κ-Opioid receptor is a member of the opioid receptor family and selectively interacts with the opioid peptide dynorphin. Extracellular loop II (ECL-II) of the κ-opioid receptor displays an amphiphilic helix in membrane environments and the N-terminal α-helix of dynorphin A(1-17) (hereafter DynA17) is inserted into the membrane with the tilt angle of 21° to the bilayer normal. ECL-II peptides (1-33), corresponding to 196-228 of κ-opioid receptor with [1-(13)C]- or [3-(13)C]-labeled amino acids were incorporated into large [dimyristoylphosphatidyl choline (DMPC)/ dihexanoylphosphatidyl choline (DHPC) = 3, q = 3] and small bicelle (q = 1) systems. (13)C direct detection with dipolar decoupling and magic angle spinning (DD-MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra were recorded, and the (13)C chemical shift perturbation clearly indicated that DynA17 interacts with ECL-II at the location of Val10-Ala15. Quartz crystal microbalance measurements were performed to determine the binding constant of ECL-II with DynA17 and indicated that the binding constant between DynA17 and ECL-II embedded in the lipid layer was 72 times larger than that between DynA17 and the lipid. The result of the molecular dynamics simulation clearly indicates that the C-terminus of DynA17 interact with the amino acid residues of the region between Val10-Gln14 of ECL-II. These results suggest that DynA17 interacts with the ECL-II of the κ-opioid receptor through a hydrophobic and short-lived electrostatic interaction with high affinity in the outer surface of the membrane.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.