Mixed antagonistic effects of the ginkgolides at recombinant human ρ1 GABAC receptors.

The diterpene lactones of Ginkgo biloba, ginkgolides A, B and C are antagonists at a range of Cys-loop receptors. This study examined the effects of the ginkgolides at recombinant human ρ(1) GABA(C) receptors expressed in Xenopus oocytes using two-electrode voltage clamp. The ginkgolides were moderately potent antagonists with IC(50)s in the µM range. At 10 µM, 30 µM and 100 µM, the ginkgolides caused rightward shifts of GABA dose-response curves and reduced maximal GABA responses, characteristic of noncompetitive antagonists, while the potencies showed a clear dependence on GABA concentration, indicating apparent competitive antagonism. This suggests that the ginkgolides exert a mixed-type antagonism at the ρ(1) GABA(C) receptors. The ginkgolides did not exhibit any obvious use-dependent inhibition. Fitting of the data to a number of kinetic schemes suggests an allosteric inhibition as a possible mechanism of action of the ginkgolides which accounts for their inhibition of the responses without channel block or use-dependent inhibition. Kinetic modelling predicts that the ginkgolides exhibit saturation of antagonism at high concentrations of GABA, but this was only partially observed for ginkgolide B. It also suggests that there may be different binding sites in the closed and open states of the receptor, with a higher affinity for the receptor in the closed state.

Molecular determinants of ginkgolide binding in the glycine receptor pore.

Ginkgolides are potent blockers of the glycine receptor Cl- channel (GlyR) pore. We sought to identify their binding sites by comparing the effects of ginkgolides A, B and C and bilobalide on alpha1, alpha2, alpha1beta and alpha2beta GlyRs. Bilobalide sensitivity was drastically reduced by incorporation of the beta subunit. In contrast, the sensitivities to ginkgolides B and C were enhanced by beta subunit expression. However, ginkgolide A sensitivity was increased in the alpha2beta GlyR relative to the alpha2 GlyR but not in the alpha1beta GlyR relative to the alpha1 GlyR. We hypothesised that the subunit-specific differences were mediated by residue differences at the second transmembrane domain 2' and 6' pore-lining positions. The increased ginkgolide A sensitivity of the alpha2beta GlyR was transferred to the alpha1beta GlyR by the G2'A (alpha1 to alpha2 subunit) substitution. In addition, the alpha1 subunit T6'F mutation abolished inhibition by all ginkgolides. As the ginkgolides share closely related structures, their molecular interactions with pore-lining residues were amenable to mutant cycle analysis. This identified an interaction between the variable R2 position of the ginkgolides and the 2' residues of both alpha1 and beta subunits. These findings provide strong evidence for ginkgolides binding at the 2' pore-lining position.