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Title: Mechanistic insights into allosteric regulation of the A2A adenosine G protein-coupled receptor by physiological cations

Journal Article · · Nature Communications

Cations play key roles in regulating G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), although their mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, 19F NMR is used to delineate the effects of cations on functional states of the adenosine A2A GPCR. While Na+ reinforces an inactive ensemble and a partial-agonist stabilized state, Ca2+ and Mg2+ shift the equilibrium toward active states. Positive allosteric effects of divalent cations are more pronounced with agonist and a G-protein-derived peptide. In cell membranes, divalent cations enhance both the affinity and fraction of the high affinity agonist-bound state. Molecular dynamics simulations suggest high concentrations of divalent cations bridge specific extracellular acidic residues, bringing TM5 and TM6 together at the extracellular surface and allosterically driving open the G-protein-binding cleft as shown by rigidity-transmission allostery theory. Lastly, an understanding of cation allostery should enable the design of allosteric agents and enhance our understanding of GPCR regulation in the cellular milieu.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-06NA25396
OSTI ID:
1435536
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-18-20653
Journal Information:
Nature Communications, Vol. 9, Issue 1; ISSN 2041-1723
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 90 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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P-LINCS:  A Parallel Linear Constraint Solver for Molecular Simulation journal December 2007
The Role of Ligands on the Equilibria Between Functional States of a G Protein-Coupled Receptor journal June 2013
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Activation of the A2A adenosine G-protein-coupled receptor by conformational selection journal May 2016
Stepwise gating of the Sec61 protein-conducting channel by Sec63 and Sec62 journal January 2021
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Allosteric modulation of G protein‐coupled receptors by amiloride and its derivatives. Perspectives for drug discovery? journal March 2020
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Could the presence of sodium ion influence the accuracy and precision of the ligand-posing in the human A2A adenosine receptor orthosteric binding site using a molecular docking approach? Insights from Dockbench journal October 2018
GPCR drug discovery: integrating solution NMR data with crystal and cryo-EM structures journal November 2018
Conformational plasticity of ligand-bound and ternary GPCR complexes studied by 19F NMR of the β1-adrenergic receptor journal February 2020
A 2A adenosine receptor functional states characterized by 19 F-NMR journal November 2018
Ca 2+ allostery in PTH-receptor signaling journal February 2019
19F NMR as a versatile tool to study membrane protein structure and dynamics journal October 2019
Simultaneous Ligand and Receptor Tracking through NMR Spectroscopy Enabled by Distinct 19F Labels journal July 2019
Utilization of Biased G Protein-Coupled Receptor Signaling towards Development of Safer and Personalized Therapeutics journal May 2019
Common activation mechanism of class A GPCRs journal December 2019
Conformational plasticity of ligand-bound and ternary GPCR complexes studied by 19F NMR of the β1-adrenergic receptor. text January 2020
Common activation mechanism of class A GPCRs. journalarticle January 2019
Common activation mechanism of class A GPCRs. journalarticle January 2019
Simultaneous Ligand and Receptor Tracking through NMR Spectroscopy Enabled by Distinct 19F Labels journal July 2019
Spotlight on the Ballet of Proteins: The Structural Dynamic Properties of Proteins Illuminated by Solution NMR journal March 2020