Role of Helix 8 in Dopamine Receptor Signaling

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are membrane receptors whose agonist-induced dynamic conformational changes trigger heterotrimeric G protein activation, followed by GRK-mediated phosphorylation and arrestin-mediated desensitization. Cytosolic regions of GPCRs have been studied extensively because they are direct contact sites with G proteins, GRKs, and arrestins. Among various cytosolic regions, the role of helix 8 is least understood, although a few studies have suggested that it is involved in G protein activation, receptor localization, and/or internalization. In the present study, we investigated the role of helix 8 in dopamine receptor signaling focusing on dopamine D1 receptor (D1R) and dopamine D2 receptor (D2R). D1R couples exclusively to Gs, whereas D2R couples exclusively to Gi. Bioinformatic analysis implied that the sequences of helix 8 may affect GPCR-G protein coupling selectivity; therefore, we evaluated if swapping helix 8 between D1R and D2R changed G protein selectivity. Our results suggest that helix 8 is not involved in D1R-Gs or D2R-Gi coupling selectivity. Instead, we observed that D1R with D2R helix 8 or D1R with an increased number of hydrophobic residues in helix 8 relative to wild-type showed diminished β-arrestin-mediated desensitization, resulting in increased Gs signaling.

Helix 8 of the ligand binding domain of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) is essential for ligand binding

Membrane association of estrogen receptors (ER) depends on cysteine palmitoylation and two leucines in the ligand binding domain (LBD), conserved in most steroid receptors. The role of this region, corresponding to helix 8 of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) LBD, on membrane association of GR was studied in 4B cells, expressing endogenous GR, and Cos-7 cells transfected EGFP-GR constructs. 4B cells preloaded with radiolabeled palmitic acid showed no radioactivity incorporation into immunoprecipitated GR. Moreover, mutation C683A (corresponding to ER palmitoylation site) did not affect corticosterone-induced membrane association of GR. Mutations L687-690A, L682A, E680G and K685G prevented membrane and also nuclear localization through reduced ligand binding. L687-690A mutation decreased association of GR with heat shock protein 90 and transcriptional activity, without overt effects on receptor protein stability. The data demonstrate that palmitoylation does not mediate membrane association of GR, but that the region 680-690 (helix 8) is critical for ligand binding and receptor function.

Scanning mutagenesis in a yeast system delineates the role of the NPxxY(x)(5,6)F motif and helix 8 of the adenosine A(2B) receptor in G protein coupling

The adenosine receptor subfamily includes four subtypes: the A1, A2A, A2B and A3 receptors, which all belong to the superfamily of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). The adenosine A2B receptor is the least investigated of the adenosine receptors, and the molecular mechanisms of its activation have hardly been explored. We used a single-GPCR-one-G protein yeast screening method in combination with mutagenesis studies, molecular modeling and bio-informatics to investigate the importance of the different amino acid residues of the NPxxY(x)6F motif and helix 8 in the human adenosine A2B receptor (hA2BR) activation. A scanning mutagenesis protocol was employed, yielding 11 single mutations and one double mutation of the NPxxY(x)6F motif and 16 single mutations of helix 8. The amino acid residues P287(7.50), Y290(7.53), R293(7.56) and I304(8.57) were found to be essential, since mutation of these amino acid residues to alanine led to a complete loss of function. Western blot analysis showed that mutant receptor R293(7.56)A was not expressed, whereas the other proteins were. Amino acid residues that are also important in receptor activation are: N286(7.49), V289(7.52), Y292(7.55), N294(8.47), F297(8.50), R298(8.51), H302(8.55) and R307(8.60). The mutation Y290(7.53)F lost 50% of efficacy, while F297(8.50)A behaved similar to wild type receptor. The double mutation, Y290(7.53)F/F297(8.50)Y, lost around 70% of efficacy and displayed a lower potency for the reference agonist 5'-(N-ethylcarboxamido)adenosine (NECA). This study provides new insight into the molecular interplay and impact of TM7 and helix 8 for hA2B receptor activation, which may be extrapolated to other adenosine receptors and possibly to other GPCRs.