Receptors In High Affinity State Research Articles

Human serotonin1B receptor expression in Sf9 cells: phosphorylation, palmitoylation, and adenylyl cyclase inhibition.

Analysis of the primary protein structure of the human serotonin1B (5-HT1B) receptor reveals consensus sites for phosphorylation and a putative site for palmitoylation. To investigate these posttranslational modifications, we have expressed a c-myc epitope-tagged 5-HT1B (m5-HT1B) receptor in Sf9 cells. This strategy enabled receptors to be detected by immunoblot analysis and purified by immunoprecipitation using a monoclonal antibody, 9E10, specific for the c-myc epitope. Agonist radioligand [3H]5-HT binding studies showed that the expressed 5-HT1B and m5-HT1B receptors displayed the characteristic pharmacological profile of the neuronal 5-HT1B receptor. The expressed receptors displayed both high- and low-affinity states for [3H]5-HT, suggesting that the receptors were coupled to endogenous G-proteins. Indeed, agonist binding to the high-affinity receptor state was regulated in the presence of GTP gamma S, Gpp(NH)p, and pertussis toxin. [32P]ADP-ribosylation experiments identified a major approximately 41-kDa ADP-ribosylated protein present in Sf9 membranes that comigrated with partially purified bovine brain Gi alpha/G(o) alpha subunits. Measurements of adenylyl cyclase activity in membranes from cells expressing m5-HT1B receptors showed that serotonergic agonists mediated the inhibition of adenylyl cyclase activity with a rank order of potency comparable to their affinity constants. Immunoblot analysis of membranes prepared from cells expressing m5-HT1B receptors and photoaffinity labeling of the immunoprecipitated material revealed photolabeled species at approximately 95 and at approximately 42 kDa.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

EGF induces increased ligand binding affinity and dimerization of soluble epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor extracellular domain.

The binding of epidermal growth factor (EGF) to its cell surface receptor (EGF-R) results in a number of intracellular responses including the activation of the receptor intracellular tyrosine kinase. Receptor oligomerization induced by ligand binding has been suggested to play an important role in signal transduction. However, the mechanisms involved in oligomerization and signal transduction are poorly understood. We have produced and purified several milligrams of recombinant extracellular domain of the EGF receptor (EGF-Rx) using the baculovirus/insect cell expression system. The baculovirus-generated EGF-Rx is glycosylated, has had its signal peptide correctly cleaved, and exhibits a dissociation constant for EGF similar to that for solubilized full-length receptor, of about 100 nM. The binding of EGF to EGF-Rx leads to the formation of receptor dimers and higher oligomerization states which are irreversibly captured using the covalent cross-linking agent disuccinimidyl suberate. Interestingly, purified receptor monomers and dimers, stabilized by the cross-linker in the presence of EGF, exhibit increased binding affinity toward EGF as compared with receptor monomers which have not been exposed to EGF. It appears that the high affinity state of receptor can be maintained by the covalent cross-linking agent. These results indicate that in addition to ligand binding, the extracellular domain of EGF receptor possesses the inherent ability to undergo ligand-induced dimerization and that the low affinity state is converted to a high affinity state by EGF.

Two functionally distinct cholecystokinin receptors show different modes of action on Ca2+ mobilization and phospholipid hydrolysis in isolated rat pancreatic acini. Studies using a new cholecystokinin analog, JMV-180.

