Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261.
Bioinformatics Institute, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Matrix 138671, Singapore.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 Aug 10;118(32). doi: 10.1073/pnas.2102813118.
Prostaglandin D (PGD) signals through the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) CRTH2 to mediate various inflammatory responses. CRTH2 is the only member of the prostanoid receptor family that is phylogenetically distant from others, implying a nonconserved mechanism of lipid action on CRTH2. Here, we report a crystal structure of human CRTH2 bound to a PGD derivative, 15R-methyl-PGD (15mPGD), by serial femtosecond crystallography. The structure revealed a "polar group in"-binding mode of 15mPGD contrasting the "polar group out"-binding mode of PGE in its receptor EP3. Structural comparison analysis suggested that these two lipid-binding modes, associated with distinct charge distributions of ligand-binding pockets, may apply to other lipid GPCRs. Molecular dynamics simulations together with mutagenesis studies also identified charged residues at the ligand entry port that function to capture lipid ligands of CRTH2 from the lipid bilayer. Together, our studies suggest critical roles of charge environment in lipid recognition by GPCRs.
前列腺素 D(PGD)通过 G 蛋白偶联受体(GPCR)CRTH2 发出信号,介导各种炎症反应。CRTH2 是前列腺素受体家族中唯一与其他成员在系统发育上相距甚远的成员,这意味着其脂质作用机制没有保守。在这里,我们通过连续飞秒晶体学报告了人 CRTH2 与 PGD 衍生物 15R-甲基-PGD(15mPGD)结合的晶体结构。该结构揭示了 15mPGD 的“极性基团内”结合模式,与 EP3 受体中 PGE 的“极性基团外”结合模式形成对比。结构比较分析表明,这两种脂质结合模式与配体结合口袋中不同的电荷分布相关,可能适用于其他脂质 GPCR。分子动力学模拟和突变研究也鉴定了配体进入口处的带电残基,这些残基可从脂质双层中捕获 CRTH2 的脂质配体。总之,我们的研究表明,电荷环境在 GPCR 对脂质的识别中起着关键作用。