratory of Organic Chemistry for Life Science, Kobe Pharmaceutical University, Kobe, Japan
| | - Yoshinori Shichida
- Department of Biophysics, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan; Research Organization for Science and Technology, Ritsumeikan University, Kusatsu, Shiga, Japan
| | - Takahiro Yamashita
- Department of Biophysics, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
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8
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Chau KD, Hauser FE, Van Nynatten A, Daane JM, Harris MP, Chang BSW, Lovejoy NR. Multiple Ecological Axes Drive Molecular Evolution of Cone Opsins in Beloniform Fishes. J Mol Evol 2024; 92:93-103. [PMID: 38416218 DOI: 10.1007/s00239-024-10156-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
Ecological and evolutionary transitions offer an excellent opportunity to examine the molecular basis of adaptation. Fishes of the order Beloniformes include needlefishes, flyingfishes, halfbeaks, and allies, and comprise over 200 species occupying a wide array of habitats-from the marine epipelagic zone to tropical rainforest rivers. These fishes also exhibit a diversity of diets, including piscivory, herbivory, and zooplanktivory. We investigated how diet and habitat affected the molecular evolution of cone opsins, which play a key role in bright light and colour vision and are tightly linked to ecology and life history. We analyzed a targeted-capture dataset to reconstruct the evolutionary history of beloniforms and assemble cone opsin sequences. We implemented codon-based clade models of evolution to examine how molecular evolution was affected by habitat and diet. We found high levels of positive selection in medium- and long-wavelength beloniform opsins, with piscivores showing increased positive selection in medium-wavelength opsins and zooplanktivores showing increased positive selection in long-wavelength opsins. In contrast, short-wavelength opsins showed purifying selection. While marine/freshwater habitat transitions have an effect on opsin molecular evolution, we found that diet plays a more important role. Our study suggests that evolutionary transitions along ecological axes produce complex adaptive interactions that affect patterns of selection on genes that underlie vision.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine D Chau
- Department of Physical & Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Frances E Hauser
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Alexander Van Nynatten
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada
| | - Jacob M Daane
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA
| | | | - Belinda S W Chang
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Nathan R Lovejoy
- Department of Physical & Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada.
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada.
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
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9
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Palombo R, Barneschi L, Pedraza-González L, Yang X, Olivucci M. Picosecond quantum-classical dynamics reveals that the coexistence of light-induced microbial and animal chromophore rotary motion modulates the isomerization quantum yield of heliorhodopsin. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2024; 26:10343-10356. [PMID: 38501246 DOI: 10.1039/d4cp00193a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/20/2024]
Abstract
Rhodopsins are light-responsive proteins forming two vast and evolutionary distinct superfamilies whose functions are invariably triggered by the photoisomerization of a single retinal chromophore. In 2018 a third widespread superfamily of rhodopsins called heliorhodopsins was discovered using functional metagenomics. Heliorhodopsins, with their markedly different structural features with respect to the animal and microbial superfamilies, offer an opportunity to study how evolution has manipulated the chromophore photoisomerization to achieve adaptation. One question is related to the mechanism of such a reaction and how it differs from that of animal and microbial rhodopsins. To address this question, we use hundreds of quantum-classical trajectories to simulate the spectroscopically documented picosecond light-induced dynamics of a heliorhodopsin from the archaea thermoplasmatales archaeon (TaHeR). We show that, consistently with the observations, the trajectories reveal two excited state decay channels. However, inconsistently with previous hypotheses, only one channel is associated with the -C13C14- rotation of microbial rhodopsins while the second channel is characterized by the -C11C12- rotation typical of animal rhodopsins. The fact that such -C11C12- rotation is aborted upon decay and ground state relaxation, explains why illumination of TaHeR only produces the 13-cis isomer with a low quantum efficiency. We argue that the documented lack of regioselectivity in double-bond excited state twisting motion is the result of an "adaptation" that could be completely lost via specific residue substitutions modulating the steric hindrance experienced along the isomerization motion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Riccardo Palombo
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università di Siena, via A. Moro 2, I-53100 Siena, Siena, Italy.
- Department of Chemistry, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio 43403, USA.
| | - Leonardo Barneschi
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università di Siena, via A. Moro 2, I-53100 Siena, Siena, Italy.
| | - Laura Pedraza-González
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, Università di Pisa, Via Giuseppe Moruzzi, 13, I-56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Xuchun Yang
- Department of Chemistry, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio 43403, USA.
| | - Massimo Olivucci
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università di Siena, via A. Moro 2, I-53100 Siena, Siena, Italy.
- Department of Chemistry, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio 43403, USA.
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10
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Di Prima D, Reinholdt P, Kongsted J. Color Tuning in Bovine Rhodopsin through Polarizable Embedding. J Phys Chem B 2024. [PMID: 38489248 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c07891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/17/2024]
Abstract
Bovine rhodopsin is among the most studied proteins in the rhodopsin family. Its primary activation mechanism is the photoisomerization of 11-cis retinal, triggered by the absorption of a UV-visible photon. Different mutants of the same rhodopsin show different absorption wavelengths due to the influence of the specific amino acid residues forming the cavity in which the retinal chromophore is embedded, and rhodopsins activated at different wavelengths are, for example, exploited in the field of optogenetics. In this letter, we present a procedure for systematically investigating color tuning in models of bovine rhodopsin and a set of its mutants embedded in a membrane bilayer. Vertical excitation energy calculations were carried out with the polarizable embedding potential for describing the environment surrounding the chromophore. We show that polarizable embedding outperformed regular electrostatic embedding in determining both the vertical excitation energies and associated oscillator strengths of the systems studied.
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Affiliation(s)
- Duccio Di Prima
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, Odense M DK-5230, Denmark
| | - Peter Reinholdt
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, Odense M DK-5230, Denmark
| | - Jacob Kongsted
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, Odense M DK-5230, Denmark
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11
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Van Nynatten A, Duncan AT, Lauzon R, Sheldon TA, Chen SK, Lovejoy NR, Mandrak NE, Chang BSW. Adaptive Evolution of Nearctic Deepwater Fish Vision: Implications for Assessing Functional Variation for Conservation. Mol Biol Evol 2024; 41:msae024. [PMID: 38314890 PMCID: PMC10896662 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msae024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2023] [Revised: 12/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Intraspecific functional variation is critical for adaptation to rapidly changing environments. For visual opsins, functional variation can be characterized in vitro and often reflects a species' ecological niche but is rarely considered in the context of intraspecific variation or the impact of recent environmental changes on species of cultural or commercial significance. Investigation of adaptation in postglacial lakes can provide key insight into how rapid environmental changes impact functional evolution. Here, we report evidence for molecular adaptation in vision in 2 lineages of Nearctic fishes that are deep lake specialists: ciscoes and deepwater sculpin. We found depth-related variation in the dim-light visual pigment rhodopsin that evolved convergently in these 2 lineages. In vitro characterization of spectral sensitivity of the convergent deepwater rhodopsin alleles revealed blue-shifts compared with other more widely distributed alleles. These blue-shifted rhodopsin alleles were only observed in deep clear postglacial lakes with underwater visual environments enriched in blue light. This provides evidence of remarkably rapid and convergent visual adaptation and intraspecific functional variation in rhodopsin. Intraspecific functional variation has important implications for conservation, and these fishes are of conservation concern and great cultural, commercial, and nutritional importance to Indigenous communities. We collaborated with the Saugeen Ojibway Nation to develop and test a metabarcoding approach that we show is efficient and accurate in recovering the ecological distribution of functionally relevant variation in rhodopsin. Our approach bridges experimental analyses of protein function and genetics-based tools used in large-scale surveys to better understand the ecological extent of adaptive functional variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Van Nynatten
- Department of Biological Science, University of Toronto Scarborough, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
| | - Alexander T Duncan
- Faculty of Natural Resources Management, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
- Fisheries Assessment Program, Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, Neyaashiinigmiing, Ontario, Canada
| | - Ryan Lauzon
- Fisheries Assessment Program, Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, Neyaashiinigmiing, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Steven K Chen
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Nathan R Lovejoy
- Department of Biological Science, University of Toronto Scarborough, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Ecological and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Nicholas E Mandrak
- Department of Biological Science, University of Toronto Scarborough, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Ecological and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Belinda S W Chang
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Ecological and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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12
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Struts AV, Barmasov AV, Fried SDE, Hewage KSK, Perera SMDC, Brown MF. Osmotic stress studies of G-protein-coupled receptor rhodopsin activation. Biophys Chem 2024; 304:107112. [PMID: 37952496 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpc.2023.107112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2023] [Revised: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/24/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023]
Abstract
We summarize and critically review osmotic stress studies of the G-protein-coupled receptor rhodopsin. Although small amounts of structural water are present in these receptors, the effect of bulk water on their function remains uncertain. Studies of the influences of osmotic stress on the GPCR archetype rhodopsin have given insights into the functional role of water in receptor activation. Experimental work has discovered that osmolytes shift the metarhodopsin equilibrium after photoactivation, either to the active or inactive conformations according to their molar mass. At least 80 water molecules are found to enter rhodopsin in the transition to the photoreceptor active state. We infer that this movement of water is both necessary and sufficient for receptor activation. If the water influx is prevented, e.g., by large polymer osmolytes or by dehydration, then the receptor functional transition is back shifted. These findings imply a new paradigm in which rhodopsin becomes solvent swollen in the activation mechanism. Water thus acts as an allosteric modulator of function for rhodopsin-like receptors in lipid membranes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrey V Struts
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; Laboratory of Biomolecular NMR, St.-Petersburg State University, 199034 St.-Petersburg, Russia
| | - Alexander V Barmasov
- Department of Biophysics, St.-Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University, 194100 St.-Petersburg, Russia; Department of Physics, St.-Petersburg State University, 199034 St.-Petersburg, Russia
| | - Steven D E Fried
- Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Kushani S K Hewage
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | | | - Michael F Brown
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; Department of Physics, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
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13
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Gaspar CJ, Gomes T, Martins JC, Melo MN, Adrain C, Cordeiro TN, Domingos PM. Xport-A functions as a chaperone by stabilizing the first five transmembrane domains of rhodopsin-1. iScience 2023; 26:108309. [PMID: 38025784 PMCID: PMC10663829 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2022] [Revised: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 10/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Rhodopsin-1 (Rh1), the main photosensitive protein of Drosophila, is a seven-transmembrane domain protein, which is inserted co-translationally in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane. Biogenesis of Rh1 occurs in the ER, where various chaperones interact with Rh1 to aid in its folding and subsequent transport from the ER to the rhabdomere, the light-sensing organelle of the photoreceptors. Xport-A has been proposed as a chaperone/transport factor for Rh1, but the exact molecular mechanism for Xport-A activity upon Rh1 is unknown. Here, we propose a model where Xport-A functions as a chaperone during the biogenesis of Rh1 in the ER by stabilizing the first five transmembrane domains (TMDs) of Rh1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catarina J. Gaspar
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica da Universidade Nova de Lisboa (ITQB-NOVA), Av. da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal
- Membrane Traffic Lab, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC), 2780-156 Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Tiago Gomes
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica da Universidade Nova de Lisboa (ITQB-NOVA), Av. da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Joana C. Martins
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica da Universidade Nova de Lisboa (ITQB-NOVA), Av. da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Manuel N. Melo
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica da Universidade Nova de Lisboa (ITQB-NOVA), Av. da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Colin Adrain
- Membrane Traffic Lab, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC), 2780-156 Oeiras, Portugal
- Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research, Queen’s University Belfast, 97 Lisburn Road, BT9 7AE Belfast, UK
| | - Tiago N. Cordeiro
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica da Universidade Nova de Lisboa (ITQB-NOVA), Av. da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Pedro M. Domingos
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica da Universidade Nova de Lisboa (ITQB-NOVA), Av. da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal
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14
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Verma DK, Malhotra H, Woellert T, Calvert PD. Hydrophobic interaction between the TM1 and H8 is essential for rhodopsin trafficking to vertebrate photoreceptor outer segments. J Biol Chem 2023; 299:105412. [PMID: 37918805 PMCID: PMC10687059 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.105412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Revised: 10/15/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023] Open
Abstract
A major unsolved question in vertebrate photoreceptor biology is the mechanism of rhodopsin transport to the outer segment. In rhodopsin-like class A G protein-coupled receptors, hydrophobic interactions between C-terminal α-helix 8 (H8), and transmembrane α-helix-1 (TM1) have been shown to be important for transport to the plasma membrane, however whether this interaction is important for rhodopsin transport to ciliary rod outer segments is not known. We examined the crystal structures of vertebrate rhodopsins and class A G protein-coupled receptors and found a conserved network of predicted hydrophobic interactions. In Xenopus rhodopsin (xRho), this interaction corresponds to F313, L317, and L321 in H8 and M57, V61, and L68 in TM1. To evaluate the role of H8-TM1 hydrophobic interactions in rhodopsin transport, we expressed xRho-EGFP where hydrophobic residues were mutated in Xenopus rods and evaluated the efficiency of outer segment enrichment. We found that substituting L317 and M57 with hydrophilic residues had the strongest impact on xRho mislocalization. Substituting hydrophilic amino acids at positions L68, F313, and L321 also had a significant impact. Replacing L317 with M resulted in significant mislocalization, indicating that the hydrophobic interaction between residues 317 and 57 is exquisitely sensitive. The corresponding experiment in bovine rhodopsin expressed in HEK293 cells had a similar effect, showing that the H8-TM1 hydrophobic network is essential for rhodopsin transport in mammalian species. Thus, for the first time, we show that a hydrophobic interaction between H8 and TM1 is critical for efficient rhodopsin transport to the vertebrate photoreceptor ciliary outer segment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dipesh Kumar Verma
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York, USA
| | - Himanshu Malhotra
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York, USA
| | - Torsten Woellert
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York, USA
| | - Peter D Calvert
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York, USA.
