Investigating the role of loop c hydrophilic residue 'T244' in the binding site of ρ1 GABAC receptors via site mutation and partial agonism

Moawiah M. Naffaa, Nathan Absalom, V. Raja Solomon, Mary Chebib, David E. Hibbs, Jane R. Hanrahan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The loop C hydrophilic residue, threonine 244 lines the orthosteric binding site of ρ1 GABAC receptors was studied by point mutation into serine, alanine and cysteine, and tested with GABA, some representative partial agonists and antagonists. Thr244 has a hydroxyl group essential for GABA activity that is constrained by the threonine methyl group, orienting it toward the binding site. Significant decreases in activation effects of the studied ligands at ρ1 T244S mutant receptors, suggests a critical role for this residue. Results of aliphatic and heteroaromatic partial agonists demonstrate different pharmacological effects at ρ1 T244S mutant receptors when co-applied with GABA EC50 responses. ρ1 T244A and ρ1 T244C mutant receptors have minimal sensitivity to GABA at high mM concentrations, whereas, the ρ1 WT partial agonists, β-alanine and MTSEA demonstrate more efficacy and potency, respectively, than GABA at these mutant receptors. This study explores the role of Thr244 in the binding of agonists as an initial step during channel gating by moving loop C towards the ligand.
Original languageEnglish
Article numbere0156618
Number of pages21
JournalPLoS One
Volume11
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016

Open Access - Access Right Statement

© 2016 Naffaa et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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