Glycine receptors (GlyRs) are chloride channels that mediate fast inhibitory neurotransmission and are members of the pentameric ligand-gated ion channel (pLGIC) family. The interface between the ligand binding domain and the transmembrane domain of pLGICs has been proposed to be crucial for channel gating and is lined by a number of charged and aromatic side chains that are highly conserved among different pLGICs. However, little is known about specific interactions between these residues that are likely to be important for gating in ␣1 GlyRs. Here we use the introduction of cysteine pairs and the in vivo nonsense suppression method to incorporate unnatural amino acids to probe the electrostatic and hydrophobic contributions of five highly conserved side chains near the interface, Glu-53, Phe-145, Asp-148, Phe-187, and Arg-218. Our results suggest a salt bridge between Asp-148 in loop 7 and Arg-218 in the pre-M1 domain that is crucial for channel gating. We further propose that Phe-145 and Phe-187 play important roles in stabilizing this interaction by providing a hydrophobic environment. In contrast to the equivalent residues in loop 2 of other pLGICs, the negative charge at Glu-53 ␣1 GlyRs is not crucial for normal channel function. These findings help decipher the GlyR gating pathway and show that distinct residue interaction patterns exist in different pLGICs. Furthermore, a salt bridge between Asp-148 and Arg-218 would provide a possible mechanistic explanation for the pathophysiologically relevant hyperekplexia, or startle disease, mutant Arg-218 3 Gln.
The glycine receptor (GlyR)2 chloride channel is a member of the Cys-loop receptor family, a subfamily of the pentameric ligand-gated ion channel (pLGIC) superfamily (1). GlyRs mediate fast inhibitory neurotransmission in the nervous system, and recent studies have provided a wealth of insight into the structure and function of the GlyR and other pLGICs. One of the more studied regions, the N-terminal ligand binding domain (LBD), is composed of a 10-strand -sheet sandwich interconnected by 9 loops and the ligand binding pocket situated at the interface between adjacent subunits (2-8). The transmembrane domain (TMD) contains four ␣-helical segments (M1-M4), including the pore-lining M2 helices.How is the binding of an agonist molecule in the LBD communicated to the channel gate in the TMD, almost 60 Å away? This question has gained considerable attention in the past (9 -11), and previous studies have identified a number of charged residues likely to couple the LBD to the TMD via electrostatic interactions in different pLGICs (12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17). A number of critical residues have been identified at the interface of LBD and TMD of ␣1 GlyRs (18 -22), but evidence for direct electrostatic interactions is thus far missing. The interface of LBD and TMD in ␣1 GlyRs is of interest not only because of its proposed role in channel gating but also because inherited mutations of side chains near this interface cause hyperekplexia or startle disease (23): Ala-52 ...