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15
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Barneschi L, Kaliakin D, Huix-Rotllant M, Ferré N, Filatov Gulak M, Olivucci M. Assessment of the Electron Correlation Treatment on the Quantum-Classical Dynamics of Retinal Protonated Schiff Base Models: XMS-CASPT2, RMS-CASPT2, and REKS Methods. J Chem Theory Comput 2023; 19:8189-8200. [PMID: 37937990 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.3c00879] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2023]
Abstract
We compare the performance of three different multiconfigurational wave function-based electronic structure methods and two implementations of the spin-restricted ensemble-referenced Kohn-Sham (REKS) method. The study is characterized by three features: (i) it uses a small set of quantum-classical trajectories rather than potential energy surface mapping, (ii) it focuses, exclusively, on the photoisomerization of retinal protonated Schiff base models, and (iii) it probes the effect of both methyl substitution and the increase in length of the conjugate π-system. For each tested method, the corresponding analytical gradients are used to drive the quantum-classical (Tully's FSSH method) trajectory propagation, including the recent multistate XMS-CASPT2 and RMS-CASPT2 gradients. It is shown that while CASSCF, XMS-CASPT2, and RMS-CASPT2 yield consistent photoisomerization dynamics descriptions, REKS produces, in some of these systems, qualitatively different behavior that is attributed to a flatter and topographically different excited state potential energy surface. The origin of this behavior can be traced back to the effect of the employed density functional approximation. The above studies are further expanded by benchmarking, at the CASSCF and REKS levels, the electronic structure methods using a QM/MM model of the visual pigment rhodopsin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonardo Barneschi
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università di Siena, I-53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Danil Kaliakin
- Department of Chemistry, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio 43403, United States
| | - Miquel Huix-Rotllant
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Institut Chimie Radicalaire, 13013 Marseille, France
| | - Nicolas Ferré
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Institut Chimie Radicalaire, 13013 Marseille, France
| | - Michael Filatov Gulak
- Department of Chemistry, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas 75275, United States
| | - Massimo Olivucci
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università di Siena, I-53100 Siena, Italy
- Department of Chemistry, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio 43403, United States
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16
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Ostrovsky MA, Smitienko OA, Bochenkova AV, Feldman TB. Similarities and Differences in Photochemistry of Type I and Type II Rhodopsins. BIOCHEMISTRY. BIOKHIMIIA 2023; 88:1528-1543. [PMID: 38105022 DOI: 10.1134/s0006297923100097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2023] [Revised: 07/20/2023] [Accepted: 08/12/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
The diversity of the retinal-containing proteins (rhodopsins) in nature is extremely large. Fundamental similarity of the structure and photochemical properties unites them into one family. However, there is still a debate about the origin of retinal-containing proteins: divergent or convergent evolution? In this review, based on the results of our own and literature data, a comparative analysis of the similarities and differences in the photoconversion of the rhodopsin of types I and II is carried out. The results of experimental studies of the forward and reverse photoreactions of the bacteriorhodopsin (type I) and visual rhodopsin (type II) rhodopsins in the femto- and picosecond time scale, photo-reversible reaction of the octopus rhodopsin (type II), photovoltaic reactions, as well as quantum chemical calculations of the forward photoreactions of bacteriorhodopsin and visual rhodopsin are presented. The issue of probable convergent evolution of type I and type II rhodopsins is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mikhail A Ostrovsky
- Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119991, Russia
- Emanuel Institute of Biochemical Physics, Moscow, 119334, Russia
| | - Olga A Smitienko
- Emanuel Institute of Biochemical Physics, Moscow, 119334, Russia
| | | | - Tatiana B Feldman
- Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119991, Russia.
- Emanuel Institute of Biochemical Physics, Moscow, 119334, Russia
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17
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Hanson SM, Scholüke J, Liewald J, Sharma R, Ruse C, Engel M, Schüler C, Klaus A, Arghittu S, Baumbach F, Seidenthal M, Dill H, Hummer G, Gottschalk A. Structure-function analysis suggests that the photoreceptor LITE-1 is a light-activated ion channel. Curr Biol 2023; 33:3423-3435.e5. [PMID: 37527662 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2022] [Revised: 05/22/2023] [Accepted: 07/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/03/2023]
Abstract
Sensation of light is essential for all organisms. The eye-less nematode Caenorhabditis elegans detects UV and blue light to evoke escape behavior. The photosensor LITE-1 absorbs UV photons with an unusually high extinction coefficient, involving essential tryptophans. Here, we modeled the structure and dynamics of LITE-1 using AlphaFold2-multimer and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and performed mutational and behavioral assays in C. elegans to characterize its function. LITE-1 resembles olfactory and gustatory receptors from insects, recently shown to be tetrameric ion channels. We identified residues required for channel gating, light absorption, and mechanisms of photo-oxidation, involving a likely binding site for the peroxiredoxin PRDX-2. Furthermore, we identified the binding pocket for a putative chromophore. Several residues lining this pocket have previously been established as essential for LITE-1 function. A newly identified critical cysteine pointing into the pocket represents a likely chromophore attachment site. We derived a model for how photon absorption, via a network of tryptophans and other aromatic amino acids, induces an excited state that is transferred to the chromophore. This evokes conformational changes in the protein, possibly leading to a state receptive to oxidation of cysteines and, jointly, to channel gating. Electrophysiological data support the idea that LITE-1 is a photon and H2O2-coincidence detector. Other proteins with similarity to LITE-1, specifically C. elegans GUR-3, likely use a similar mechanism for photon detection. Thus, a common protein fold and assembly, used for chemoreception in insects, possibly by binding of a particular compound, may have evolved into a light-activated ion channel.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonya M Hanson
- Center for Computational Biology and Center for Computational Mathematics, Flatiron Institute, Simons Foundation, 162 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA; Department of Theoretical Biophysics, Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 3, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany.
| | - Jan Scholüke
- Buchmann Institute, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 15, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany; Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 9, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Jana Liewald
- Buchmann Institute, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 15, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany; Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 9, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Rachita Sharma
- Department of Theoretical Biophysics, Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 3, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany; Buchmann Institute, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 15, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany; International Max Planck Research School for Cellular Biophysics, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 3, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany; Institute of Biophysics, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Christiane Ruse
- Buchmann Institute, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 15, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany; Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 9, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Marcial Engel
- Buchmann Institute, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 15, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany; Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 9, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Christina Schüler
- Buchmann Institute, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 15, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany; Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 9, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Annabel Klaus
- Buchmann Institute, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 15, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Serena Arghittu
- Buchmann Institute, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 15, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany; International Max Planck Research School for Cellular Biophysics, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 3, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Franziska Baumbach
- Buchmann Institute, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 15, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany; Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 9, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Marius Seidenthal
- Buchmann Institute, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 15, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany; Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 9, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Holger Dill
- Buchmann Institute, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 15, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany; Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 9, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Gerhard Hummer
- Department of Theoretical Biophysics, Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 3, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany; Institute of Biophysics, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
| | - Alexander Gottschalk
- Buchmann Institute, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 15, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany; Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 9, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany.
