Agonist-induced dimer dissociation as a macromolecular step in G protein-coupled receptor signaling
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2017 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Nature Communications |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-00253-9 |
| Keywords | CROSS-CORRELATION SPECTROSCOPY; MOLECULAR-DYNAMICS SIMULATIONS; A GPCR DIMERS; FRIZZLED 6; ADRENERGIC-RECEPTOR; CONSTANT-PRESSURE; COMPLEX; BINDING; OLIGOMERIZATION; DIMERIZATION |
| Description | G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) constitute the largest family of cell surface receptors. They can exist and act as dimers, but the requirement of dimers for agonist-induced signal initiation and structural dynamics remains largely unknown. Frizzled 6 (FZD6) is a member of Class F GPCRs, which bind WNT proteins to initiate signaling. Here, we show that FZD6 dimerizes and that the dimer interface of FZD6 is formed by the transmembrane a-helices four and five. Most importantly, we present the agonist-induced dissociation/re-association of a GPCR dimer through the use of live cell imaging techniques. Further analysis of a dimerization-impaired FZD6 mutant indicates that dimer dissociation is an integral part of FZD6 signaling to extracellular signal-regulated kinases1/2. The discovery of agonistdependent dynamics of dimers as an intrinsic process of receptor activation extends our understanding of Class F and other dimerizing GPCRs, offering novel targets for dimerinterfering small molecules. |
| Related projects: |