Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Activation of G Protein-Coupled Receptor Kinase 1 Involves Interactions between Its N-Terminal Region and Its Kinase Domain

Journal Article · · Biochemistry-US
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/bi101606e· OSTI ID:1034569

G protein-coupled receptor kinases (GRKs) phosphorylate activated G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) to initiate receptor desensitization. In addition to the canonical phosphoacceptor site of the kinase domain, activated receptors bind to a distinct docking site that confers higher affinity and activates GRKs allosterically. Recent mutagenesis and structural studies support a model in which receptor docking activates a GRK by stabilizing the interaction of its 20-amino acid N-terminal region with the kinase domain. This interaction in turn stabilizes a closed, more active conformation of the enzyme. To investigate the importance of this interaction for the process of GRK activation, we first validated the functionality of the N-terminal region in rhodopsin kinase (GRK1) by site-directed mutagenesis and then introduced a disulfide bond to cross-link the N-terminal region of GRK1 with its specific binding site on the kinase domain. Characterization of the kinetic and biophysical properties of the cross-linked protein showed that disulfide bond formation greatly enhances the catalytic efficiency of the peptide phosphorylation, but receptor-dependent phosphorylation, Meta II stabilization, and inhibition of transducin activation were unaffected. These data indicate that the interaction of the N-terminal region with the kinase domain is important for GRK activation but does not dictate the affinity of GRKs for activated receptors.

Research Organization:
Advanced Photon Source (APS), Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (US)
Sponsoring Organization:
NIH
OSTI ID:
1034569
Journal Information:
Biochemistry-US, Journal Name: Biochemistry-US Journal Issue: (11) ; 03, 2011 Vol. 50; ISSN 0006-2960; ISSN BICHAW
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
ENGLISH

Similar Records

Molecular basis for activation of G protein-coupled receptor kinases
Journal Article · Fri Mar 16 00:00:00 EDT 2012 · EMBO J. · OSTI ID:1034566

Structures of Rhodopsin Kinase in Different Ligand States Reveal Key Elements Involved in G Protein-coupled Receptor Kinase Activation
Journal Article · Wed Oct 08 00:00:00 EDT 2008 · J. Biol. Chem. · OSTI ID:1006672

Structure and Function of the Hypertension Variant A486V of G Protein-coupled Receptor Kinase 4
Journal Article · Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Journal of Biological Chemistry · OSTI ID:1400316