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18
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O'Connor MS, Bragg ZT, Dearworth JR, Hendrickson HP. Quantum Mechanics/Molecular mechanics calculations predict A1, not A2, is present in melanopsin (Opn4m) of red-eared slider turtles (Trachemys scripta elegans). Vision Res 2023; 209:108245. [PMID: 37290221 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2023.108245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2023] [Revised: 04/07/2023] [Accepted: 04/14/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Melanopsin is a photopigment that plays a role in non-visual, light-driven, cellular processes such as modulation of circadian rhythms, retinal vascular development, and the pupillary light reflex (PLR). In this study, computational methods were used to understand which chromophore is harbored by melanopsin in red-eared slider turtles (Trachemys scripta elegans). In mammals, the vitamin A derivative 11-cis-retinal (A1) is the chromophore, which provides functionality for melanopsin. However, in red-eared slider turtles, a member of the reptilian class, the identity of the chromophore remains unclear. Red-eared slider turtles, similar to other freshwater vertebrates, possess visual pigments that harbor a different vitamin A derivative, 11-cis-3,4-didehydroretinal (A2), making their pigments more sensitive to red-light than blue-light, therefore, suggesting the chromophore to be the A2 derivative instead of the A1. To help resolve the chromophore identity, in this work, computational homology models of melanopsin in red-eared slider turtles were first constructed. Next, quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) calculations were carried out to compare how A1 and A2 derivatives bind to melanopsin. Time dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations were then used to determine the excitation energy of the pigments. Lastly, calculated excitation energies were compared to experimental spectral sensitivity data from responses by the irises of red-eared sliders. Contrary to what was expected, our results suggest that melanopsin in red-eared slider turtles is more likely to harbor the A1 chromophore than the A2. Furthermore, a glutamine (Q622.56) and tyrosine (Y853.28) residue in the chromophore binding pocket are shown to play a role in the spectral tuning of the chromophore.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael S O'Connor
- Department of Chemistry, Lafayette College, Easton, PA 18042, United States
| | - Zoey T Bragg
- Department of Chemistry, Lafayette College, Easton, PA 18042, United States
| | - James R Dearworth
- Department of Biology, Lafayette College, Easton, PA 18042, United States
| | - Heidi P Hendrickson
- Department of Chemistry, Lafayette College, Easton, PA 18042, United States.
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19
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Kojima K, Kawanishi S, Nishimura Y, Hasegawa M, Nakao S, Nagata Y, Yoshizawa S, Sudo Y. A blue-shifted anion channelrhodopsin from the Colpodellida alga Vitrella brassicaformis. Sci Rep 2023; 13:6974. [PMID: 37117398 PMCID: PMC10147648 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-34125-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 04/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Microbial rhodopsins, a family of photoreceptive membrane proteins containing the chromophore retinal, show a variety of light-dependent molecular functions. Channelrhodopsins work as light-gated ion channels and are widely utilized for optogenetics, which is a method for controlling neural activities by light. Since two cation channelrhodopsins were identified from the chlorophyte alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, recent advances in genomic research have revealed a wide variety of channelrhodopsins including anion channelrhodopsins (ACRs), describing their highly diversified molecular properties (e.g., spectral sensitivity, kinetics and ion selectivity). Here, we report two channelrhodopsin-like rhodopsins from the Colpodellida alga Vitrella brassicaformis, which are phylogenetically distinct from the known channelrhodopsins. Spectroscopic and electrophysiological analyses indicated that these rhodopsins are green- and blue-sensitive pigments (λmax = ~ 550 and ~ 440 nm) that exhibit light-dependent ion channeling activities. Detailed electrophysiological analysis revealed that one of them works as a monovalent anion (Cl-, Br- and NO3-) channel and we named it V. brassicaformis anion channelrhodopsin-2, VbACR2. Importantly, the absorption maximum of VbACR2 (~ 440 nm) is blue-shifted among the known ACRs. Thus, we identified the new blue-shifted ACR, which leads to the expansion of the molecular diversity of ACRs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keiichi Kojima
- Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama, 700-8530, Japan.
- Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama, 700-8530, Japan.
| | - Shiho Kawanishi
- Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama, 700-8530, Japan
| | - Yosuke Nishimura
- Research Center for Bioscience and Nanoscience (CeBN), Research Institute for Marine Resources Utilization, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Kanagawa, 237-0061, Japan
| | - Masumi Hasegawa
- Institute for Extra-Cutting-Edge Science and Technology Avant-Garde Research (X-Star), Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Kanagawa, 237-0061, Japan
| | - Shin Nakao
- Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama, 700-8530, Japan
| | - Yuya Nagata
- Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama, 700-8530, Japan
| | - Susumu Yoshizawa
- Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, Chiba, 277-8564, Japan
| | - Yuki Sudo
- Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama, 700-8530, Japan.
- Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama, 700-8530, Japan.
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20
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Liessmann F, Künze G, Meiler J. Improving the Modeling of Extracellular Ligand Binding Pockets in RosettaGPCR for Conformational Selection. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:7788. [PMID: 37175495 PMCID: PMC10178219 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24097788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2023] [Revised: 04/19/2023] [Accepted: 04/22/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023] Open
Abstract
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest class of drug targets and undergo substantial conformational changes in response to ligand binding. Despite recent progress in GPCR structure determination, static snapshots fail to reflect the conformational space of putative binding pocket geometries to which small molecule ligands can bind. In comparative modeling of GPCRs in the absence of a ligand, often a shrinking of the orthosteric binding pocket is observed. However, the exact prediction of the flexible orthosteric binding site is crucial for adequate structure-based drug discovery. In order to improve ligand docking and guide virtual screening experiments in computer-aided drug discovery, we developed RosettaGPCRPocketSize. The algorithm creates a conformational ensemble of biophysically realistic conformations of the GPCR binding pocket between the TM bundle, which is consistent with a knowledge base of expected pocket geometries. Specifically, tetrahedral volume restraints are defined based on information about critical residues in the orthosteric binding site and their experimentally observed range of Cα-Cα-distances. The output of RosettaGPCRPocketSize is an ensemble of binding pocket geometries that are filtered by energy to ensure biophysically probable arrangements, which can be used for docking simulations. In a benchmark set, pocket shrinkage observed in the default RosettaGPCR was reduced by up to 80% and the binding pocket volume range and geometric diversity were increased. Compared to models from four different GPCR homology model databases (RosettaGPCR, GPCR-Tasser, GPCR-SSFE, and GPCRdb), the here-created models showed more accurate volumes of the orthosteric pocket when evaluated with respect to the crystallographic reference structure. Furthermore, RosettaGPCRPocketSize was able to generate an improved realistic pocket distribution. However, while being superior to other homology models, the accuracy of generated model pockets was comparable to AlphaFold2 models. Furthermore, in a docking benchmark using small-molecule ligands with a higher molecular weight between 400 and 700 Da, a higher success rate in creating native-like binding poses was observed. In summary, RosettaGPCRPocketSize can generate GPCR models with realistic orthosteric pocket volumes, which are useful for structure-based drug discovery applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabian Liessmann
- Institute for Drug Discovery, Medical Faculty, Leipzig University, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; (F.L.)
| | - Georg Künze
- Institute for Drug Discovery, Medical Faculty, Leipzig University, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; (F.L.)
| | - Jens Meiler
- Institute for Drug Discovery, Medical Faculty, Leipzig University, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; (F.L.)
- Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
- Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
- Center for Scalable Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence, Leipzig University, 04105 Leipzig, Germany
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21
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Inukai S, Katayama K, Koyanagi M, Terakita A, Kandori H. Counterion at an atypical position: Investigating the mechanism of photoisomerization in jellyfish rhodopsin. J Biol Chem 2023; 299:104726. [PMID: 37094700 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.104726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Revised: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/15/2023] [Indexed: 04/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The position of the counterion in animal rhodopsins plays a crucial role in maintaining visible light sensitivity and facilitating the photoisomerization of their retinal chromophore. The counterion displacement is thought to be closely related to the evolution of rhodopsins, with different positions found in invertebrates and vertebrates. Interestingly, box jellyfish rhodopsin (JelRh) acquired the counterion in transmembrane 2 (TM2) independently. This is a unique feature, as in most animal rhodopsins, the counterion is found in a different location. In this study, we used Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy to examine the structural changes that occur in the early photointermediate state of JelRh. We aimed to determine whether the photochemistry of JelRh is similar to that of other animal rhodopsins by comparing its spectra to those of vertebrate bovine rhodopsin (BovRh) and invertebrate squid rhodopsin (SquRh). We observed that the N-D stretching band of the retinal Schiff base was similar to that of BovRh, indicating the interaction between the Schiff base and the counterion is similar in both rhodopsins, despite their different counterion positions. Furthermore, we found that the chemical structure of the retinal in JelRh is similar to that in BovRh, including the changes in the hydrogen-out-of-plane band that indicates a retinal distortion. Overall, the protein conformational changes induced by the photoisomerization of JelRh yielded spectra that resemble an intermediate between BovRh and SquRh, suggesting a unique spectral property of JelRh, and making it the only animal rhodopsin with a counterion in TM2 and an ability to activate Gs protein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shino Inukai
- Department of Life Science and Applied Chemistry, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8555, Japan
| | - Kota Katayama
- Department of Life Science and Applied Chemistry, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8555, Japan; OptoBioTechnology Research Center, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8555, Japan; PRESTO, Japan Science and Technology Agency, 4-1-8 Honcho, Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012, Japan.
| | - Mitsumasa Koyanagi
- Department of Biology, Graduate School of Science, Osaka Metropolitan University, 3-3-138, Sugimoto, Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka 558-8585, Japan
| | - Akihisa Terakita
- Department of Biology, Graduate School of Science, Osaka Metropolitan University, 3-3-138, Sugimoto, Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka 558-8585, Japan
| | - Hideki Kandori
- Department of Life Science and Applied Chemistry, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8555, Japan; OptoBioTechnology Research Center, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8555, Japan.