A new hepatapeptide cholecystokinin (CCK) analog, JMV-180 (Boc-Tyr(SO3-)-Nle-Gly-Trp-Nle-Asp-2-phenylethylester), acts as an agonist at high affinity CCK receptors on rat pancreatic acini to stimulate amylase release but unlike cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK8) does not act on low affinity CCK receptors to inhibit amylase release (Galas, M. D., Lignon, M. F., Rodriguez, M., Mendre, C., Fulcrand, P., Laur, J., and Martinez, J. (1988) Am. J. Physiol. 254, G176-G188). To investigate the biochemical mechanisms initiated by CCK acting on each class of CCK receptor, the effects of JMV-180 and CCK8 on amylase release, Ca2+ mobilization, and phospholipid hydrolysis were studied in isolated rat pancreatic acini. When acini were loaded with the intracellular Ca2+ chelator BAPTA, amylase release stimulated by both JMV-180 and CCK8 was reduced. Measurement of 45Ca2+ efflux and cytosolic free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) by the fluorescence of fura-2-loaded acini in a stirred cuvette showed that JMV-180 induced a concentration-dependent increase but with a maximal response only two-thirds that induced by CCK8. When [Ca2+]i of individual fura-2-loaded acinar cells was measured by microspectrofluorometry, all concentrations of JMV-180 (1 nM-10 microM) induced repetitive transient [Ca2+]i spikes (Ca2+ oscillations). By contrast, stimulation with a high concentration of CCK8 (1 nM) caused a large increase in [CA2+]i followed by a small sustained elevation of [Ca2+]i. The measurement of inositol trisphosphate (IP3) production by both [3H]inositol labeling and 1,4,5-IP3 radioreceptor assay showed that JMV-180 had only minimal effects at 10 microM in contrast to the large increase induced by high concentrations of CCK8 (more than 1 nM). JMV-180 blocked the effect of a high concentration of CCK8 on both [Ca2+]i and 1,4,5-IP3 productions but did not affect the response to carbamylcholine. JMV-180 caused a delayed monophasic stimulation of 1,2-diacylglycerol (DAG) sustained to 60 min without the early increase in DAG observed in response to CCK8. Furthermore, JMV-180 stimulated the release of [3H]choline metabolites, primarily phosphorylated choline, from [3H]choline-labeled acini at low concentrations and to the same extent as CCK8. Since JMV-180 interacts not only with high affinity CCK receptors as an agonist but also with low affinity CCK receptors as a functional antagonist, the present results indicate that the occupancy of high affinity state receptors by CCK induces Ca2+ oscillations, DAG formation from phosphatidylcholine hydrolysis, and amylase release with minimal phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate hydrolysis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Physiological Response to Isoproterenol and Coupling of Beta-Adrenergic Receptors in Young and Elderly Human Subjects

Diminished adrenergic responsiveness occurs in aged humans. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the coupling of beta-adrenergic receptors from human neutrophil preparations, and to investigate the relationship of this biochemical parameter to heart rate response after isoproterenol administration in young and elderly individuals. Fifteen young (aged 23-39 years) and eleven elderly (aged 59-82 years) volunteers participated in the study. The ratio, KL/KH, representing the ratio of dissociation constants for the low and high affinity state receptors, was calculated to determine coupling in the beta-adrenergic receptor system. An inverse correlation was observed between KL/KH and age. I25HR, representing the amount of isoproterenol required to elevate heart rate by 25 beats per minute, was determined; this parameter increased with age. Multiple regression analysis revealed that I25HR was most dependent upon age, but the changes with age were accompanied by diminution of both beta-adrenergic receptor affinity for agonist and in KL/KH.

Mapping of the beta 2-adrenoceptor on Chang liver cells. Differences between high- and low-affinity receptor states.

Receptor mapping procedures based on the methodology of Crippen are used to study the beta 2-adrenergic receptor system in intact Chang liver cells. In cases of agonists, the presence of both a low- and high-affinity receptor state is assumed, whereas antagonists bind to the low-affinity state only. The high-affinity state is considered to contain the "functional" binding site responsible for formation of the second messenger (cAMP), whereas the low-affinity state is assumed to be the "true" (physiological) low-affinity state. Both receptor states are taken into account in the receptor mapping process. Characterization of the high- and low-affinity states made it possible to identify features that make a state an antagonist or agonist. The receptor model found for the low-affinity state of the beta-adrenergic receptor present in an intact cell system is compared to the low-affinity state previously obtained for this receptor present on a membrane preparation of the bovine skeletal muscle in the presence of high amounts of Gpp(NH)p guanosine 5'-(beta, gamma-imidotriphosphate). Remarkable differences are found between the two receptor models. The tentative conclusion is drawn that these differences in low-affinity states most probably are artificial and are caused by the different pharmacological properties (e.g., intrinsic activity) of the labeled ligands used in displacement experiments for determining the affinities of the drugs.

Beta-adrenoceptor density and resolution of high and low affinity state on B- and T-cells in asthmatic and non-asthmatic children.

Beta-adrenoceptor binding in lymphocytes of asthmatic and non-asthmatic children and healthy adult volunteers was investigated with the radioligand 125-iodocyanopindolol (ICYP). Binding studies were performed with 4 to 5 different concentrations of ICYP. Receptor density and affinity were calculated by Scatchard plots. Resolution of beta-adrenoceptors into those of high and low affinity state was obtained from inhibition curves with salbutamol using Hofstee plots. Receptor density in B-cell enriched fractions was two to three-fold higher than in T-cells for all patients and volunteers studied (P less than 0.025). No difference in beta-adrenoceptor density on B and T-cells occurred neither in age-matched asthmatic and non-asthmatic children nor in adult volunteers. The affinity of beta-adrenoceptors did not differ for B and T-cells nor for the patients or volunteers studied. However, when two distinct binding states for beta-adrenoceptor agonists were obtained using salbutamol displacement curves it appeared that beta-adrenoceptors on T-cells were at a higher affinity state compared to those on B-cells in asthmatic and non-asthmatic children, as well as in adults. Since the ability of an agonist to activate adenylate cyclase correlates closely with the amount of high affinity receptor state formed in the presence of the agonist, increased intrinsic activity of the beta-adrenoceptor agonist on T-cells may be postulated. In conclusion, age-related control groups and determination of the B/T ratio are necessary for interpretation of beta-adrenoceptor changes in bronchial asthma.

