G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are versatile signaling proteins that mediate complex cellular responses to hormones and neurotransmitters. Recent advances in GPCR crystallography have provided inactive and active state structures for rhodopsin and the β2 adrenergic receptor (β2AR). Although these structures suggest a two-state 'on-off' mechanism of receptor activation, other biophysical studies and observed signaling versatility suggest that GPCRs are highly dynamic and exist in a multitude of functionally distinct conformations. To fully understand how GPCRs work, we must characterize these conformations and determine how ligands affect their energetics and rates of interconversion. This brief review will compare and contrast the dynamic properties of rhodopsin and β2AR that shed light on the role of structural dynamics in their distinct signaling behaviors.

Imaging native membrane receptors and testing how they interact with ligands is of fundamental interest in the life sciences but has proven remarkably difficult to accomplish. Here, we introduce an approach that uses force-distance curve-based atomic force microscopy to simultaneously image single native G protein-coupled receptors in membranes and quantify their dynamic binding strength to native and synthetic ligands. We measured kinetic and thermodynamic parameters for individual protease-activated receptor-1 (PAR1) molecules in the absence and presence of antagonists, and these measurements enabled us to describe PAR1s ligand-binding free-energy landscape with high accuracy. Our nanoscopic method opens an avenue to directly image and characterize ligand binding of native membrane receptors.

The G protein-coupled β(2)-adrenoreceptor (β(2)AR) signals through the heterotrimeric G proteins G(s) and G(i) and β-arrestin. As such, the energy landscape of β(2)AR-excited state conformers is expected to be complex. Upon tagging Cys-265 of β(2)AR with a trifluoromethyl probe, (19)F NMR was used to assess conformations and possible equilibria between states. Here, we report key differences in β(2)AR conformational dynamics associated with the detergents used to stabilize the receptor. In dodecyl maltoside (DDM) micelles, the spectra are well represented by a single Lorentzian line that shifts progressively downfield with activation by appropriate ligand. The results are consistent with interconversion between two or more states on a time scale faster than the greatest difference in ligand-dependent chemical shift (i.e. >100 Hz). Given that high detergent off-rates of DDM monomers may facilitate conformational exchange between functional states of β(2)AR, we utilized the recently developed maltose-neopentyl glycol (MNG-3) diacyl detergent. In MNG-3 micelles, spectra indicated at least three distinct states, the relative populations of which depended on ligand, whereas no ligand-dependent shifts were observed, consistent with the slow exchange limit. Thus, detergent has a profound effect on the equilibrium kinetics between functional states. MNG-3, which has a critical micelle concentration in the nanomolar regime, exhibits an off-rate that is 4 orders of magnitude lower than that of DDM. High detergent off-rates are more likely to facilitate conformational exchange between distinct functional states associated with the G protein-coupled receptor.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are a large class of integral membrane proteins involved in regulating virtually every aspect of human physiology. Despite their profound importance in human health and disease, structural information regarding GPCRs has been extremely limited until recently. With the advent of a variety of new biochemical and crystallographic techniques, the structural biology of GPCRs has advanced rapidly, offering key molecular insights into GPCR activation and signal transduction. To date, almost all GPCR structures have been solved using molecular-replacement techniques. Here, the unique aspects of molecular replacement as applied to individual GPCRs and to signaling complexes of these important proteins are discussed.

Structural studies on G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) provide important insights into the architecture and function of these important drug targets. However, the crystallization of GPCRs in active states is particularly challenging, requiring the formation of stable and conformationally homogeneous ligand-receptor complexes. Native hormones, neurotransmitters, and synthetic agonists that bind with low affinity are ineffective at stabilizing an active state for crystallogenesis. To promote structural studies on the pharmacologically highly relevant class of aminergic GPCRs, we here present the development of covalently binding molecular tools activating Gs-, Gi-, and Gq-coupled receptors. The covalent agonists are derived from the monoamine neurotransmitters noradrenaline, dopamine, serotonin, and histamine, and they were accessed using a general and versatile synthetic strategy. We demonstrate that the tool compounds presented herein display an efficient covalent binding mode and that the respective covalent ligand-receptor complexes activate G proteins comparable to the natural neurotransmitters. A crystal structure of the β2-adrenoreceptor in complex with a covalent noradrenaline analog and a conformationally selective antibody (nanobody) verified that these agonists can be used to facilitate crystallogenesis.

µ-Opioid receptors (µORs) are G-protein-coupled receptors that are activated by a structurally diverse spectrum of natural and synthetic agonists including endogenous endorphin peptides, morphine and methadone. The recent structures of the μOR in inactive and agonist-induced active states (Huang et al., ref. 2) provide snapshots of the receptor at the beginning and end of a signalling event, but little is known about the dynamic sequence of events that span these two states. Here we use solution-state NMR to examine the process of μOR activation using a purified receptor (mouse sequence) preparation in an amphiphile membrane-like environment. We obtain spectra of the μOR in the absence of ligand, and in the presence of the high-affinity agonist BU72 alone, or with BU72 and a G protein mimetic nanobody. Our results show that conformational changes in transmembrane segments 5 and 6 (TM5 and TM6), which are required for the full engagement of a G protein, are almost completely dependent on the presence of both the agonist and the G protein mimetic nanobody, revealing a weak allosteric coupling between the agonist-binding pocket and the G-protein-coupling interface (TM5 and TM6), similar to that observed for the β2-adrenergic receptor. Unexpectedly, in the presence of agonist alone, we find larger spectral changes involving intracellular loop 1 and helix 8 compared to changes in TM5 and TM6. These results suggest that one or both of these domains may play a role in the initial interaction with the G protein, and that TM5 and TM6 are only engaged later in the process of complex formation. The initial interactions between the G protein and intracellular loop 1 and/or helix 8 may be involved in G-protein coupling specificity, as has been suggested for other family A G-protein-coupled receptors.