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22
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Heng J, Hu Y, Pérez-Hernández G, Inoue A, Zhao J, Ma X, Sun X, Kawakami K, Ikuta T, Ding J, Yang Y, Zhang L, Peng S, Niu X, Li H, Guixà-González R, Jin C, Hildebrand PW, Chen C, Kobilka BK. Function and dynamics of the intrinsically disordered carboxyl terminus of β2 adrenergic receptor. Nat Commun 2023; 14:2005. [PMID: 37037825 PMCID: PMC10085991 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37233-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2022] [Accepted: 03/07/2023] [Indexed: 04/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Advances in structural biology have provided important mechanistic insights into signaling by the transmembrane core of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs); however, much less is known about intrinsically disordered regions such as the carboxyl terminus (CT), which is highly flexible and not visible in GPCR structures. The β2 adrenergic receptor's (β2AR) 71 amino acid CT is a substrate for GPCR kinases and binds β-arrestins to regulate signaling. Here we show that the β2AR CT directly inhibits basal and agonist-stimulated signaling in cell lines lacking β-arrestins. Combining single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), NMR spectroscopy, and molecular dynamics simulations, we reveal that the negatively charged β2AR-CT serves as an autoinhibitory factor via interacting with the positively charged cytoplasmic surface of the receptor to limit access to G-proteins. The stability of this interaction is influenced by agonists and allosteric modulators, emphasizing that the CT plays important role in allosterically regulating GPCR activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Heng
- School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
- Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
- Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Yunfei Hu
- Beijing Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Center, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
- Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Science, Wuhan, 430071, China
| | - Guillermo Pérez-Hernández
- Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Medical Physics and Biophysics, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany
| | - Asuka Inoue
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8578, Japan
| | - Jiawei Zhao
- Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
- School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Xiuyan Ma
- School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Xiaoou Sun
- School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Kouki Kawakami
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8578, Japan
| | - Tatsuya Ikuta
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8578, Japan
| | - Jienv Ding
- Beijing Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Center, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
- College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Yujie Yang
- Beijing Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Center, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Lujia Zhang
- School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Sijia Peng
- School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Xiaogang Niu
- Beijing Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Center, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Hongwei Li
- Beijing Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Center, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Ramon Guixà-González
- Condensed Matter Theory Group, Paul Scherrer Institute, CH-5232, Villigen, PSI, Switzerland
| | - Changwen Jin
- Beijing Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Center, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Peter W Hildebrand
- Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Medical Physics and Biophysics, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany
- Institute of Medical Physics and Biophysics, University Leipzig, 04107, Leipzig, Germany
- Berlin Institute of Health, 10178, Berlin, Germany
| | - Chunlai Chen
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
- Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
- Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
- School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
| | - Brian K Kobilka
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
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23
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Hanai S, Nagata T, Katayama K, Inukai S, Koyanagi M, Inoue K, Terakita A, Kandori H. Difference FTIR Spectroscopy of Jumping Spider Rhodopsin-1 at 77 K. Biochemistry 2023; 62:1347-1359. [PMID: 37001008 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.3c00022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/03/2023]
Abstract
Animal visual rhodopsins can be classified into monostable and bistable rhodopsins, which are typically found in vertebrates and invertebrates, respectively. The former example is bovine rhodopsin (BovRh), whose structures and functions have been extensively studied. On the other hand, those of bistable rhodopsins are less known, despite their importance in optogenetics. Here, low-temperature Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was applied to jumping spider rhodopsin-1 (SpiRh1) at 77 K, and the obtained light-induced spectral changes were compared with those of squid rhodopsin (SquRh) and BovRh. Although chromophore distortion of the resting state monitored by HOOP vibrations is not distinctive between invertebrate and vertebrate rhodopsins, distortion of the all-trans chromophore after photoisomerization is unique for BovRh, and the distortion was localized at the center of the chromophore in SpiRh1 and SquRh. Highly conserved aspartate (D83 in BovRh) does not change the hydrogen-bonding environment in invertebrate rhodopsins. Thus, present FTIR analysis provides specific structural changes, leading to activation of invertebrate and vertebrate rhodopsins. On the other hand, the analysis of O-D stretching vibrations in D2O revealed unique features of protein-bound water molecules. Numbers of water bands in SpiRh1 and SquRh were less and more than those in BovRh. The X-ray crystal structure of SpiRh1 observed a bridged water molecule between the protonated Schiff base and its counterion (E194), but strongly hydrogen-bonded water molecules were never detected in SpiRh1, as well as SquRh and BovRh. Thus, absence of strongly hydrogen-bonded water molecules is substantial for animal rhodopsins, which is distinctive from microbial rhodopsins.
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24
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Role of Monomer/Tetramer Equilibrium of Rod Visual Arrestin in the Interaction with Phosphorylated Rhodopsin. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24054963. [PMID: 36902393 PMCID: PMC10003454 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24054963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2023] [Revised: 02/25/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 03/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The phototransduction cascade in vertebrate rod visual cells is initiated by the photoactivation of rhodopsin, which enables the activation of the visual G protein transducin. It is terminated by the phosphorylation of rhodopsin, followed by the binding of arrestin. Here we measured the solution X-ray scattering of nanodiscs containing rhodopsin in the presence of rod arrestin to directly observe the formation of the rhodopsin/arrestin complex. Although arrestin self-associates to form a tetramer at physiological concentrations, it was found that arrestin binds to phosphorylated and photoactivated rhodopsin at 1:1 stoichiometry. In contrast, no complex formation was observed for unphosphorylated rhodopsin upon photoactivation, even at physiological arrestin concentrations, suggesting that the constitutive activity of rod arrestin is sufficiently low. UV-visible spectroscopy demonstrated that the rate of the formation of the rhodopsin/arrestin complex well correlates with the concentration of arrestin monomer rather than the tetramer. These findings indicate that arrestin monomer, whose concentration is almost constant due to the equilibrium with the tetramer, binds to phosphorylated rhodopsin. The arrestin tetramer would act as a reservoir of monomer to compensate for the large changes in arrestin concentration in rod cells caused by intense light or adaptation.
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25
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Rodrigues MJ, Casadei CM, Weinert T, Panneels V, Schertler GFX. Correction of rhodopsin serial crystallography diffraction intensities for a lattice-translocation defect. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2023; 79:224-233. [PMID: 36876432 PMCID: PMC9986800 DOI: 10.1107/s2059798323000931] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Accepted: 02/01/2023] [Indexed: 03/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Rhodopsin is a G-protein-coupled receptor that detects light and initiates the intracellular signalling cascades that underpin vertebrate vision. Light sensitivity is achieved by covalent linkage to 11-cis retinal, which isomerizes upon photo-absorption. Serial femtosecond crystallography data collected from rhodopsin microcrystals grown in the lipidic cubic phase were used to solve the room-temperature structure of the receptor. Although the diffraction data showed high completeness and good consistency to 1.8 Å resolution, prominent electron-density features remained unaccounted for throughout the unit cell after model building and refinement. A deeper analysis of the diffraction intensities uncovered the presence of a lattice-translocation defect (LTD) within the crystals. The procedure followed to correct the diffraction intensities for this pathology enabled the building of an improved resting-state model. The correction was essential to both confidently model the structure of the unilluminated state and interpret the light-activated data collected after photo-excitation of the crystals. It is expected that similar cases of LTD will be observed in other serial crystallography experiments and that correction will be required in a variety of systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew J Rodrigues
- Laboratory of Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - Cecilia M Casadei
- Laboratory of Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - Tobias Weinert
- Laboratory of Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - Valerie Panneels
- Laboratory of Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - Gebhard F X Schertler
- Laboratory of Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland
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26
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Gruhl T, Weinert T, Rodrigues MJ, Milne CJ, Ortolani G, Nass K, Nango E, Sen S, Johnson PJM, Cirelli C, Furrer A, Mous S, Skopintsev P, James D, Dworkowski F, Båth P, Kekilli D, Ozerov D, Tanaka R, Glover H, Bacellar C, Brünle S, Casadei CM, Diethelm AD, Gashi D, Gotthard G, Guixà-González R, Joti Y, Kabanova V, Knopp G, Lesca E, Ma P, Martiel I, Mühle J, Owada S, Pamula F, Sarabi D, Tejero O, Tsai CJ, Varma N, Wach A, Boutet S, Tono K, Nogly P, Deupi X, Iwata S, Neutze R, Standfuss J, Schertler G, Panneels V. Ultrafast structural changes direct the first molecular events of vision. Nature 2023; 615:939-944. [PMID: 36949205 PMCID: PMC10060157 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-05863-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2023] [Indexed: 03/24/2023]
Abstract
Vision is initiated by the rhodopsin family of light-sensitive G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs)1. A photon is absorbed by the 11-cis retinal chromophore of rhodopsin, which isomerizes within 200 femtoseconds to the all-trans conformation2, thereby initiating the cellular signal transduction processes that ultimately lead to vision. However, the intramolecular mechanism by which the photoactivated retinal induces the activation events inside rhodopsin remains experimentally unclear. Here we use ultrafast time-resolved crystallography at room temperature3 to determine how an isomerized twisted all-trans retinal stores the photon energy that is required to initiate the protein conformational changes associated with the formation of the G protein-binding signalling state. The distorted retinal at a 1-ps time delay after photoactivation has pulled away from half of its numerous interactions with its binding pocket, and the excess of the photon energy is released through an anisotropic protein breathing motion in the direction of the extracellular space. Notably, the very early structural motions in the protein side chains of rhodopsin appear in regions that are involved in later stages of the conserved class A GPCR activation mechanism. Our study sheds light on the earliest stages of vision in vertebrates and points to fundamental aspects of the molecular mechanisms of agonist-mediated GPCR activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Gruhl
- Division of Biology and Chemistry, Laboratory for Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - Tobias Weinert
- Division of Biology and Chemistry, Laboratory for Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - Matthew J Rodrigues
- Division of Biology and Chemistry, Laboratory for Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - Christopher J Milne
- Photon Science Division, Laboratory for Femtochemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
- European XFEL, Schenefeld, Germany
| | - Giorgia Ortolani
- Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Karol Nass
- Photon Science Division, Laboratory for Femtochemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - Eriko Nango
- Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
- RIKEN SPring-8 Center, Hyogo, Japan
| | - Saumik Sen
- Condensed Matter Theory Group, Laboratory for Theoretical and Computational Physics, Division of Scientific Computing, Theory and Data, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Philip J M Johnson
- Photon Science Division, Laboratory for Nonlinear Optics, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - Claudio Cirelli
- Photon Science Division, Laboratory for Femtochemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - Antonia Furrer
- Division of Biology and Chemistry, Laboratory for Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
- Biologics Center, Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Sandra Mous
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Biophysics, Department of Biology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA, USA
| | - Petr Skopintsev
- Division of Biology and Chemistry, Laboratory for Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
- California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Daniel James
- Division of Biology and Chemistry, Laboratory for Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
- Department of Physics, Utah Valley University, Orem, UT, USA
| | - Florian Dworkowski
- Photon Science Division, Laboratory for Macromolecules and Bioimaging, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - Petra Båth
- Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Demet Kekilli
- Division of Biology and Chemistry, Laboratory for Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - Dmitry Ozerov
- Division Scientific Computing, Theory and Data, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - Rie Tanaka
- RIKEN SPring-8 Center, Hyogo, Japan
- Department of Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Hannah Glover
- Division of Biology and Chemistry, Laboratory for Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - Camila Bacellar
- Photon Science Division, Laboratory for Femtochemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - Steffen Brünle
- Division of Biology and Chemistry, Laboratory for Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
- Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | - Azeglio D Diethelm
- Division of Biology and Chemistry, Laboratory for Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - Dardan Gashi
- Photon Science Division, Laboratory for Femtochemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - Guillaume Gotthard
- Division of Biology and Chemistry, Laboratory for Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Biophysics, Department of Biology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Ramon Guixà-González
- Condensed Matter Theory Group, Laboratory for Theoretical and Computational Physics, Division of Scientific Computing, Theory and Data, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Yasumasa Joti
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, Hyogo, Japan
| | - Victoria Kabanova
- Photon Science Division, Laboratory for Femtochemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
- Laboratory for Ultrafast X-ray Sciences, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Gregor Knopp
- Photon Science Division, Laboratory for Femtochemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - Elena Lesca
- Department of Biology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Pikyee Ma
- Division of Biology and Chemistry, Laboratory for Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - Isabelle Martiel
- Photon Science Division, Laboratory for Macromolecules and Bioimaging, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - Jonas Mühle
- Division of Biology and Chemistry, Laboratory for Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - Shigeki Owada
- RIKEN SPring-8 Center, Hyogo, Japan
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, Hyogo, Japan
| | - Filip Pamula
- Division of Biology and Chemistry, Laboratory for Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Daniel Sarabi
- Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Oliver Tejero
- Division of Biology and Chemistry, Laboratory for Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - Ching-Ju Tsai
- Division of Biology and Chemistry, Laboratory for Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - Niranjan Varma
- Division of Biology and Chemistry, Laboratory for Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - Anna Wach
- Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraców, Poland
- Operando X-ray Spectroscopy, Energy and Environment Division, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - Sébastien Boutet
- Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA, USA
| | - Kensuke Tono
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, Hyogo, Japan
| | - Przemyslaw Nogly
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Biophysics, Department of Biology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Dioscuri Center For Structural Dynamics of Receptors, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Kraków, Poland
| | - Xavier Deupi
- Division of Biology and Chemistry, Laboratory for Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
- Condensed Matter Theory Group, Laboratory for Theoretical and Computational Physics, Division of Scientific Computing, Theory and Data, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - So Iwata
- RIKEN SPring-8 Center, Hyogo, Japan
- Department of Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Richard Neutze
- Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Jörg Standfuss
- Division of Biology and Chemistry, Laboratory for Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - Gebhard Schertler
- Division of Biology and Chemistry, Laboratory for Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland.
