Daniel J. Scott

Characterization of Novel Splice Variants of LGR7 and LGR8 Reveals That Receptor Signaling Is Mediated by Their Unique Low Density Lipoprotein Class A Modules

The relaxin and insulin-like peptide 3 receptors, LGR7 and LGR8, respectively, are unique members of the leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein-coupled receptor (LGR) family, because they possess an N-terminal motif with homology to the low density lipoprotein class A (LDLa) modules. By characterizing several LGR7 and LGR8 splice variants, we have revealed that the LDLa module directs ligand-activated cAMP signaling. The LGR8-short variant encodes an LGR8 receptor lacking the LDLa module, whereas LGR7-truncate, LGR7-truncate-2, and LGR7-truncate-3 all encode truncated secreted proteins retaining the LGR7 LDLa module. LGR8-short and an engineered LGR7 variant missing its LDLa module, LGR7-short, bound to their respective ligands with high affinity but lost their ability to signal via stimulation of intracellular cAMP accumulation. Conversely, secreted LGR7-truncate protein with the LDLa module was able to block relaxin-induced LGR7 cAMP signaling and did so without compromising the ability of LGR7 to bind to relaxin or be expressed on the cell membrane. Although the LDLa module of LGR7 was N-glycosylated at position Asn-14, an LGR7 N14Q mutant retained relaxin binding affinity and cAMP signaling, implying that glycosylation is not essential for optimal LDLa function. Using real-time PCR, the expression of mouse LGR7-truncate was detected to be high in, and specific to, the uterus of pregnant mice. The differential expression and evolutionary conservation of LGR7-truncate further suggests that it may also play an important role in vivo. This study highlights the essential role of the LDLa module in LGR7 and LGR8 function and introduces a novel model of GPCR regulation.

Structure of signaling-competent neurotensin receptor 1 obtained by directed evolution in Escherichia coli

Significance Only a tiny fraction (<2%) of the unique structures in the protein database correspond to membrane proteins, and only a few of these are of eukaryotic origin, representing potential drug targets. The difficulties in structure determination of these proteins are due to two specific complications, which are unique for membrane proteins: first, low expression levels and, second, the necessity for detergent micelles, which are often destabilizing as they mimic the hydrophobic membrane environment only poorly. We prove that directed evolution has the potential to overcome these problems by determining several structures of evolved eukaryotic G protein–coupled receptor variants. High functional expression levels and superior receptor stability in harsh detergents allowed us to gain deeper insights into this important receptor family. Crystallography has advanced our understanding of G protein–coupled receptors, but low expression levels and instability in solution have limited structural insights to very few selected members of this large protein family. Using neurotensin receptor 1 (NTR1) as a proof of principle, we show that two directed evolution technologies that we recently developed have the potential to overcome these problems. We purified three neurotensin-bound NTR1 variants from Escherichia coli and determined their X-ray structures at up to 2.75 Å resolution using vapor diffusion crystallization experiments. A crystallized construct was pharmacologically characterized and exhibited ligand-dependent signaling, internalization, and wild-type–like agonist and antagonist affinities. Our structures are fully consistent with all biochemically defined ligand-contacting residues, and they represent an inactive NTR1 state at the cytosolic side. They exhibit significant differences to a previously determined NTR1 structure (Protein Data Bank ID code 4GRV) in the ligand-binding pocket and by the presence of the amphipathic helix 8. A comparison of helix 8 stability determinants between NTR1 and other crystallized G protein–coupled receptors suggests that the occupancy of the canonical position of the amphipathic helix is reduced to various extents in many receptors, and we have elucidated the sequence determinants for a stable helix 8. Our analysis also provides a structural rationale for the long-known effects of C-terminal palmitoylation reactions on G protein–coupled receptor signaling, receptor maturation, and desensitization.

