The Nature of the Arrestin·Receptor Complex Determines the Ultimate Fate of the Internalized Receptor (original) (raw)

Novel roles for arrestins in the post-endocytic trafficking of G protein-coupled receptors

Life Sciences, 2004

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) represent the largest family of transmembrane signaling molecules in the human genome. As such, they interact with numerous intracellular molecules, which can act either to propagate or curtail signaling from the receptor. Their primary mode of cellular activation occurs through heterotrimeric G proteins, which in turn can activate a wide spectrum of effector molecules, including phosphodiesterases, phospholipases, adenylyl cyclases and ion channels. Active GPCRs are also the target of G protein-coupled receptor kinases, which phosphorylate the receptors culminating in the binding of the protein arrestin. This results in rapid desensitization through inhibition of G protein binding, as well as novel mechanisms of cellular activation that involve the scaffolding of cellular kinases to GPCR-arrestin complexes. Arrestins can also serve to mediate the internalization of certain GPCRs, a process which plays an important role in regulating cellular activity both by mediating long-term desensitization through down regulation (degradation) of receptors and by recycling desensitized receptors back to the cell surface to initiate additional rounds of signaling. The mechanisms that regulate the subsequent intracellular trafficking of GPCRs following internalization are largely unknown. Recently however, it has become clear that the pattern of receptor phosphorylation and subsequent binding of arrestin play a critical role in the intracellular trafficking of internalized receptors, thereby dictating the ultimate fate of the receptor. In addition, arrestins have now been shown to be required for the recycling of GPCRs that are capable of internalizing through arrestin-independent mechanisms. This review will summarize recent advances in our understanding of the roles of arrestins in post-endocytic GPCR trafficking.

Differential manipulation of arrestin-3 binding to basal and agonist-activated G protein-coupled receptors

Cellular signalling, 2017

Non-visual arrestins interact with hundreds of different G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Here we show that by introducing mutations into elements that directly bind receptors, the specificity of arrestin-3 can be altered. Several mutations in the two parts of the central "crest" of the arrestin molecule, middle-loop and C-loop, enhanced or reduced arrestin-3 interactions with several GPCRs in receptor subtype and functional state-specific manner. For example, the Lys139Ile substitution in the middle-loop dramatically enhanced the binding to inactive M2 muscarinic receptor, so that agonist activation of the M2 did not further increase arrestin-3 binding. Thus, the Lys139Ile mutation made arrestin-3 essentially an activation-independent binding partner of M2, whereas its interactions with other receptors, including the β2-adrenergic receptor and the D1 and D2 dopamine receptors, retained normal activation dependence. In contrast, the Ala248Val mutation enhanced agonist-...

Receptor-Arrestin Interactions: The GPCR Perspective

Biomolecules

Arrestins are a small family of four proteins in most vertebrates that bind hundreds of different G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Arrestin binding to a GPCR has at least three functions: precluding further receptor coupling to G proteins, facilitating receptor internalization, and initiating distinct arrestin-mediated signaling. The molecular mechanism of arrestin–GPCR interactions has been extensively studied and discussed from the “arrestin perspective”, focusing on the roles of arrestin elements in receptor binding. Here, we discuss this phenomenon from the “receptor perspective”, focusing on the receptor elements involved in arrestin binding and emphasizing existing gaps in our knowledge that need to be filled. It is vitally important to understand the role of receptor elements in arrestin activation and how the interaction of each of these elements with arrestin contributes to the latter’s transition to the high-affinity binding state. A more precise knowledge of the molec...

Distinct G protein-coupled receptor phosphorylation motifs modulate arrestin affinity and activation and global conformation

Nature Communications

Cellular functions of arrestins are determined in part by the pattern of phosphorylation on the G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) to which arrestins bind. Despite high-resolution structural data of arrestins bound to phosphorylated receptor C-termini, the functional role of each phosphorylation site remains obscure. Here, we employ a library of synthetic phosphopeptide analogues of the GPCR rhodopsin C-terminus and determine the ability of these peptides to bind and activate arrestins using a variety of biochemical and biophysical methods. We further characterize how these peptides modulate the conformation of arrestin-1 by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Our results indicate different functional classes of phosphorylation sites: 'key sites' required for arrestin binding and activation, an 'inhibitory site' that abrogates arrestin binding, and 'modulator sites' that influence the global conformation of arrestin. These functional motifs allow a better understanding of how different GPCR phosphorylation patterns might control how arrestin functions in the cell.

Structural Basis of Arrestin Selectivity for Active Phosphorylated G Protein-Coupled Receptors

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Arrestins are a small family of proteins that bind G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Arrestin binds to active phosphorylated GPCRs with higher affinity than to all other functional forms of the receptor, including inactive phosphorylated and active unphosphorylated. The selectivity of arrestins suggests that they must have two sensors, which detect receptor-attached phosphates and the active receptor conformation independently. Simultaneous engagement of both sensors enables arrestin transition into a high-affinity receptor-binding state. This transition involves a global conformational rearrangement that brings additional elements of the arrestin molecule, including the middle loop, in contact with a GPCR, thereby stabilizing the complex. Here, we review structural and mutagenesis data that identify these two sensors and additional receptor-binding elements within the arrestin molecule. While most data were obtained with the arrestin-1-rhodopsin pair, the evidence suggests that ...