- Department of Biology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Valerie Panneels
- Division of Biology and Chemistry, Laboratory for Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland.
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27
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Hofmann KP, Lamb TD. Rhodopsin, light-sensor of vision. Prog Retin Eye Res 2023; 93:101116. [PMID: 36273969 DOI: 10.1016/j.preteyeres.2022.101116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2022] [Revised: 08/20/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
The light sensor of vertebrate scotopic (low-light) vision, rhodopsin, is a G-protein-coupled receptor comprising a polypeptide chain with bound chromophore, 11-cis-retinal, that exhibits remarkable physicochemical properties. This photopigment is extremely stable in the dark, yet its chromophore isomerises upon photon absorption with 70% efficiency, enabling the activation of its G-protein, transducin, with high efficiency. Rhodopsin's photochemical and biochemical activities occur over very different time-scales: the energy of retinaldehyde's excited state is stored in <1 ps in retinal-protein interactions, but it takes milliseconds for the catalytically active state to form, and many tens of minutes for the resting state to be restored. In this review, we describe the properties of rhodopsin and its role in rod phototransduction. We first introduce rhodopsin's gross structural features, its evolution, and the basic mechanisms of its activation. We then discuss light absorption and spectral sensitivity, photoreceptor electrical responses that result from the activity of individual rhodopsin molecules, and recovery of rhodopsin and the visual system from intense bleaching exposures. We then provide a detailed examination of rhodopsin's molecular structure and function, first in its dark state, and then in the active Meta states that govern its interactions with transducin, rhodopsin kinase and arrestin. While it is clear that rhodopsin's molecular properties are exquisitely honed for phototransduction, from starlight to dawn/dusk intensity levels, our understanding of how its molecular interactions determine the properties of scotopic vision remains incomplete. We describe potential future directions of research, and outline several major problems that remain to be solved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klaus Peter Hofmann
- Institut für Medizinische Physik und Biophysik (CC2), Charité, and, Zentrum für Biophysik und Bioinformatik, Humboldt-Unversität zu Berlin, Berlin, 10117, Germany.
| | - Trevor D Lamb
- Eccles Institute of Neuroscience, John Curtin School of Medical Research, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia.
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28
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Fujimoto KJ, Minowa F, Nishina M, Nakamura S, Ohashi S, Katayama K, Kandori H, Yanai T. Molecular Mechanism of Spectral Tuning by Chloride Binding in Monkey Green Sensitive Visual Pigment. J Phys Chem Lett 2023; 14:1784-1793. [PMID: 36762971 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c03619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The visual pigments of the cones perceive red, green, and blue colors. The monkey green (MG) pigment possesses a unique Cl- binding site; however, its relationship to the spectral tuning in green pigments remains elusive. Recently, FTIR spectroscopy revealed the characteristic structural modifications of the retinal binding site by Cl- binding. Herein, we report the computational structural modeling of MG pigments and quantum-chemical simulation to investigate its spectral redshift and physicochemical relevance when Cl- is present. Our protein structures reflect the previously suggested structural changes. AlphaFold2 failed to predict these structural changes. Excited-state calculations successfully reproduced the experimental red-shifted absorption energies, corroborating our protein structures. Electrostatic energy decomposition revealed that the redshift results from the His197 protonation state and conformations of Glu129, Ser202, and Ala308; however, Cl- itself contributes to the blueshift. Site-directed mutagenesis supported our analysis. These modeled structures may provide a valuable foundation for studying cone pigments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kazuhiro J Fujimoto
- Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University, Furocho, Chikusa, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Furocho, Chikusa, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan
| | - Fumika Minowa
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Furocho, Chikusa, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan
| | - Michiya Nishina
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Furocho, Chikusa, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan
| | - Shunta Nakamura
- Department of Life Science and Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Gokiso-cho, Showa, Nagoya, 466-8555, Japan
| | - Sayaka Ohashi
- Department of Life Science and Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Gokiso-cho, Showa, Nagoya, 466-8555, Japan
| | - Kota Katayama
- Department of Life Science and Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Gokiso-cho, Showa, Nagoya, 466-8555, Japan
- OptoBioTechnology Research Center, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Gokiso-cho, Showa, Nagoya, 466-8555, Japan
| | - Hideki Kandori
- Department of Life Science and Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Gokiso-cho, Showa, Nagoya, 466-8555, Japan
- OptoBioTechnology Research Center, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Gokiso-cho, Showa, Nagoya, 466-8555, Japan
| | - Takeshi Yanai
- Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University, Furocho, Chikusa, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Furocho, Chikusa, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan
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29
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Hu J, Sun X, Kang Z, Cheng J. Computational investigation of functional water molecules in GPCRs bound to G protein or arrestin. J Comput Aided Mol Des 2023; 37:91-105. [PMID: 36459325 DOI: 10.1007/s10822-022-00492-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are membrane proteins constituting the largest family of drug targets. The activated GPCR binds either the heterotrimeric G proteins or arrestin through its activation cycle. Water molecules have been reported to play a role in GPCR activation. Nevertheless, reported studies are focused on the hydrophobic helical bundle region. How water molecules function in GPCR bound either G protein or arrestin is rarely studied. To address this issue, we carried out computational studies on water molecules in both GPCR/G protein complexes and GPCR/arrestin complexes. Using inhomogeneous fluid theory (IFT), we locate all possible hydration sites in GPCRs binding either to G protein or arrestin. We observe that the number of water molecules on the interaction surface between GPCRs and signal proteins are correlated with the insertion depths of the α5-helix from G-protein or "finger loop" from arrestin in GPCRs. In three out of the four simulation pairs, the interfaces of Rhodopsin, M2R and NTSR1 in the G protein-associated systems show more water-mediated hydrogen-bond networks when compared to these in arrestin-associated systems. This reflects that more functionally relevant water molecules may probably be attracted in G protein-associated structures than that in arrestin-associated structures. Moreover, we find the water-mediated interaction networks throughout the NPxxY region and the orthosteric pocket, which may be a key for GPCR activation. Reported studies show that non-biased agonist, which can trigger both GPCR-G protein and GPCR-arrestin activation signal, can result in pharmacologically toxicities. Our comprehensive studies of the hydration sites in GPCR/G protein complexes and GPCR/arrestin complexes may provide important insights in the design of G-protein biased agonists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaqi Hu
- Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Drug Design and Evaluation, School of Pharmacy, Jiangxi Science & Technology Normal University, Nanchang, China
| | - Xianqiang Sun
- AutoDrug Biotech Co. Ltd, No. 58 XiangKe Rd., Pudong New Area, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhengzhong Kang
- AutoDrug Biotech Co. Ltd, No. 58 XiangKe Rd., Pudong New Area, Shanghai, China.
| | - Jianxin Cheng
- Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Drug Design and Evaluation, School of Pharmacy, Jiangxi Science & Technology Normal University, Nanchang, China.
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30
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Damodaran K, Khan T, Bickel D, Jaya S, Vranken WF, Sudandiradoss C. New simulation insights on the structural transition mechanism of bovine rhodopsin activation. Proteins 2023; 91:771-780. [PMID: 36629258 DOI: 10.1002/prot.26465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2022] [Revised: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 01/02/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Inactive rhodopsin can absorb photons, which induces different structural transitions that finally activate rhodopsin. We have examined the change in spatial configurations and physicochemical factors that result during the transition mechanism from the inactive to the active rhodopsin state via intermediates. During the activation process, many existing atomic contacts are disrupted, and new ones are formed. This is related to the movement of Helix 5, which tilts away from Helix 3 in the intermediate state in lumirhodopsin and moves closer to Helix 3 again in the active state. Similar patterns of changing atomic contacts are observed between Helices 3 and 5 of the adenosine and neurotensin receptors. In addition, residues 220-238 of rhodopsin, which are disordered in the inactive state, fold in the active state before binding to the Gα, where it catalyzes GDP/GTP exchange on the Gα subunit. Finally, molecular dynamics simulations in the membrane environment revealed that the arrestin binding region adopts a more flexible extended conformation upon phosphorylation, likely promoting arrestin binding and inactivation. In summary, our results provide additional structural understanding of specific rhodopsin activation which might be relevant to other Class A G protein-coupled receptor proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kamalesh Damodaran
- Department of Integrative Biology, School of Bioscience and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, India.,Interuniversity Institute of Bioinformatics in Brussels, ULB/VUB, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Taushif Khan
- Interuniversity Institute of Bioinformatics in Brussels, ULB/VUB, Brussels, Belgium.,Structural Biology Brussels, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - David Bickel
- Interuniversity Institute of Bioinformatics in Brussels, ULB/VUB, Brussels, Belgium.,Structural Biology Brussels, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Sreeshma Jaya
- Department of Biotechnology, School of Biosciences and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, India
| | - Wim F Vranken
- Interuniversity Institute of Bioinformatics in Brussels, ULB/VUB, Brussels, Belgium.,Structural Biology Brussels, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Chinnappan Sudandiradoss
- Department of Biotechnology, School of Biosciences and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, India
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31
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Pasquaré SJ, Chamorro-Aguirre E, Gaveglio VL. The endocannabinoid system in the visual process. JOURNAL OF PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND PHOTOBIOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jpap.2022.100159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
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32
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Picarazzi F, Zuanon M, Pasqualetto G, Cammarone S, Romeo I, Young MT, Brancale A, Bassetto M, Mori M. Identification of Small Molecular Chaperones Binding P23H Mutant Opsin through an In Silico Structure-Based Approach. J Chem Inf Model 2022; 62:5794-5805. [PMID: 36367985 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.2c01040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