Effects of stress and chronic propranolol infusion on cardiac beta-receptor function in the maudsley reactive and non-reactive rat strains

The effects of β-adrenoceptor blockade on left ventricular β-receptor characteristics were evaluated in the Maudsley Reactive (MR/Har) and Non-Reactive (MNRA/Har) rat strains. After propranolol infusion for one week administered by subcutaneously implanted osmotic minipumps, differences in β-adrenoceptor-agonist interactions between strains were assessed by comparison of isoproterenol competition for [ 125I]iodocyanopindolol (ICYP) binding sites in crude left ventricular homogenate preparations from both strains. Propranolol exposure had no significant effect on the binding parameters investigated (B max, K d, % receptors in high affinity state, IC 50). In contrast to previous observations in naive animals, these experiments revealed no strain differences in the sham-implanted Maudsleys in any of the left ventricular β-adrenoceptor parameters investigated. We hypothesize that the surgical procedures and/or presence of the plastic inserts acted as stressors in the Maudsley strains and thus altered β-adrenoceptor function. This hypothesis is supported by the observation that exposure to another stress (footshock) also eliminated strain differences in ventricular β-receptor binding variables.

Alterations in the myocardial β-adrenoceptor system of streptozotocin-diabetic rats

Previous investigations in our laboratory revealed subsensitivity of right ventricular tissue, isolated from one month STZ-diabetic rats, to the inotropic effects of isoproterenol. The present study was concerned with the characterization of this subsensitivity phenomenon. Observations of supersensitivity to methoxamine accompanied by decreased responsiveness to glucagon without a change in responsiveness to forskolin suggested a specific effect of diabetes on pathways involving receptor-mediated activation of adenylate cyclase. Radioligand binding analysis further revealed a specific decrease in the population of the high affinity state of the β-adrenoceptor. Since the high affinity receptor state is a necessary intermediate for adenylate cyclase activation and enhanced myocardial contractility, it is proposed that the specific decrease in the high affinity population of the β-adrenoceptor contributes to myocardial subsensitivity to isoproterenol observed in the diabetic animals. It is further proposed that the decrease in receptor population is related to increases in circulating epinephrine levels which were evident in the diabetic animals.

Plasma catecholamine modulation of alpha 2 adrenoreceptor agonist affinity and sensitivity in normotensive and hypertensive human platelets.

We measured alpha 2-adrenoreceptor density as well as affinity for and sensitivity to agonist on intact platelets of normotensive and hypertensive subjects before and after physiological increases in plasma catecholamines. In normotensives, posture-induced rises in plasma catecholamines correlated with reduced alpha 2-adrenoreceptor agonist affinity and fewer high affinity state receptors. Platelet aggregation and inhibition of adenylate cyclase by L-epinephrine also was reduced. Hypertensive subjects had similar rises in plasma catecholamines with upright posture, but showed no change in receptor affinity or sensitivity. No change in platelet alpha 2-adrenoreceptor number occurred in these studies. In vitro incubation with L-epinephrine revealed that platelets from hypertensives had slower desensitization than those from normotensives. Binding studies at different temperatures and with varying sodium concentrations found no thermodynamic or sodium-dependent differences between normotensive and hypertensive groups. These studies demonstrate that platelets from hypertensive subjects exhibit a defect in the ability of physiological concentrations of agonist to desensitize the alpha 2-adrenoreceptor.

Desensitization of membrane-bound Torpedo acetylcholine receptor by amine noncompetitive antagonists and aliphatic alcohols: studies of [3H]acetylcholine binding and 22Na+ ion fluxes.

