Sex-specific association between bipolar affective disorder in women and GPR50, an X-linked orphan G protein-coupled receptor

GPR50 is an orphan G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) located on Xq28, a region previously implicated in multiple genetic studies of bipolar affective disorder (BPAD). Allele frequencies of three polymorphisms in GPR50 were compared in case-control studies between subjects with BPAD (264), major depressive disorder (MDD) (226), or schizophrenia (SCZ) (263) and ethnically matched controls (562). Significant associations were found between an insertion/deletion polymorphism in exon 2 and both BPAD (P=0.0070), and MDD (P=0.011) with increased risk associated with the deletion variant (GPR50(Delta502-505)). When the analysis was restricted to female subjects, the associations with BPAD and MDD increased in significance (P=0.00023 and P=0.0064, respectively). Two other single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) tested within this gene showed associations between: the female MDD group and an SNP in exon 2 (P=0.0096); and female SCZ and an intronic SNP (P=0.0014). No association was detected in males with either MDD, BPAD or SCZ. These results suggest that GPR50(Delta502-505), or a variant in tight linkage disequilibrium with this polymorphism, is a sex-specific risk factor for susceptibility to bipolar disorder, and that other variants in the gene may be sex-specific risk factors in the development of schizophrenia.

How do G-proteins stay at the plasma membrane?

G-protein alpha-subunits are modified by combinations of fatty acyl groups. G-protein gamma-subunits are isoprenylated. These modifications play central roles in membrane association of the G-proteins. Attachment of long-chain fatty acyl chains to G-protein alpha-subunits via a thioester linkage allows the possibility of dynamic regulation of membrane attachment and function.

A cysteine-3 to serine mutation of the G-protein Gi1 alpha abrogates functional activation by the alpha 2A-adrenoceptor but not interactions with the beta gamma complex

Pertussis toxin-resistant (C351G) and also palmitoylation-negative (C3S/C351G), myristoylation-negative (G2A/C351G) and combined acylation-negative (G2A/C3S/C351G) forms of the G-protein Gi1 alpha were expressed in COS-7 cells along with the porcine alpha 2A-adrenoceptor. G2A/C3S/C351G Gi1 alpha and G2A/C351G Gi1 alpha were largely cytosolic and failed to interact with the agonist-occupied alpha 2A-adrenoceptor in membrane preparations. In contrast, C351G Gi1 alpha was almost entirely particulate and the alpha 2-adrenoceptor agonist UK14304 caused a marked stimulation of its GTPase activity and binding of [35S]GTP gamma S which was not prevented by pertussis toxin treatment of the cells. C3S/C351G Gi1 alpha was present in both the particulate and cytosolic fractions but the GTPase activity of the membrane bound fraction was only slightly activated by the alpha 2A-adrenoceptor. Coexpression of C3S/C351G Gi1 alpha and the alpha 2A-adrenoceptor along with beta 1 and gamma 2 subunits increased the P2 membrane complement of the alpha subunit and increased substantially the ratio of membrane bound to cytosolic protein. However, this also failed to allow marked stimulation of high-affinity GTPase activity by the alpha 2A-adrenoceptor despite the increased proportion of G-protein in the P2 membrane fraction. Despite the low fractional activation of C3S/C351G Gi1 alpha by the alpha 2A-adrenoceptor compared to C351G Gi1 alpha, the palmitoylation-resistant G-protein caused a marked reduction in pertussis toxin-resistant, agonist (UK14304)-mediated stimulation of adenylyl cyclase activity. UK14304 caused the same degree of effect on adenylyl cyclase activity in pertussis toxin-treated cells following transfection of the same amounts of C351G Gi1 alpha and C3S/C351G Gi1 alpha, as both appear to act to sequester beta gamma subunits. By contrast, neither G2A/C351G Gi1 alpha nor G2A/C3S/C351G Gi1 alpha resulted in effective regulation of adenylyl cyclase activity.

