Discriminative disulfide-bonding affinity labeling of opioid receptor subtypes

Development of disulfide-functionalized peptides covalently binding G protein-coupled receptors

A broadly applicable synthesis of peptides incorporating mixed disulfides between cysteine and homocysteine and cysteamine was developed. The method was established using pharmacologically relevant G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) ligands including the μ-receptor agonist Dmt-DALDA and extended to the orexin derivative Oxa(17-33) and NT(8-13), the C-terminal hexapeptide of neurotensin. The newly developed NT(8-13) analog 6b incorporating an S-functionalized homocysteine revealed covalent binding of the neurotensin receptor 1 (NTSR1) in a radioligand depletion study.

Covalent molecular probes for class A G protein-coupled receptors: advances and applications

Covalent modification of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) by employing specific molecular probes has for decades provided a successful strategy to facilitate the elucidation of the structure and function of this pharmacologically important class of membrane proteins. The ligands typically comprise a pharmacophore that generates affinity for a given GPCR and contain a reactive functionality that may form a covalent bond with a suitably positioned amino acid residue. Covalent ligands have been successfully applied to circumvent poor affinity of compounds when stable labeling of receptor populations was required, and they have been used in the isolation, purification, and pharmacological characterization of specific subtypes of GPCRs. Recently, structural studies have demonstrated that covalent molecular probes are effective at stabilizing GPCRs to obtain X-ray crystal structures, thus providing valuable insights for the development of novel therapeutics. Herein, we review covalently binding molecular probes for class A GPCRs with a focus on ligands comprising cross-linking groups that do not require photoactivation and further highlight their significant and diverse applications.

In vitro selection of proteins that undergo covalent labeling with small molecules by thiol-disulfide exchange by using ribosome display

There is a great deal of interest in proteins that can bind covalently to target molecules, as they allow unambiguous experiments by tight binding to molecules of interest. Here, we report the generation of proteins that undergo covalent labeling with small molecules through in vitro selection by using ribosome display. Selection was performed from a mutant library of the WW domain with a biotinylated peptide as its binding target, in which the biotin and the peptide are connected by a disulfide bond. After five rounds of selection, we identified mutants carrying a particular cysteine mutation. The binding target reacted specifically with the selected mutant, even in the presence of other proteins, and resulted in the generation of biotin- or peptide-labeled WW domains by thiol-disulfide exchange. When the mutant was fused to a protein of interest, the fusion protein was also labeled with biotin. Thus, the characteristics of the selected mutant should be suitable as a tag sequence that can be covalently labeled with small synthetic molecules. These results indicate that the rapid and efficient generation of such proteins is possible by ribosome display.

Josef Rudinger Memorial Lecture 2002. The chemistry of the opioid receptor binding sites

Since the discovery of the opioid receptors and their endogenous ligands an immense research work has been devoted to the exploration of their specificity, the mechanism of ligand binding and ligand-receptor interactions. One of the main goals has been the location and characterization of the binding sites. The present review compiles the results achieved in this field in the last quarter of a century, and puts some questions concerning the success of these efforts.