Non-equivalent ligand selectivity of agonist sites in (?4?2)2?4 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors: a key determinant of agonist efficacy.

ABSTRACT: The ?4?2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) is the most abundant nAChR type in the brain, and this receptor type exists in alternate (?4?2)2?4 and (?4?2)2?2 forms, which are activated by agonists with strikingly differing efficacies. Recent breakthroughs have identified an additional operational agonist binding site in the (?4?2)2?4 nAChR that is responsible for the signature sensitivity of this receptor to activation by agonists, yet the structural mechanisms determining agonist efficacy at this receptor type are not yet fully understood. In this study, we characterized the ligand selectivity of the individual agonist sites of the (?4?2)2?4 nAChR to determine whether differences in agonist selectivity influence agonist efficacy. Applying the substituted cysteine accessibility method to individual agonist sites in concatenated (?4?2)2?4 receptors, we determined the agonist selectivity of the agonist sites of the (?4?2)2?4 receptor. We show that (a) accessibility of substituted cysteines to covalent modification by methanesulfonate reagent depends on the agonist site at which the modification occurs and (b) that agonists such as sazetidine-A and TC-2559 are excluded from the site at the ?4/?4 interface. Given that additional binding to the agonist site in the ?4/?4 interface increases acetylcholine efficacy and that agonists excluded from the agonist site at the ?4/?4 interface behave as partial agonists, we conclude that the ability to engage all agonist sites in (?4?2)2?4 nAChRs is a key determinant of agonist efficacy. The findings add another level of complexity to the structural mechanisms that govern agonist efficacy in heteromeric nAChRs and related ligand-gated ion channels.

SUBMITTER: Mazzaferro S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4118137 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature