Pentameric ligand-gated ion channels (pLGICs) mediate chemical signaling through a succession of allosteric transitions that are yet not completely understood as intermediate states remain poorly characterized by structural approaches. In a previous study on the prototypic bacterial proton-gated channel GLIC, we generated several fluorescent sensors of the protein conformation that report a fast transition to a pre-active state, which precedes the slower process of activation with pore opening. Here, we explored the phenotype of a series of allosteric mutations, using paralleled steady-state fluorescence and electrophysiological measurements over a broad pH range. Our data, fitted to a 3-states Monod-Wyman-Changeux (MWC) model, show that mutations at the subunit interface in the extracellular domain (ECD) principally alter pre-activation, while mutations in the lower ECD and in the transmembrane domain principally alter activation. We also show that propofol alters both transitions. Data are discussed in the framework of transition pathways generated by normal mode analysis (iModFit) that suggest collective protein motions concerted with pore opening. It further supports that pre-activation involves major quaternary compaction of the ECD, and suggests that activation involves principally a re-organization of a 'central gating region' involving a contraction of the ECD β-sandwich and the tilt of the channel lining M2 helix.
Using the bacterial proton-activated receptor-channel GLIC, we identify a locus in the pre-β5 strand (Loop Ω) whose mutation inverses the effect of the mono-carboxylate crotonate from negative to positive modulation of the allosteric transitions, suggesting an involvement of the pre-β5 strand in coupling the extracellular orthotopic receptor to pore gating in this pentameric ligand-gated ion channel. As an extension to the previously proposed ″in series″ mechanism, we suggest that a orthotopic/orthosteric site — vestibular site — Loop Ω — β5-β6 ″sandwich″ — Pro-Loop/Cys-Loop series may be an essential component of orthotopic/orthosteric compound-elicited gating control in pentameric ligand-gated ion channels, on top of which compounds targeting the vestibular site may provide modulation.
AbstractPentameric ligand-gated ion channels (pLGICs) mediate chemical signaling through a succession of allosteric transitions that are yet not completely understood. On the prototypic bacterial channel GLIC, we explored the conformational landscape of the protein during pH-gating. To this aim, we introduced a series of allosteric mutations, and characterized the protein conformation over a broad pH range. We combined electrophysiological recordings, fluorescence quenching experiments monitoring key quaternary reorganizations, and simulations by normal mode analysis. Moderate loss-of-function mutations and the allosteric modulator propofol displace allosteric equilibria involved in pre-activation and pore opening processes, highlighting long-range allosteric coupling between distant regions of the protein. In contrast, total loss-of-function mutations stabilize the protein in unique intermediate conformations where motions are decoupled. Altogether, our data show that the protein can access a wide conformational landscape, raising the possibility of multiple conformational pathways during gating.
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