Solution Structure and Characterization of the LGR8 Receptor Binding Surface of Insulin-like Peptide 3

Insulin-like peptide 3 (INSL3), a member of the relaxin peptide family, is produced in testicular Leydig cells and ovarian thecal cells. Gene knock-out experiments have identified a key biological role in initiating testes descent during fetal development. Additionally, INSL3 has an important function in mediating male and female germ cell function. These actions are elicited via its recently identified receptor, LGR8, a member of the leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein-coupled receptor family. To identify the structural features that are responsible for the interaction of INSL3 with its receptor, its solution structure was determined by NMR spectroscopy together with in vitro assays of a series of B-chain alanine-substituted analogs. Synthetic human INSL3 was found to adopt a characteristic relaxin/insulin-like fold in solution but is a highly dynamic molecule. The four termini of this two-chain peptide are disordered, and additional conformational exchange is evident in the molecular core. Alanine-substituted analogs were used to identify the key residues of INSL3 that are responsible for the interaction with the ectodomain of LGR8. These include ArgB16 and ValB19, with HisB12 and ArgB20 playing a secondary role, as evident from the synergistic effect on the activity in double and triple mutants involving these residues. Together, these amino acids combine with the previously identified critical residue, TrpB27, to form the receptor binding surface. The current results provide clear direction for the design of novel specific agonists and antagonists of this receptor.

Characterization of the Rat INSL3 Receptor

Abstract: Human LGR8, initially discovered as a low‐affinity relaxin receptor, has now been characterized as the INSL3 receptor. To investigate LGR8 function in the rat, an LGR8 ortholog was identified in the rat genome, and the full‐length sequence was cloned and expressed. Rat LGR8 bound INSL3 with high affinity, clearly demonstrating that it is the rat INSL3 receptor. Interestingly, native rat relaxin did not activate rat LGR8, indicating that relaxin is not an endogenous ligand for rat LGR8. LGR8 mRNA expression was demonstrated in the gubernaculum at the time of testis descent and in the testis associated with germ cells.

Stabilizing membrane proteins through protein engineering

Integral membrane proteins (IMPs) are crucial components of all cells but are difficult to study in vitro because they are generally unstable when removed from their native membranes using detergents. Despite the major biomedical relevance of IMPs, less than 1% of Protein Data Bank (PDB) entries are IMP structures, reflecting the technical gap between studies of soluble proteins compared to IMPs. Stability can be engineered into IMPs by inserting stabilizing mutations, thereby generating proteins that can be successfully applied to biochemical and structural studies when solubilized in detergent micelles. The identification of stabilizing mutations is not trivial, and this review will focus on the methods that have been used to identify stabilized membrane proteins, including alanine scanning and screening, directed evolution and computational design.

Direct Molecular Evolution of Detergent-Stable G Protein-Coupled Receptors Using Polymer Encapsulated Cells

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest class of pharmaceutical protein targets, yet drug development is encumbered by a lack of information about their molecular structure and conformational dynamics. Most mechanistic and structural studies as well as in vitro drug screening with purified receptors require detergent solubilization of the GPCR, but typically, these proteins exhibit only low stability in detergent micelles. We have developed the first directed evolution method that allows the direct selection of GPCRs stable in a chosen detergent from libraries containing over 100 million individual variants. The crucial concept was to encapsulate single Escherichia coli cells of a library, each expressing a different GPCR variant, to form detergent-resistant, semipermeable nano-containers. Unlike naked cells, these containers are not dissolved by detergents, allowing us to solubilize the GPCR proteins in situ while maintaining an association with the proteins genetic information, a prerequisite for directed evolution. The pore size was controlled to permit GPCR ligands to permeate but the solubilized receptor to remain within the nanocapsules. Fluorescently labeled ligands were used to bind to those GPCR variants inside the nano-containers that remained active in the detergent tested. With the use of fluorescence-activated cell sorting, detergent-stable mutants derived from two different family A GPCRs could be identified, some with the highest stability reported in short-chain detergents. In principle, this method (named cellular high-throughput encapsulation, solubilization and screening) is not limited to engineering stabilized GPCRs but could be used to stabilize other proteins for biochemical and structural studies.