N-terminal P23H opsin mutation accounts for most of retinitis pigmentosa (RP) cases. P23H functions and folding can be rescued by small chaperone ligands, which contributes to validate mutant opsin as a suitable target for pharmacological treatment of RP. However, the lack of structural details on P23H mutant opsin strongly impairs drug design, and new chemotypes of effective chaperones of P23H opsin are in high demand. Here, a computational-boosted workflow combining homology modeling with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and virtual screening was used to select putative P23H opsin chaperones among different libraries through a structure-based approach. In vitro studies corroborated the reliability of the structural model generated in this work and identified a number of novel chemotypes of safe and effective chaperones able to promote P23H opsin trafficking to the outer cell membrane.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Picarazzi
- Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Siena, Via Aldo Moro 2, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Marika Zuanon
- School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AX, UK
| | - Gaia Pasqualetto
- School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3NB, UK
| | - Silvia Cammarone
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, Facoltà di Farmacia e Medicina, "Sapienza" Università di Roma, P. le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Isabella Romeo
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, Facoltà di Farmacia e Medicina, "Sapienza" Università di Roma, P. le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Mark T Young
- School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AX, UK
| | - Andrea Brancale
- School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3NB, UK.,Vysoká Škola Chemicko-Technologiká v Praze, Prague 166 28, Czech Republic
| | - Marcella Bassetto
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - Mattia Mori
- Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Siena, Via Aldo Moro 2, 53100 Siena, Italy
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33
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Helmer N, Wolf S, Stock G. Energy Transport and Its Function in Heptahelical Transmembrane Proteins. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:8735-8746. [PMID: 36261792 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c05892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Photoproteins such as bacteriorhodopsin (bR) and rhodopsin (Rho) need to effectively dissipate photoinduced excess energy to prevent themselves from damage. Another well-studied seven transmembrane (TM) helices protein is the β2 adrenergic receptor (β2AR), a G protein-coupled receptor for which energy dissipation paths have been linked with allosteric communication. To study the vibrational energy transport in the active and inactive states of these proteins, a master equation approach [J. Chem. Phys.2020, 152, 045103] is employed, which uses scaling rules that allow us to calculate energy transport rates solely based on the protein structure. Despite their overall structural similarity, the three 7TM proteins reveal quite different strategies to redistribute excess energy. While bR quickly removes the energy using the TM7 helix as a "lightning rod", Rho exhibits a rather poor energy dissipation, which might eventually require the hydrolysis of the Schiff base between the protein and the retinal chromophore to prevent overheating. Heating the ligand adrenaline of β2AR, the resulting energy transport network of the protein is found to change significantly upon switching from the active state to the inactive state. While the energy flow may highlight aspects of the inter-residue couplings of β2AR, it seems not particularly suited to explain allosteric phenomena.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadja Helmer
- Biomolecular Dynamics, Institute of Physics, University of Freiburg, 79104Freiburg, Germany
| | - Steffen Wolf
- Biomolecular Dynamics, Institute of Physics, University of Freiburg, 79104Freiburg, Germany
| | - Gerhard Stock
- Biomolecular Dynamics, Institute of Physics, University of Freiburg, 79104Freiburg, Germany
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34
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Buslaev P, Aho N, Jansen A, Bauer P, Hess B, Groenhof G. Best Practices in Constant pH MD Simulations: Accuracy and Sampling. J Chem Theory Comput 2022; 18:6134-6147. [PMID: 36107791 PMCID: PMC9558372 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.2c00517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
![]()
Various approaches
have been proposed to include the
effect of
pH in molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Among these, the λ-dynamics approach proposed
by Brooks and
co-workers [Kong, X.; Brooks III, C. L. J. Chem. Phys.1996, 105, 2414−2423] can be performed
with little computational overhead and hfor each typeence be used
to routinely perform MD simulations at microsecond time scales, as
shown in the accompanying paper [Aho, N. et al. J. Chem. Theory
Comput.2022, DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.2c00516]. At
such time scales, however, the accuracy of the molecular mechanics
force field and the parametrization becomes critical. Here, we address
these issues and provide the community with guidelines on how to set
up and perform long time scale constant pH MD simulations. We found
that barriers associated with the torsions of side chains in the CHARMM36m
force field are too high for reaching convergence in constant pH MD
simulations on microsecond time scales. To avoid the high computational
cost of extending the sampling, we propose small modifications to
the force field to selectively reduce the torsional barriers. We demonstrate
that with such modifications we obtain converged distributions of
both protonation and torsional degrees of freedom and hence consistent
pKa estimates, while the sampling of the
overall configurational space accessible to proteins is unaffected
as compared to normal MD simulations. We also show that the results
of constant pH MD depend on the accuracy of the correction potentials.
While these potentials are typically obtained by fitting a low-order
polynomial to calculated free energy profiles, we find that higher
order fits are essential to provide accurate and consistent results.
By resolving problems in accuracy and sampling, the work described
in this and the accompanying paper paves the way to the widespread
application of constant pH MD beyond pKa prediction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pavel Buslaev
- Nanoscience Center and Department of Chemistry, University of Jyväskylä, 40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Noora Aho
- Nanoscience Center and Department of Chemistry, University of Jyväskylä, 40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Anton Jansen
- Department of Applied Physics, Science for Life Laboratory, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 100 44 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Paul Bauer
- Department of Applied Physics, Science for Life Laboratory, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 100 44 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Berk Hess
- Department of Applied Physics and Swedish e-Science Research Center, Science for Life Laboratory, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 100 44 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Gerrit Groenhof
- Nanoscience Center and Department of Chemistry, University of Jyväskylä, 40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
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35
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Malakar P, Das I, Bhattacharya S, Harris A, Sheves M, Brown LS, Ruhman S. Bidirectional Photochemistry of Antarctic Microbial Rhodopsin: Emerging Trend of Ballistic Photoisomerization from the 13- cis Resting State. J Phys Chem Lett 2022; 13:8134-8140. [PMID: 36000820 PMCID: PMC9442786 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c01974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The decades-long ultrafast examination of nearly a dozen microbial retinal proteins, ion pumps, and sensory photoreceptors has not identified structure-function indicators which predict photoisomerization dynamics, whether it will be sub-picosecond and ballistic or drawn out with complex curve-crossing kinetics. Herein, we report the emergence of such an indicator. Using pH control over retinal isomer ratios, photoinduced transient absorption is recorded in an inward proton pumping Antarctic microbial rhodopsin (AntR) for 13-cis and all-trans retinal resting states. The all-trans fluorescent state decays with 1 ps exponential kinetics. In contrast, in 13-cis it decays within ∼300 fs accompanied by continuous spectral evolution, indicating ballistic internal conversion. The coherent wave packet nature of 13-cis isomerization in AntR matches published results for bacteriorhodopsin (BR) and Anabaena sensory rhodopsin (ASR), which also accommodate both all-trans and 13-cis retinal resting states, marking the emergence of a first structure-photodynamics indicator which holds for all three tested pigments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Partha Malakar
- Institute
of Chemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9190401, Israel
| | - Ishita Das
- Department
of Molecular Chemistry and Materials Science, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Sudeshna Bhattacharya
- Department
of Molecular Chemistry and Materials Science, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Andrew Harris
- Department
of Physics, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Mordechai Sheves
- Department
of Molecular Chemistry and Materials Science, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Leonid S. Brown
- Department
of Physics, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Sanford Ruhman
- Institute
of Chemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9190401, Israel
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36
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Sakai K, Ikeuchi H, Fujiyabu C, Imamoto Y, Yamashita T. Convergent evolutionary counterion displacement of bilaterian opsins in ciliary cells. Cell Mol Life Sci 2022; 79:493. [PMID: 36001156 PMCID: PMC11071972 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-022-04525-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2022] [Revised: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Opsins are universal photoreceptive proteins in animals. Vertebrate rhodopsin in ciliary photoreceptor cells photo-converts to a metastable active state to regulate cyclic nucleotide signaling. This active state cannot photo-convert back to the dark state, and thus vertebrate rhodopsin is categorized as a mono-stable opsin. By contrast, mollusk and arthropod rhodopsins in rhabdomeric photoreceptor cells photo-convert to a stable active state to stimulate IP3/calcium signaling. This active state can photo-convert back to the dark state, and thus these rhodopsins are categorized as bistable opsins. Moreover, the negatively charged counterion position crucial for the visible light sensitivity is different between vertebrate rhodopsin (Glu113) and mollusk and arthropod rhodopsins (Glu181). This can be explained by an evolutionary scenario where vertebrate rhodopsin newly acquired Glu113 as a counterion, which is thought to have led to higher signaling efficiency of vertebrate rhodopsin. However, the detailed evolutionary steps which led to the higher efficiency in vertebrate rhodopsin still remain unknown. Here, we analyzed the xenopsin group, which is phylogenetically distinct from vertebrate rhodopsin and functions in protostome ciliary cells. Xenopsins are blue-sensitive bistable opsins that regulate cAMP signaling. We found that a bistable xenopsin of Leptochiton asellus had Glu113 as a counterion but did not exhibit elevated signaling efficiency. Therefore, our results show that vertebrate rhodopsin and L. asellus xenopsin regulate cyclic nucleotide signaling in ciliary cells and displaced the counterion position from Glu181 to Glu113 via convergent evolution, whereas subsequently only vertebrate rhodopsin elevated its signaling efficiency by acquiring the mono-stable property.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kazumi Sakai
- Department of Biophysics, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan
| | - Hiroki Ikeuchi
- Department of Biophysics, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan
| | - Chihiro Fujiyabu
- Department of Biophysics, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan
| | - Yasushi Imamoto
- Department of Biophysics, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan
| | - Takahiro Yamashita
- Department of Biophysics, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan.