Measurements of the kinetics of binding of [3H]acetylcholine ([3H]AcCh) to membrane-bound nicotinic AcCh receptors from Torpedo electric tissue have been used to characterize the effects of a series of amine and alcohol noncompetitive antagonists on receptor conformational equilibria. The receptor exists in multiple, interconvertible conformations distinguished by agonist binding affinity. In the absence of cholinergic ligands, certain aromatic amines including proadifen, dimethisoquin, and lidocaine, as well as propanol and butanol, produce a dose-dependent increase in the fraction of receptors (f) in a high-affinity conformation from a value of fmax approximately 0.17 in the absence of drug to fmax approximately 0.9. Not all noncompetitive antagonists produce that same value of fmax. For histrionicotoxin (HTX), fmax approximately 0.3, and the aromatic amine adiphenine did not alter f while tetracaine actually decreased f to 0.1. The high-affinity receptor conformation stabilized by noncompetitive antagonists was characterized by (1) the rate constant (krec) for receptor reisomerization upon removal of stabilizing ligand and (2) the rate constant (kdis) for dissociation of [3H]AcCh-receptor complexes. On the basis of these criteria, the high-affinity receptor conformation stabilized by amine and alcohol noncompetitive blockers is the same as that stabilized by agonist. At 4 degrees C, krec = (2.2 +/- 0.2) X 10(-3) s-1 and kdis = 4 X 10(-2) s-1. Since HTX and adiphenine produced only a small conformational perturbation, their effects on the actions of proadifen and 2-propanol were examined. HTX and adiphenine antagonized the conformational perturbation caused by proadifen, while mixtures of HTX and 2-propanol produced additive effects. Effects of noncompetitive blockers were also assayed in terms of the inhibition of agonist-induced efflux of 22Na+ from Torpedo vesicles. Exposure to proadifen in the absence of agonist produced a reversible inhibition (desensitization) of the flux response, and recovery from desensitization occurred at the same rate as the reisomerization from the high-affinity receptor state.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Dopaminergic inhibition of adenylate cyclase correlates with high affinity agonist binding to anterior pituitary D 2 dopamine receptors

Dopamine (DA) and the dopaminergic agonists n-propylnorapomorphine (NPA), 2-amino-6,7-dihydroxytetrahydronaphthalene (ADTN) and apomorphine (APO) inhibit forskolin-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity in a dose-dependent fashion by more than 40% in membrane preparations of the porcine anterior pituitary gland. These agonists exhibit apparent dissociation constants that follow an expected dopaminergic order of potency (NPA > ADTN ⩾ APO > DA). The inhibition is dependent on guanine nucleotides and is reversible by dopaminergic antagonists (spiroperidol > (+)-butaclamol ⪢ (−)-butaclamol). The potencies of these agonists in inhibiting forskolin-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity correlate with the agonist dissociation constants ( K H) for binding to the high affinity receptor state (R H) in porcine anterior pituitary membranes (De Lean et al., Mol. Pharmacol. 1982, 22, 290–297) and the EC 50 for inhibition of prolactin release from rat anterior pituitary cells in culture (Caron et al. J. Biol. Chem. 1978, 253, 2244–2253). Furthermore, the intrinsic activities of dopamine and the other agonists for inhibition of forskolin-stimulated adenylate cyclase are similar and correlate well with the ability of these agents to induce a comparable proportion (50%) of the receptor in a high affinity state. Together these data provide additional support for the physiological relevance of the high affinity agonist binding state of the D 2 receptor in mediating the decrease in prolactin secretion via attenuation of adenylate cyclase.

Agonist-promoted high affinity state of the beta-adrenergic receptor in human neutrophils: modulation by corticosteroids.

beta-Adrenergic agonists form high affinity complexes with receptors, resulting in activation of the associated adenylate cyclase. To examine the formation of the high affinity state of the receptor, curves were constructed for the competition of the full beta-adrenergic agonist isoproterenol, partial agonists cobefrin and soterenol, and the antagonist propranolol for [3H]dihydroalprenolol binding to beta-adrenergic receptors on human neutrophil membranes. Curve modeling by computer yielded a two-state binding model for the agonists, with distinct dissociation constants for the high (KH) and low (KL) affinity states. The ratio of dissociation constants (KL/KH) was found to be well correlated (P less than 0.01) with the drug's intrinsic activity for stimulation of adenylate cyclase. Thus, the degree of coupling of receptor occupation with adenylate cyclase activation is correlated with the magnitude of KL/KH. Administration of cortisone to humans resulted in a substantial rise in the proportion of receptors in the high affinity state and in the KL/KH determined from isoproterenol competition curves, as well as a rise in adenylate cyclase activity. Furthermore, in vitro exposure of human neutrophils to hydrocortisone resulted in a similar rise in KL/KH determined from isoproterenol competition curves. Therefore, one mechanism by which cortisone modulates beta-adrenergic receptor function appears to be through facilitating the formation of the high affinity state of the receptor, resulting in greater coupling of receptor occupation with adenylate cyclase activation.