Membrane cholesterol modulates galanin-GalR2 interaction.

The neuropeptide galanin mediates a number of diverse physiological and pathophysiological actions via interaction with membrane-bound receptors. The role that membrane cholesterol plays in modulating the interaction between galanin and one of the three cloned galanin receptor subtypes (GalR2) expressed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells was examined. Reduction of membrane cholesterol by treatment with methyl-beta-cyclodextrin (CD) or by culturing cells in lipoprotein-deficient serum markedly decreased galanin binding to the receptor. Addition of cholesterol back to CD-treated, cholesterol-depleted membranes restored galanin binding to control levels. Hill analysis suggests that the GalR2 binds multiple molecules of cholesterol (n >/= 3) in a positively cooperative manner. This interaction appears to be cholesterol-specific as only cholesterol and a limited number of cholesterol analogues were able to rescue galanin binding. The inability of some of these analogues to rescue the binding activity also suggests that binding of galanin to GalR2 is independent of membrane fluidity as, like cholesterol, cholesterol analogues generally rigidize membranes. In addition, treatment of the membranes with other modulators of membrane fluidity, e.g. ethanol, did not affect galanin binding to the GalR2. In contrast, treatment of membranes, with filipin, a molecule that clusters cholesterol within the membranes, or with cholesterol oxidase resulted in markedly reduced galanin binding. Incubation of membranes with 100 microM GTP-gamma-S did not alter the IC(50) for CD in the prebinding assay treatment suggesting that the effect of cholesterol was independent of G protein interaction. Preincubation of intact cells with CD also drastically impaired the ability of galanin to activate intracellular inositol phosphate accumulation in GalR2-transfected CHO cells. These data detail a new mechanism for the regulation of galanin receptor signaling which may link altered functions of GalRs with abnormal cholesterol metabolism.