The ABC efflux pump
P-glycoprotein (P-gp) transports a wide variety
of drugs and is inhibited by others. Some drugs stimulate ATP hydrolysis
at the nucleotide binding domains (NBDs) and are transported, others
uncouple ATP hydrolysis and transport, and others inhibit ATP hydrolysis.
The molecular basis for the different behavior of these drugs is not
well understood despite the availability of several structural models
of P-gp complexes with ligands bound. Hypothetically, ligands differentially
alter the conformational dynamics of peptide segments that mediate
the coupling between the drug binding sites and the NBDs. Here, we
explore by hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry the dynamic
consequences of a classic substrate and inhibitor, vinblastine and
zosuquidar, binding to mouse P-gp (mdr1a) in lipid nanodiscs. The
dynamics of P-gp in nucleotide-free, pre-hydrolysis, and post-hydrolysis
states in the presence of each drug reveal distinct mechanisms of
ATPase stimulation and implications for transport. For both drugs,
there are common regions affected in a similar manner, suggesting
that particular networks are the key to stimulating ATP hydrolysis.
However, drug binding effects diverge in the post-hydrolysis state,
particularly in the intracellular helices (ICHs 3 and 4) and neighboring
transmembrane helices. The local dynamics and conformational equilibria
in this region are critical for the coupling of drug binding and ATP
hydrolysis and are differentially modulated in the catalytic cycle.