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37
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Kleist AB, Jenjak S, Sente A, Laskowski LJ, Szpakowska M, Calkins MM, Anderson EI, McNally LM, Heukers R, Bobkov V, Peterson FC, Thomas MA, Chevigné A, Smit MJ, McCorvy JD, Babu MM, Volkman BF. Conformational selection guides β-arrestin recruitment at a biased G protein-coupled receptor. Science 2022; 377:222-228. [PMID: 35857540 PMCID: PMC9574477 DOI: 10.1126/science.abj4922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) recruit β-arrestins to coordinate diverse cellular processes, but the structural dynamics driving this process are poorly understood. Atypical chemokine receptors (ACKRs) are intrinsically biased GPCRs that engage β-arrestins but not G proteins, making them a model system for investigating the structural basis of β-arrestin recruitment. Here, we performed nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments on 13CH3-ε-methionine-labeled ACKR3, revealing that β-arrestin recruitment is associated with conformational exchange at key regions of the extracellular ligand-binding pocket and intracellular β-arrestin-coupling region. NMR studies of ACKR3 mutants defective in β-arrestin recruitment identified an allosteric hub in the receptor core that coordinates transitions among heterogeneously populated and selected conformational states. Our data suggest that conformational selection guides β-arrestin recruitment by tuning receptor dynamics at intracellular and extracellular regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew B Kleist
- Department of Biochemistry, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA.,Medical Scientist Training Program, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA
| | - Shawn Jenjak
- Department of Biochemistry, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA
| | - Andrija Sente
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge CB2 0QH, UK
| | - Lauren J Laskowski
- Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology, and Anatomy, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA
| | - Martyna Szpakowska
- Immuno-Pharmacology and Interactomics, Department of Infection and Immunity, Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH), L-4354 Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
| | - Maggie M Calkins
- Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology, and Anatomy, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA
| | - Emilie I Anderson
- Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology, and Anatomy, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA
| | - Lisa M McNally
- Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology, and Anatomy, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA
| | - Raimond Heukers
- Amsterdam Institute for Molecular and Life Sciences, Division of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Vladimir Bobkov
- Amsterdam Institute for Molecular and Life Sciences, Division of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Francis C Peterson
- Department of Biochemistry, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA
| | - Monica A Thomas
- Department of Biochemistry, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA.,Medical Scientist Training Program, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA
| | - Andy Chevigné
- Immuno-Pharmacology and Interactomics, Department of Infection and Immunity, Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH), L-4354 Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
| | - Martine J Smit
- Amsterdam Institute for Molecular and Life Sciences, Division of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - John D McCorvy
- Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology, and Anatomy, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA
| | - M Madan Babu
- Department of Structural Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA.,Center for Data Driven Discovery, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA
| | - Brian F Volkman
- Department of Biochemistry, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA
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38
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de Grip WJ, Ganapathy S. Rhodopsins: An Excitingly Versatile Protein Species for Research, Development and Creative Engineering. Front Chem 2022; 10:879609. [PMID: 35815212 PMCID: PMC9257189 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2022.879609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The first member and eponym of the rhodopsin family was identified in the 1930s as the visual pigment of the rod photoreceptor cell in the animal retina. It was found to be a membrane protein, owing its photosensitivity to the presence of a covalently bound chromophoric group. This group, derived from vitamin A, was appropriately dubbed retinal. In the 1970s a microbial counterpart of this species was discovered in an archaeon, being a membrane protein also harbouring retinal as a chromophore, and named bacteriorhodopsin. Since their discovery a photogenic panorama unfolded, where up to date new members and subspecies with a variety of light-driven functionality have been added to this family. The animal branch, meanwhile categorized as type-2 rhodopsins, turned out to form a large subclass in the superfamily of G protein-coupled receptors and are essential to multiple elements of light-dependent animal sensory physiology. The microbial branch, the type-1 rhodopsins, largely function as light-driven ion pumps or channels, but also contain sensory-active and enzyme-sustaining subspecies. In this review we will follow the development of this exciting membrane protein panorama in a representative number of highlights and will present a prospect of their extraordinary future potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Willem J. de Grip
- Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Department of Biophysical Organic Chemistry, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
- Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Srividya Ganapathy
- Department of Imaging Physics, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands
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39
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Lazaratos M, Siemers M, Brown LS, Bondar AN. Conserved hydrogen-bond motifs of membrane transporters and receptors. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA. BIOMEMBRANES 2022; 1864:183896. [PMID: 35217000 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2022.183896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Revised: 02/04/2022] [Accepted: 02/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Membrane transporters and receptors often rely on conserved hydrogen bonds to assemble transient paths for ion transfer or long-distance conformational couplings. For transporters and receptors that use proton binding and proton transfer for function, inter-helical hydrogen bonds of titratable protein sidechains that could change protonation are of central interest to formulate hypotheses about reaction mechanisms. Knowledge of hydrogen bonds common at sites of potential interest for proton binding could thus inform and guide studies on functional mechanisms of protonation-coupled membrane proteins. Here we apply graph-theory approaches to identify hydrogen-bond motifs of carboxylate and histidine sidechains in a large data set of static membrane protein structures. We find that carboxylate-hydroxyl hydrogen bonds are present in numerous structures of the dataset, and can be part of more extended H-bond clusters that could be relevant to conformational coupling. Carboxylate-carboxyamide and imidazole-imidazole hydrogen bonds are represented in comparably fewer protein structures of the dataset. Atomistic simulations on two membrane transporters in lipid membranes suggest that many of the hydrogen bond motifs present in static protein structures tend to be robust, and can be part of larger hydrogen-bond clusters that recruit additional hydrogen bonds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michalis Lazaratos
- Freie Universität Berlin, Department of Physics, Theoretical Molecular Biophysics, Arnimallee 14, D14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Malte Siemers
- Freie Universität Berlin, Department of Physics, Theoretical Molecular Biophysics, Arnimallee 14, D14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Leonid S Brown
- University of Guelph, Department of Physics, 50 Stone Road E., Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Ana-Nicoleta Bondar
- Freie Universität Berlin, Department of Physics, Theoretical Molecular Biophysics, Arnimallee 14, D14195 Berlin, Germany; University of Bucharest, Faculty of Physics, Atomiștilor 405, Măgurele 077125, Romania; Forschungszentrum Jülich, Institute for Neuroscience and Medicine and Institute for Advanced Simulations (IAS-5/INM-9), Computational Biomedicine, Wilhelm-Johnen Straße, 52428 Jülich, Germany.
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40
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Abstract
Although G-protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs) control vast physiological pathways, their activation remains chemically and physically enigmatic. Our osmotic stress studies of the visual receptor rhodopsin have redefined the standard model of GPCR signaling by revealing the essential role of bulk water. We show results consistent with a large number of water molecules flooding the rhodopsin interior during activation to stabilize the effector binding conformation. These results suggest a model of GPCR activation in which the receptor becomes solvent-swollen upon formation of the active state. We thus demonstrate the mechanism whereby water acts as a powerful allosteric modulator of a pharmacologically important membrane protein family. The Rhodopsin family of G-protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs) comprises the targets of nearly a third of all pharmaceuticals. Despite structural water present in GPCR X-ray structures, the physiological relevance of these solvent molecules to rhodopsin signaling remains unknown. Here, we show experimental results consistent with the idea that rhodopsin activation in lipid membranes is coupled to bulk water movements into the protein. To quantify hydration changes, we measured reversible shifting of the metarhodopsin equilibrium due to osmotic stress using an extensive series of polyethylene glycol (PEG) osmolytes. We discovered clear evidence that light activation entails a large influx of bulk water (∼80–100 molecules) into the protein, giving insight into GPCR activation mechanisms. Various size polymer osmolytes directly control rhodopsin activation, in which large solutes are excluded from rhodopsin and dehydrate the protein, favoring the inactive state. In contrast, small osmolytes initially forward shift the activation equilibrium until a quantifiable saturation point is reached, similar to gain-of-function protein mutations. For the limit of increasing osmolyte size, a universal response of rhodopsin to osmotic stress is observed, suggesting it adopts a dynamic, hydrated sponge-like state upon photoactivation. Our results demand a rethinking of the role of water dynamics in modulating various intermediates in the GPCR energy landscape. We propose that besides bound water, an influx of bulk water plays a necessary role in establishing the active GPCR conformation that mediates signaling.
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41
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McIntire WE. A model for how Gβγ couples Gα to GPCR. J Gen Physiol 2022; 154:213096. [PMID: 35333292 PMCID: PMC8961292 DOI: 10.1085/jgp.202112982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2021] [Accepted: 02/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Representing ∼5% of the human genome, G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are a primary target for drug discovery; however, the molecular details of how they couple to heterotrimeric G protein subunits are incompletely understood. Here, I propose a hypothetical initial docking model for the encounter between GPCR and Gβγ that is defined by transient interactions between the cytosolic surface of the GPCR and the prenyl moiety and the tripeptide motif, asparagine-proline-phenylalanine (NPF), in the C-terminus of the Gγ subunit. Analysis of class A GPCRs reveals a conserved NPF binding site formed by the interaction of the TM1 and H8. Functional studies using differentially prenylated proteins and peptides further suggest that the intracellular hydrophobic core of the GPCR is a prenyl binding site. Upon binding TM1 and H8 of GPCRs, the propensity of the C-terminal region of Gγ to convert into an α helix allows it to extend into the hydrophobic core of the GPCR, facilitating the GPCR active state. Conservation of the NPF motif in Gγ isoforms and interacting residues in TM1 and H8 suggest that this is a general mechanism of GPCR-G protein signaling. Analysis of the rhodopsin dimer also suggests that Gγ-rhodopsin interactions may facilitate GPCR dimer transactivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- William E McIntire
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA
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42
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Seyedabadi M, Gharghabi M, Gurevich EV, Gurevich VV. Structural basis of GPCR coupling to distinct signal transducers: implications for biased signaling. Trends Biochem Sci 2022; 47:570-581. [PMID: 35396120 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibs.2022.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Revised: 02/10/2022] [Accepted: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Three classes of G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) partners - G proteins, GPCR kinases, and arrestins - preferentially bind active GPCRs. Our analysis suggests that the structures of GPCRs bound to these interaction partners available today do not reveal a clear conformational basis for signaling bias, which would have enabled the rational design of biased GRCR ligands. In view of this, three possibilities are conceivable: (i) there are no generalizable GPCR conformations conducive to binding a particular type of partner; (ii) subtle differences in the orientation of individual residues and/or their interactions not easily detectable in the receptor-transducer structures determine partner preference; or (iii) the dynamics of GPCR binding to different types of partners rather than the structures of the final complexes might underlie transducer bias.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Seyedabadi
- Department of Toxicology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran; Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran
| | - Mehdi Gharghabi
- Department of Cancer Biology and Genetics, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA
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43
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Pedraza-González L, Barneschi L, Padula D, De Vico L, Olivucci M. Evolution of the Automatic Rhodopsin Modeling (ARM) Protocol. Top Curr Chem (Cham) 2022; 380:21. [PMID: 35291019 PMCID: PMC8924150 DOI: 10.1007/s41061-022-00374-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 01/29/2022] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
In recent years, photoactive proteins such as rhodopsins have become a common target for cutting-edge research in the field of optogenetics. Alongside wet-lab research, computational methods are also developing rapidly to provide the necessary tools to analyze and rationalize experimental results and, most of all, drive the design of novel systems. The Automatic Rhodopsin Modeling (ARM) protocol is focused on providing exactly the necessary computational tools to study rhodopsins, those being either natural or resulting from mutations. The code has evolved along the years to finally provide results that are reproducible by any user, accurate and reliable so as to replicate experimental trends. Furthermore, the code is efficient in terms of necessary computing resources and time, and scalable in terms of both number of concurrent calculations as well as features. In this review, we will show how the code underlying ARM achieved each of these properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Pedraza-González
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Siena, Via Aldo Moro 2, 53100, Siena, Italy. .,Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa, Via Moruzzi 13, 56124, Pisa, Italy.
| | - Leonardo Barneschi
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Siena, Via Aldo Moro 2, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Daniele Padula
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Siena, Via Aldo Moro 2, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Luca De Vico
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Siena, Via Aldo Moro 2, 53100, Siena, Italy.
| | - Massimo Olivucci
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Siena, Via Aldo Moro 2, 53100, Siena, Italy. .,Department of Chemistry, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, 43403, USA.