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone-induced subcellular redistribution and down-regulation of G11alpha: analysis of agonist regulation of coexpressed G11alpha species variants

Human embryonic kidney 293 cells that had been transfected to express the long isoform of the rat thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) receptor (clone E2) were further transfected with a cDNA encoding the murine version of G11alpha. A clone was isolated (clone E2M11) that stably expressed murine as well as the endogenous human G11alpha. Subcellular fractionation demonstrated identical cellular distribution of the two species variants of this G protein. Sustained exposure of clone E2M11 cells to TRH resulted in substantial cellular redistribution and reduction in total cellular levels of G11alpha immunoreactivity. Fractions of both the exogenously introduced murine and endogenously expressed human isoforms of G11alpha were transferred from plasma membranes to low density membranes (detected as a shift from middle to low density regions on sucrose density gradients) and cytosol fractions. The plasma membrane redistribution to low density membrane was accompanied by a parallel redistribution of G protein beta subunits; however, there was no increase in beta subunits in the cytosol. The total cellular amount of G11alpha subunits was decreased to 21% and 59% for human and murine isoforms, respectively, and beta subunits were decreased to 68% after sustained treatment with TRH compared with controls (100%). Such data are consistent with the notion that the agonist-occupied long isoform of the rat TRH receptor may be able to partially differentiate between the endogenous (human) and exogenous (murine) G11alpha. This was not a reflection that the murine G protein was expressed but incorrectly folded as both species variants of G11alpha were solubilized equally from E2M11 membranes by sodium cholate. Using this system, we demonstrate both agonist-induced subcellular redistribution and down-regulation of G11alpha and beta subunit proteins in response to activation of a phospholipase C coupled receptor.

The role of palmitoylation of the guanine nucleotide binding protein G11 alpha in defining interaction with the plasma membrane

Mutations of Cys-9 to serine, Cys-10 to serine and a combination of both alterations were produced in a cDNA encoding murine G11 alpha to potentially interfere with the ability of the expressed polypeptides to act as substrates for post-translational palmitoylation. Each of these mutants and the wild-type protein were expressed in simian COS-1 cells. Mutation of either cysteine-9 or cysteine-10 decreased the degree of palmitoylation of the protein by some 80% compared with the wild-type, while the double mutant totally failed to incorporate [3H]palmitate. By contrast, in all transfections the endogenously expressed simian G11 alpha incorporated [3H]palmitate to similar levels. Particulate and cytoplasmic fractions from these cells were subjected to SDS/PAGE under conditions which allow resolution of primate and rodent forms of G11 alpha. Immunoblotting of these fractions demonstrated that in all cases the endogenously expressed simian G11 alpha was exclusively associated with the particulate fraction, as was the transfected and expressed wild-type murine G11 alpha. By contrast, each of the mutated forms of murine G11 alpha displayed a distribution in which approx. 70% of the expressed protein was present in the particulate fraction and 30% in the supernatant. To examine the conformation of the particulate expressed forms of murine G11 alpha, these fractions were treated with various concentrations of sodium cholate and immunoblots were subsequently performed on the solubilized and remaining particulate proteins. Whereas essentially all of the endogenous simian G11 alpha was solubilized by treatment with 1% (w/v) sodium cholate and some 50% with 0.32% cholate, expressed wild-type murine G11 alpha was more recalcitrant to solubilization. However, that fraction of wild-type murine G11 alpha which was solubilized behaved identically to the endogenous simian G11 alpha on Superose-12 gel-exclusion chromatography. The particulate fraction of the C9S/C10S double mutant of murine G11 alpha was highly resistant to solubilization by sodium cholate, whereas the particulate fractions of the two single cysteine to serine mutants were intermediate to the wild-type and double mutant in their ability to be solubilized by this detergent. These data demonstrate that the palmitoylation status of the cysteine residues at positions 9 and 10 in murine G11 alpha plays a central role in defining membrane association of this G-protein and indicate that much of the particulate fraction of the expressed palmitoylation-resistant mutants is likely to represent non-functional rather than correctly folded protein.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Analysis of the relative interactions between the alpha 2C10 adrenoceptor and the guanine-nucleotide-binding proteins G(o)1 alpha and Gi 2 alpha following co-expression of these polypeptides in rat 1 fibroblasts

