1
|
Heifetz A, Morao I, Babu MM, James T, Southey MWY, Fedorov DG, Aldeghi M, Bodkin MJ, Townsend-Nicholson A. Characterizing Interhelical Interactions of G-Protein Coupled Receptors with the Fragment Molecular Orbital Method. J Chem Theory Comput 2020; 16:2814-2824. [PMID: 32096994 PMCID: PMC7161079 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.9b01136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest superfamily of membrane proteins, regulating almost every aspect of cellular activity and serving as key targets for drug discovery. We have identified an accurate and reliable computational method to characterize the strength and chemical nature of the interhelical interactions between the residues of transmembrane (TM) domains during different receptor activation states, something that cannot be characterized solely by visual inspection of structural information. Using the fragment molecular orbital (FMO) quantum mechanics method to analyze 35 crystal structures representing different branches of the class A GPCR family, we have identified 69 topologically equivalent TM residues that form a consensus network of 51 inter-TM interactions, providing novel results that are consistent with and help to rationalize experimental data. This discovery establishes a comprehensive picture of how defined molecular forces govern specific interhelical interactions which, in turn, support the structural stability, ligand binding, and activation of GPCRs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Heifetz
- Evotec
(U.K.) Ltd., 114 Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4SA, United Kingdom
- Institute
of Structural & Molecular Biology, Research Department of Structural
& Molecular Biology, Division of Biosciences, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
- E-mail: (A.H.)
| | - Inaki Morao
- Evotec
(U.K.) Ltd., 114 Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4SA, United Kingdom
- E-mail: (I.M.)
| | - M. Madan Babu
- MRC
Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge CB2 0QH, United Kingdom
| | - Tim James
- Evotec
(U.K.) Ltd., 114 Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4SA, United Kingdom
| | | | - Dmitri G. Fedorov
- CD-FMat,
National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 1-1-1 Umezono, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8568, Japan
| | - Matteo Aldeghi
- Department
of Theoretical and Computational Biophysics, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Michael J. Bodkin
- Evotec
(U.K.) Ltd., 114 Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4SA, United Kingdom
| | - Andrea Townsend-Nicholson
- Institute
of Structural & Molecular Biology, Research Department of Structural
& Molecular Biology, Division of Biosciences, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|