Functional Significance of the Signal Peptides of Corticotropin-Releasing Factor Receptors.

The corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) receptors belong to the large family of G proteincoupled receptors (GPCRs) and must be transported to the plasma membrane to function properly. The first step of the intracellular transport of GPCRs is their insertion into the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). This process is mediated by the translocon complex of the ER membrane and the signal sequences of the receptors. Most GPCRs possess signal sequences which form part of the mature proteins, the so called signal anchor sequences (usually transmembrane domain 1). The CRF receptors possess instead signal sequences at their extreme N tails which were thought to be cleaved off following integration of the receptors into the ER membrane (signal peptides, SPs, also called cleaved signal sequences). Recent work, however, showed that not all subtypes of CRF receptors stick to this rule. Whereas the corticotropin-releasing factor receptor type 1 (CRF1R) and the corticotropin-releasing factor receptor type 2b (CRF2(b)R) possess conventional SPs which are indeed cleaved off following ER insertion, the SP of the cortictropin-releasing factor receptor type 2a (CRF2(a)R) remains uncleaved. It forms a unique N-terminal domain (pseudo signal peptide, PSP) which has surprising functions beyond the ER level. Its presence not only influences expression levels at the plasma membrane but also receptor homodimerisation and, as a consequence, G protein selectivity. In this mini-review, we summarize the progress in understanding the functions of SPs of CRF receptors. Recent data also allow deriving hypotheses for a physiological significance of these sequences.

Discovery and mapping of an intracellular antagonist binding site at the chemokine receptor CCR2.

The chemokine receptor CCR2 is a G protein-coupled receptor that is involved in many diseases characterized by chronic inflammation, and therefore a large variety of CCR2 small molecule antagonists has been developed. On the basis of their chemical structures these antagonists can roughly be divided into two groups with most likely two topographically distinct binding sites. The aim of the current study was to identify the binding site of one such group of ligands, exemplified by three allosteric antagonists, CCR2-RA-[R], JNJ-27141491, and SD-24. We first used a chimeric CCR2/CCR5 receptor approach to obtain insight into the binding site of the allosteric antagonists and additionally introduced eight single point mutations in CCR2 to further characterize the putative binding pocket. All constructs were studied in radioligand binding and/or functional IP turnover assays, providing evidence for an intracellular binding site for CCR2-RA-[R], JNJ-27141491, and SD-24. For CCR2-RA-[R] the most important residues for binding were found to be the highly conserved tyrosine Y(7.53) and phenylalanine F(8.50) of the NPxxYx(5,6)F motif, as well as V(6.36) at the bottom of TM-VI and K(8.49) in helix-VIII. These findings demonstrate for the first time the presence of an allosteric intracellular binding site for CCR2 antagonists. This contributes to an increased understanding of the interactions of diverse ligands at CCR2 and may allow for a more rational design of future allosteric antagonists.

The specific monomer/dimer equilibrium of the corticotropin-releasing factor receptor type 1 is established in the endoplasmic reticulum.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) represent the most important drug targets. Although the smallest functional unit of a GPCR is a monomer, it became clear in the past decades that the vast majority of the receptors form dimers. Only very recently, however, data were presented that some receptors may in fact be expressed as a mixture of monomers and dimers and that the interaction of the receptor protomers is dynamic. To date, equilibrium measurements were restricted to the plasma membrane due to experimental limitations. We have addressed the question as to where this equilibrium is established for the corticotropin-releasing factor receptor type 1. By developing a novel approach to analyze single molecule fluorescence cross-correlation spectroscopy data for intracellular membrane compartments, we show that the corticotropin-releasing factor receptor type 1 has a specific monomer/dimer equilibrium that is already established in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). It remains constant at the plasma membrane even following receptor activation. Moreover, we demonstrate for seven additional GPCRs that they are expressed in specific but substantially different monomer/dimer ratios. Although it is well known that proteins may dimerize in the ER in principle, our data show that the ER is also able to establish the specific monomer/dimer ratios of GPCRs, which sheds new light on the functions of this compartment.