Rat 1 fibroblasts which had been transfected to express the human alpha 2C10 adrenoceptor (clone 1C) were further co-transfected with a plasmid containing the hygromycin-B-resistance gene and a plasmid containing a cDNA encoding the alpha-subunit of the rat pertussis-toxin-sensitive G-protein G(o)1. In clone 3 the receptor was expressed at some 2.2 pmol/mg of membrane protein, and G(o)1 alpha at approx. 100 pmol/mg of membrane protein. The interaction of these two polypeptides and that between the receptor and Gi2 alpha (endogenously expressed at some 50 pmol/mg of membrane protein) were studied. Agonist activation of G(o)1 alpha was observed in membranes of the alpha 2C10-adrenoceptor(+)-G(o)1 alpha+ cells (clone 3), but not in alpha 2C10-adrenoceptor(+)-G(o)alpha-cells (clone 1C), whereas similar agonist-dependent activation of Gi2 alpha was observed in both cell types. alpha 2C10-adrenoceptor activation of G(o)1 alpha and Gi2 alpha in clone-3 membranes was produced with similar agonist-dose-effect curves. These observations indicate that the receptor interacts with equivalent affinity with each of these G-proteins. Agonist-dependent cholera-toxin-catalysed [32P]ADP-ribosylation of G(o)1 alpha was terminated when the alpha 2-adrenoceptor antagonist yohimbine was added subsequent to agonist-induced initiation of the reaction and release of GDP, demonstrating the conformational requirement for this reaction to be the ternary complex of agonist-occupied receptor and guanine-nucleotide-denuded G-protein.

Biochemical approaches to examine the specificity of interactions between receptors and guanine nuclotide binding proteins

It is now appreciated both that G-protein-linked receptors and signal transducing heterotrimeric G-proteins consist of large multi-member superfamilies and that regulation of a signal transduction cascade can be produced by a variety of means following activation of a G-protein by a receptor. To begin to unravel the complexities of this regulation it is clearly important to be able to define the molecular identity of the G-protein or G-proteins activated by a receptor and to assess the quantitative importance of such interactions for the integration of signals produced by a receptor agonist. Substantial progress has been made towards these goals in recent years and the purpose of this short review will be to discuss the use and potential limitations of some of the currently most widely used approaches.

The palmitoylation status of the G-protein G(o)1 alpha regulates its activity of interaction with the plasma membrane

Plasmids containing cDNAs encoding either the wild-type guanine-nucleotide-binding protein G(o)1 alpha or the palmitoylation-negative cysteine-3-to-serine (C3S) mutant of G(o)1 alpha were transfected into Rat 1 cells, and clones stably expressing immunoreactivity corresponding to these polypeptides were isolated. Clones C5B (expressing wild-type G(o)1 alpha) and D3 (expressing the mutant form) were selected for detailed study. Immunoprecipitation of whole cell lysates of each clone labelled with either [3H]palmitate or [3H]myristate demonstrated incorporation of [3H]myristate into both wild-type and the C3S mutant of G(o)1 alpha, but that incorporation of hydroxylamine-sensitive [3H]palmitate was restricted to the wild type. When membrane and cytoplasmic fractions were prepared from cells of either the C5B or D3 clones, although immunodetection of wild-type G(o)1 alpha was observed only in the membrane fraction, the C3S mutant was present in both membrane and cytoplasmic fractions. Furthermore, a significant proportion of the C3S G(o)1 alpha immunoreactivity was also detected in the cytoplasmic fraction if immunoprecipitation of recently synthesized G(o)1 alpha was performed from fractions derived from cells pulse-labelled with [35S]Trans label. Pretreatment of cells of both clones C5B and D3 with pertussis toxin led to complete ADP-ribosylation of the cellular population of G(o)1 alpha in both cell types, irrespective of whether the polypeptide was subsequently found in the membrane or cytoplasmic fraction following cellular disruption. By contrast, separation of membrane and cytoplasmic fractions before pertussis-toxin-catalysed [32P]ADP-ribosylation allowed modification only of the membrane-associated G(o)1 alpha (whether wild-type or the C3S mutant). This labelling was decreased substantially by incubation of the membranes with guanosine 5'-[beta gamma-imido]triphosphate. No cytoplasmic G-protein beta subunit was detected immunologically, and the non-membrane-associated C3S G(o)1 alpha from D3 cells migrated as an apparently monomeric 40 kDa protein on a Superose 12 gel-filtration column. Membrane-associated wild-type and C3S G(o)1 alpha appeared to interact with guanine nucleotides with similar affinity, as no alteration in the dose-response curves for guanine-nucleotide-induced maintenance of a stable 37 kDa tryptic fragment was noted for the two forms of G(o)1 alpha. Chemical depalmitoylation of membranes of clone C5B with neutral 1 M hydroxylamine caused a release of some 25-30% of each of G(o)1 alpha, Gi2 alpha and Gq alpha/G11 alpha from the membranes. Equivalent treatment of D3 cells caused an equivalent release of Gi2 alpha and Gq alpha/G11 alpha, but was unable to cause any appreciable release of the CS3 form of G(o)1 alpha, which was membrane-bound.