Targeted Construction of Phosphorylation-independent β-Arrestin Mutants with Constitutive Activity in Cells

Journal of Biological Chemistry, 1999

Arrestin proteins play a key role in the desensitization of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Recently we proposed a molecular mechanism whereby arrestin preferentially binds to the activated and phosphorylated form of its cognate GPCR. To test the model, we introduced two different types of mutations into ␤-arrestin that were expected to disrupt two crucial elements that make ␤-arrestin binding to receptors phosphorylation-dependent. We found that two ␤-arrestin mutants (Arg 169 3 Glu and Asp 383 3 Ter) (Ter, stop codon) are indeed "constitutively active." In vitro these mutants bind to the agonist-activated ␤ 2-adrenergic receptor (␤ 2 AR) regardless of its phosphorylation status. When expressed in Xenopus oocytes these ␤-arrestin mutants effectively desensitize ␤ 2 AR in a phosphorylationindependent manner. Constitutively active ␤-arrestin mutants also effectively desensitize ␦ opioid receptor (DOR) and restore the agonist-induced desensitization of a truncated DOR lacking the critical G protein-coupled receptor kinase (GRK) phosphorylation sites. The kinetics of the desensitization induced by phosphorylation-independent mutants in the absence of receptor phosphorylation appears identical to that induced by wild type ␤-arrestin ؉ GRK3. Either of the mutations could have occurred naturally and made receptor kinases redundant, raising the question of why a more complex two-step mechanism (receptor phosphorylation followed by arrestin binding) is universally used.

Few Residues within an Extensive Binding Interface Drive Receptor Interaction and Determine the Specificity of Arrestin Proteins

Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2011

Arrestins bind active phosphorylated forms of G protein-coupled receptors, terminating G protein activation, orchestrating receptor trafficking, and redirecting signaling to alternative pathways. Visual arrestin-1 preferentially binds rhodopsin, whereas the two non-visual arrestins interact with hundreds of G protein-coupled receptor subtypes. Here we show that an extensive surface on the concave side of both arrestin-2 domains is involved in receptor binding. We also identified a small number of residues on the receptor binding surface of the N-and C-domains that largely determine the receptor specificity of arrestins. We show that alanine substitution of these residues blocks the binding of arrestin-1 to rhodopsin in vitro and of arrestin-2 and -3 to ␤2-adrenergic, M2 muscarinic cholinergic, and D2 dopamine receptors in intact cells, suggesting that these elements critically contribute to the energy of the interaction. Thus, in contrast to arrestin-1, where direct phosphate binding is crucial, the interaction of non-visual arrestins with their cognate receptors depends to a lesser extent on phosphate binding and more on the binding to non-phosphorylated receptor elements.

Targeted Construction of Phosphorylation-independent beta -Arrestin Mutants with Constitutive Activity in Cells

Journal of Biological Chemistry, 1999

Arrestin proteins play a key role in the desensitization of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Recently we proposed a molecular mechanism whereby arrestin preferentially binds to the activated and phosphorylated form of its cognate GPCR. To test the model, we introduced two different types of mutations into ␤-arrestin that were expected to disrupt two crucial elements that make ␤-arrestin binding to receptors phosphorylation-dependent. We found that two ␤-arrestin mutants (Arg 169 3 Glu and Asp 383 3 Ter) (Ter, stop codon) are indeed "constitutively active." In vitro these mutants bind to the agonist-activated ␤ 2 -adrenergic receptor (␤ 2 AR) regardless of its phosphorylation status. When expressed in Xenopus oocytes these ␤-arrestin mutants effectively desensitize ␤ 2 AR in a phosphorylationindependent manner. Constitutively active ␤-arrestin mutants also effectively desensitize ␦ opioid receptor (DOR) and restore the agonist-induced desensitization of a truncated DOR lacking the critical G protein-coupled receptor kinase (GRK) phosphorylation sites. The kinetics of the desensitization induced by phosphorylation-independent mutants in the absence of receptor phosphorylation appears identical to that induced by wild type ␤-arrestin ؉ GRK3. Either of the mutations could have occurred naturally and made receptor kinases redundant, raising the question of why a more complex two-step mechanism (receptor phosphorylation followed by arrestin binding) is universally used.

The Third Intracellular Loop of alpha 2-Adrenergic Receptors Determines Subtype Specificity of Arrestin Interaction

Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2002

Nonvisual arrestins (arrestin-2 and-3) serve as adaptors to link agonist-activated G protein-coupled receptors to the endocytic machinery. Although many G protein-coupled receptors bind arrestins, the molecular determinants involved in binding remain largely unknown. Because arrestins selectively promote the internalization of the ␣ 2b-and ␣ 2c-adrenergic receptors (ARs) while having no effect on the ␣ 2a AR, here we used ␣ 2 ARs to identify molecular determinants involved in arrestin binding. Initially, we assessed the ability of purified arrestins to bind glutathione S-transferase fusions containing the third intracellular loops of the ␣ 2a AR, ␣ 2b AR, or ␣ 2c AR. These studies revealed that arrestin-3 directly binds to the ␣ 2b AR and ␣ 2c AR but not the ␣ 2a AR, whereas arrestin-2 only binds to the ␣ 2b AR. Truncation mutagenesis of the ␣ 2b AR identified two arrestin-3 binding domains in the third intracellular loop, one at the N-terminal end (residues 194-214) and the other at the C-terminal end (residues 344-368). Site-directed mutagenesis further revealed a critical role for several basic residues in arrestin-3 binding to the ␣ 2b AR third intracellular loop. Mutation of these residues in the holo-␣ 2b AR and subsequent expression in HEK 293 cells revealed that the mutations had no effect on the ability of the receptor to activate ERK1/2. However, agonist-promoted internalization of the mutant ␣ 2b AR was significantly attenuated as compared with wild type receptor. These results demonstrate that arrestin-3 binds to two discrete regions within the ␣ 2b AR third intracellular loop and that disruption of arrestin binding selectively abrogates agonist-promoted receptor internalization.