The Different Ligand-Binding Modes of Relaxin Family Peptide Receptors RXFP1 and RXFP2

Relaxin and insulin-like peptide 3 (INSL3) are peptide hormones with a number of important physiological roles in reproduction, regulation of extracellular matrix turnover, and cardiovascular function. Relaxin and INSL3 mediate their actions through the closely related G-protein coupled receptors, relaxin family peptide receptors 1 and 2 (RXFP1 and RXFP2), respectively. These receptors have large extracellular domains (ECD) that contain high-affinity ligand-binding sites within their 10 leucine-rich repeat (LRR)-containing modules. Although relaxin can bind and activate both RXFP1 and RXFP2, INSL3 can only bind and activate RXFP2. To investigate whether this difference is related to the nature of the high-affinity ECD binding site or to differences in secondary binding sites involving the receptor transmembrane (TM) domain, we created a suite of constructs with RXFP1/2 chimeric ECD attached to single TM helices. We show that by changing as little as one LRR, representing four amino acid substitutions, we were able to engineer a high-affinity INSL3-binding site into the ECD of RXFP1. Molecular modeling of the INSL3-RXFP2 interaction based on extensive experimental data highlights the differences in the binding mechanisms of relaxin and INSL3 to the ECD of their cognate receptors. Interestingly, when the engineered RXFP1/2 ECD were introduced into full-length RXFP1 constructs, INSL3 exhibited only low affinity and efficacy on these receptors. These results highlight critical differences both in the ECD binding and in the coordination of the ECD-binding site with the TM domain, and provide new mechanistic insights into the binding and activation events of RXFP1 and RXFP2 by their native hormone ligands.

LGR7‐Truncate Is a Splice Variant of the Relaxin Receptor LGR7 and Is a Relaxin Antagonist in Vitro

Abstract: The relaxin receptor (LGR7) and the insulin‐like peptide 3 (INSL3) receptor (LGR8) are unique LGR family members in possessing a single, functionally important amino terminal LDL‐A module. 1 Mouse and rat cDNA was screened for LGR7 and LGR7 splice variant expression. A uterus‐specific exon 4 deleted variant was identified and named LGR7‐Truncate. Deletion of exon 4 results in a premature stop codon and a transcript that putatively encodes a secreted protein containing LGR7s LDL‐A module. Expression of LGR7‐Truncate with LGR7 in HEK‐293T cells resulted in decreased relaxin‐induced signaling of LGR7. LGR7‐Truncate is potentially an endogenous regulator of LGR7 signaling.

Identification and characterization of the mouse and rat relaxin receptors as the novel orthologues of human leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein-coupled receptor 7.

1. Relaxin is an extracellular matrix (ECM)‐remodelling hormone that is functionally important in reproductive tissues, brain, lung and heart.

Identification of the N-Linked Glycosylation Sites of the Human Relaxin Receptor and Effect of Glycosylation on Receptor Function

The relaxin receptor, RXFP1, is a member of the leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein-coupled receptor (LGR) family. These receptors are characterized by a large extracellular ectodomain containing leucine-rich repeats which contain the primary ligand binding site. RXFP1 contains six putative Asn-linked glycosylation sites in the ectodomain at positions Asn-14, Asn-105, Asn-242, Asn-250, Asn-303, and Asn-346, which are highly conserved across species. N-Linked glycosylation is the most common post-translational modification of G-protein-coupled receptors, although its role in modulating receptor function differs. We herein investigate the actual N-linked glycosylation status of RXFP1 and the functional ramifications of these post-translational modifications. Site-directed mutagenesis was utilized to generate single- or multiple-glycosylation site mutants of FLAG-tagged human RXFP1 which were then transiently expressed in HEK-293T cells. Glycosylation status was analyzed by immunoprecipitation and Western blot and receptor function analyzed with an anti-FLAG ELISA, (33)P-H2 relaxin competition binding, and cAMP activity measurement. All of the potential N-glycosylation sites of RXFP1 were utilized in HEK-293T cells, and importantly, disruption of glycosylation at individual or combinations of double and triple sites had little effect on relaxin binding. However, combinations of glycosylation sites were required for cell surface expression and cAMP signaling. In particular, N-glycosylation at Asn-303 of RXFP1 was required for optimal intracellular cAMP signaling. Hence, as is the case for other LGR family members, N-glycosylation is essential for the transport of the receptor to the cell surface. Additionally, it is likely that glycosylation is also essential for the conformational changes required for G-protein coupling and subsequent cAMP signaling.