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44
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Quantum-classical simulations of rhodopsin reveal excited-state population splitting and its effects on quantum efficiency. Nat Chem 2022; 14:441-449. [PMID: 35241801 PMCID: PMC8983576 DOI: 10.1038/s41557-022-00892-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Accepted: 01/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
The activation of rhodopsin, the light-sensitive G-protein coupled receptor responsible for dim-light vision in vertebrates, is driven by an ultrafast excited-state double-bond isomerization with a quantum efficiency of almost 70%. The origin of such light sensitivity is not understood and a key question is whether in-phase nuclear motion controls the quantum efficiency value. Here, we use hundreds of quantum-classical trajectories to show that, 15 femtoseconds after light absorption, a degeneracy between the reactive excited state and a neighboring state causes the splitting of the rhodopsin population into subpopulations. These subpopulations propagate with different velocities and lead to distinct contributions to the quantum efficiency. We also show that such splitting is modulated by protein electrostatics, thus linking amino-acid sequence variations to quantum efficiency modulation. Finally, we discuss how such a linkage that in principle could be exploited to achieve higher quantum efficiencies, would simultaneously increase the receptor thermal noise leading to a trade-off that may have played a role in rhodopsin evolution.
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45
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Sakai K, Shichida Y, Imamoto Y, Yamashita T. Creation of photocyclic vertebrate rhodopsin by single amino acid substitution. eLife 2022; 11:75979. [PMID: 35199641 PMCID: PMC8871353 DOI: 10.7554/elife.75979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 02/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Opsins are universal photoreceptive proteins in animals and can be classified into three types based on their photoreaction properties. Upon light irradiation, vertebrate rhodopsin forms a metastable active state, which cannot revert back to the original dark state via either photoreaction or thermal reaction. By contrast, after photoreception, most opsins form a stable active state which can photoconvert back to the dark state. Moreover, we recently found a novel type of opsins whose activity is regulated by photocycling. However, the molecular mechanism underlying this diversification of opsins remains unknown. In this study, we showed that vertebrate rhodopsin acquired the photocyclic and photoreversible properties upon introduction of a single mutation at position 188. This revealed that the residue at position 188 contributes to the diversification of photoreaction properties of opsins by its regulation of the recovery from the active state to the original dark state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kazumi Sakai
- Department of Biophysics, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Yoshinori Shichida
- Department of Biophysics, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.,Research Organization for Science and technology, Ritsumeikan University, Kusatsu, Japan
| | - Yasushi Imamoto
- Department of Biophysics, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Takahiro Yamashita
- Department of Biophysics, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
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46
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Pluhackova K, Wilhelm FM, Müller DJ. Lipids and Phosphorylation Conjointly Modulate Complex Formation of β 2-Adrenergic Receptor and β-arrestin2. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 9:807913. [PMID: 35004696 PMCID: PMC8733679 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.807913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 11/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest class of human membrane proteins that bind extracellular ligands at their orthosteric binding pocket to transmit signals to the cell interior. Ligand binding evokes conformational changes in GPCRs that trigger the binding of intracellular interaction partners (G proteins, G protein kinases, and arrestins), which initiate diverse cellular responses. It has become increasingly evident that the preference of a GPCR for a certain intracellular interaction partner is modulated by a diverse range of factors, e.g., ligands or lipids embedding the transmembrane receptor. Here, by means of molecular dynamics simulations of the β2-adrenergic receptor and β-arrestin2, we study how membrane lipids and receptor phosphorylation regulate GPCR-arrestin complex conformation and dynamics. We find that phosphorylation drives the receptor’s intracellular loop 3 (ICL3) away from a native negatively charged membrane surface to interact with arrestin. If the receptor is embedded in a neutral membrane, the phosphorylated ICL3 attaches to the membrane surface, which widely opens the receptor core. This opening, which is similar to the opening in the G protein-bound state, weakens the binding of arrestin. The loss of binding specificity is manifested by shallower arrestin insertion into the receptor core and higher dynamics of the receptor-arrestin complex. Our results show that receptor phosphorylation and the local membrane composition cooperatively fine-tune GPCR-mediated signal transduction. Moreover, the results suggest that deeper understanding of complex GPCR regulation mechanisms is necessary to discover novel pathways of pharmacological intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristyna Pluhackova
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zurich, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Florian M Wilhelm
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zurich, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Daniel J Müller
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zurich, Basel, Switzerland
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47
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New insights into the molecular mechanism of rhodopsin retinitis pigmentosa from the biochemical and functional characterization of G90V, Y102H and I307N mutations. Cell Mol Life Sci 2022; 79:58. [PMID: 34997336 PMCID: PMC8741697 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-021-04086-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2021] [Revised: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 12/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Mutations in the photoreceptor protein rhodopsin are known as one of the leading causes of retinal degeneration in humans. Two rhodopsin mutations, Y102H and I307N, obtained in chemically mutagenized mice, are currently the subject of increased interest as relevant models for studying the process of retinal degeneration in humans. Here, we report on the biochemical and functional characterization of the structural and functional alterations of these two rhodopsin mutants and we compare them with the G90V mutant previously analyzed, as a basis for a better understanding of in vivo studies. This mechanistic knowledge is fundamental to use it for developing novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of inherited retinal degeneration in retinitis pigmentosa. We find that Y102H and I307N mutations affect the inactive–active equilibrium of the receptor. In this regard, the mutations reduce the stability of the inactive conformation but increase the stability of the active conformation. Furthermore, the initial rate of the functional activation of transducin, by the I307N mutant is reduced, but its kinetic profile shows an unusual increase with time suggesting a profound effect on the signal transduction process. This latter effect can be associated with a change in the flexibility of helix 7 and an indirect effect of the mutation on helix 8 and the C-terminal tail of rhodopsin, whose potential role in the functional activation of the receptor has been usually underestimated. In the case of the Y102H mutant, the observed changes can be associated with conformational alterations affecting the folding of the rhodopsin intradiscal domain, and its presumed involvement in the retinal binding process by the receptor.
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48
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Krishna Deepak RNV, Verma RK, Hartono YD, Yew WS, Fan H. Recent Advances in Structure, Function, and Pharmacology of Class A Lipid GPCRs: Opportunities and Challenges for Drug Discovery. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2021; 15:12. [PMID: 35056070 PMCID: PMC8779880 DOI: 10.3390/ph15010012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Revised: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 12/17/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Great progress has been made over the past decade in understanding the structural, functional, and pharmacological diversity of lipid GPCRs. From the first determination of the crystal structure of bovine rhodopsin in 2000, much progress has been made in the field of GPCR structural biology. The extraordinary progress in structural biology and pharmacology of GPCRs, coupled with rapid advances in computational approaches to study receptor dynamics and receptor-ligand interactions, has broadened our comprehension of the structural and functional facets of the receptor family members and has helped usher in a modern age of structure-based drug design and development. First, we provide a primer on lipid mediators and lipid GPCRs and their role in physiology and diseases as well as their value as drug targets. Second, we summarize the current advancements in the understanding of structural features of lipid GPCRs, such as the structural variation of their extracellular domains, diversity of their orthosteric and allosteric ligand binding sites, and molecular mechanisms of ligand binding. Third, we close by collating the emerging paradigms and opportunities in targeting lipid GPCRs, including a brief discussion on current strategies, challenges, and the future outlook.
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Affiliation(s)
- R. N. V. Krishna Deepak
- Bioinformatics Institute, A*STAR, 30 Biopolis Street, Matrix #07-01, Singapore 138671, Singapore; (R.K.V.); (Y.D.H.)
| | - Ravi Kumar Verma
- Bioinformatics Institute, A*STAR, 30 Biopolis Street, Matrix #07-01, Singapore 138671, Singapore; (R.K.V.); (Y.D.H.)
| | - Yossa Dwi Hartono
- Bioinformatics Institute, A*STAR, 30 Biopolis Street, Matrix #07-01, Singapore 138671, Singapore; (R.K.V.); (Y.D.H.)
- Synthetic Biology Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 14 Medical Drive, Singapore 117599, Singapore;
- Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 8 Medical Drive, Singapore 117597, Singapore
| | - Wen Shan Yew
- Synthetic Biology Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 14 Medical Drive, Singapore 117599, Singapore;
- Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 8 Medical Drive, Singapore 117597, Singapore
| | - Hao Fan
- Bioinformatics Institute, A*STAR, 30 Biopolis Street, Matrix #07-01, Singapore 138671, Singapore; (R.K.V.); (Y.D.H.)
- Synthetic Biology Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 14 Medical Drive, Singapore 117599, Singapore;
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49
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Abstract
Rapid flip-flop of phospholipids across the two leaflets of biological membranes is crucial for many aspects of cellular life. The transport proteins that facilitate this process are classified as pump-like flippases and floppases and channel-like scramblases. Unexpectedly, Class A G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), a large class of signaling proteins exemplified by the visual receptor rhodopsin and its apoprotein opsin, are constitutively active as scramblases in vitro. In liposomes, opsin scrambles lipids at a unitary rate of >100,000 per second. Atomistic molecular dynamics simulations of opsin in a lipid membrane reveal conformational transitions that expose a polar groove between transmembrane helices 6 and 7. This groove enables transbilayer lipid movement, conceptualized as the swiping of a credit card (lipid) through a card reader (GPCR). Conformational changes that facilitate scrambling are distinct from those associated with GPCR signaling. In this review, we discuss the physiological significance of GPCR scramblase activity and the modes of its regulation in cells. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Biophysics, Volume 51 is May 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
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Affiliation(s)
- George Khelashvili
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York, USA; .,Institute of Computational Biomedicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York, USA
| | - Anant K Menon
- Department of Biochemistry, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York, USA;
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50
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Felline A, Schiroli D, Comitato A, Marigo V, Fanelli F. Structure network-based landscape of rhodopsin misfolding by mutations and algorithmic prediction of small chaperone action. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2021; 19:6020-6038. [PMID: 34849206 PMCID: PMC8605067 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2021.10.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Revised: 10/09/2021] [Accepted: 10/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Failure of a protein to achieve its functional structural state and normal cellular location contributes to the etiology and pathology of heritable human conformational diseases. The autosomal dominant form of retinitis pigmentosa (adRP) is an incurable blindness largely linked to mutations of the membrane protein rod opsin. While the mechanisms underlying the noxious effects of the mutated protein are not completely understood, a common feature is the functional protein conformational loss. Here, the wild type and 39 adRP rod opsin mutants were subjected to mechanical unfolding simulations coupled to the graph theory-based protein structure network analysis. A robust computational model was inferred and in vitro validated in its ability to predict endoplasmic reticulum retention of adRP mutants, a feature linked to the mutation-caused misfolding. The structure-based approach could also infer the structural determinants of small chaperone action on misfolded protein mutants with therapeutic implications. The approach is exportable to conformational diseases linked to missense mutations in any membrane protein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angelo Felline
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, via Campi 103, 41125 Modena, Italy
| | - Davide Schiroli
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, via Campi 287, 41125 Modena, Italy
| | - Antonella Comitato
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, via Campi 287, 41125 Modena, Italy
| | - Valeria Marigo
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, via Campi 287, 41125 Modena, Italy.,Center for Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, Italy
| | - Francesca Fanelli
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, via Campi 103, 41125 Modena, Italy.,Center for Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, Italy
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