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are integral membrane proteins that have an essential role in human physiology, yet the molecular processes through which they bind to their endogenous agonists and activate effector proteins remain poorly understood. So far, it has not been possible to capture an active-state GPCR bound to its native neurotransmitter. Crystal structures of agonist-bound GPCRs have relied on the use of either exceptionally high-affinity agonists or receptor stabilization by mutagenesis. Many natural agonists such as adrenaline, which activates the β2-adrenoceptor (β2AR), bind with relatively low affinity, and they are often chemically unstable. Using directed evolution, we engineered a high-affinity camelid antibody fragment that stabilizes the active state of the β2AR, and used this to obtain crystal structures of the activated receptor bound to multiple ligands. Here we present structures of the active-state human β2AR bound to three chemically distinct agonists: the ultrahigh-affinity agonist BI167107, the high-affinity catecholamine agonist hydroxybenzyl isoproterenol, and the low-affinity endogenous agonist adrenaline. The crystal structures reveal a highly conserved overall ligand recognition and activation mode despite diverse ligand chemical structures and affinities that range from 100 nM to ∼80 pM. Overall, the adrenaline-bound receptor structure is similar to the others, but it has substantial rearrangements in extracellular loop three and the extracellular tip of transmembrane helix 6. These structures also reveal a water-mediated hydrogen bond between two conserved tyrosines, which appears to stabilize the active state of the β2AR and related GPCRs.

Single-particle cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) has recently enabled high-resolution structure determination of numerous biological macromolecular complexes. Despite this progress, the application of high-resolution cryo-EM to G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) in complex with heterotrimeric G proteins remains challenging, owning to both the relative small size and the limited stability of these assemblies. Here we describe the development of antibody fragments that bind and stabilize GPCR-G protein complexes for the application of high-resolution cryo-EM. One antibody in particular, mAb16, stabilizes GPCR/G-protein complexes by recognizing an interface between Gα and Gβγ subunits in the heterotrimer, and confers resistance to GTPγS-triggered dissociation. The unique recognition mode of this antibody makes it possible to transfer its binding and stabilizing effect to other G-protein subtypes through minimal protein engineering. This antibody fragment is thus a broadly applicable tool for structural studies of GPCR/G-protein complexes.

Beta adrenergic receptors (βARs) mediate physiologic responses to the catecholamines epinephrine and norepinephrine released by the sympathetic nervous system. While the hormone epinephrine binds β₁AR and β₂AR with similar affinity, the smaller neurotransmitter norepinephrine is approximately tenfold selective for the β₁AR. To understand the structural basis for this physiologically important selectivity, we solved the crystal structures of the human β₁AR bound to an antagonist carazolol and different agonists including norepinephrine, epinephrine and BI-167107. Structural comparison revealed that the catecholamine-binding pockets are identical between β₁AR and β₂AR, but the extracellular vestibules have different shapes and electrostatic properties. Metadynamics simulations and mutagenesis studies revealed that these differences influence the path norepinephrine takes to the orthosteric pocket and contribute to the different association rates and thus different affinities.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) regulate virtually all aspects of human physiology and represent an important class of therapeutic drug targets. Many GPCR-targeted drugs resemble endogenous agonists, often resulting in poor selectivity among receptor subtypes and restricted pharmacologic profiles. The muscarinic acetylcholine receptor family exemplifies these problems; thousands of ligands are known, but few are receptor subtype-selective and nearly all are cationic in nature. Using structure-based docking against the M2 and M3 muscarinic receptors, we screened 3.1 million molecules for ligands with new physical properties, chemotypes, and receptor subtype selectivities. Of 19 docking-prioritized molecules tested against the M2 subtype, 11 had substantial activity and 8 represented new chemotypes. Intriguingly, two were uncharged ligands with low micromolar to high nanomolar Ki values, an observation with few precedents among aminergic GPCRs. To exploit a single amino-acid substitution among the binding pockets between the M2 and M3 receptors, we selected molecules predicted by docking to bind to the M3 and but not the M2 receptor. Of 16 molecules tested, 8 bound to the M3 receptor. Whereas selectivity remained modest for most of these, one was a partial agonist at the M3 receptor without measurable M2 agonism. Consistent with this activity, this compound stimulated insulin release from a mouse β-cell line. These results support the ability of structure-based discovery to identify new ligands with unexplored chemotypes and physical properties, leading to new biologic functions, even in an area as heavily explored as muscarinic pharmacology.