Structural insights into ligand recognition and activation of the melanocortin-4 receptor.

Shanshan Xie, Yan Zhang, Ming-Wei Wang, Tianhua Zhou, Tingjun Hou, Daniel H Scharf, Jin-Peng Sun, Jiao Qin, Yan Zhou, Huibing Zhang, Antao Dai, Dan-Dan Shen, Wenbo Feng, Qingya Shen, Chunyou Mao, Dehua Yang, Li-Nan Chen

Journal: Cell research 2022;31(11):1163-1175

PMID: 34433901

Abstract

["Melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) plays a central role in the regulation of energy homeostasis. Its high sequence similarity to other MC receptor family members, low agonist selectivity and the lack of structural information concerning MC4R-specific activation have hampered the development of MC4R-seletive therapeutics to treat obesity. Here, we report four high-resolution structures of full-length MC4R in complex with the heterotrimeric G protein stimulated by the endogenous peptide ligand \u03b1-MSH, FDA-approved drugs afamelanotide (Scenesse\u2122) and bremelanotide (Vyleesi\u2122), and a selective small-molecule ligand THIQ, respectively. Together with pharmacological studies, our results reveal the conserved binding mode of peptidic agonists, the distinctive molecular details of small-molecule agonist recognition underlying receptor subtype selectivity, and a distinct activation mechanism for MC4R, thereby offering new insights into G protein coupling. Our work may facilitate the discovery of selective therapeutic agents targeting MC4R.",{"copyright":"\u00a9 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science, CAS."}]
Address: Department of Biophysics and Department of Pathology of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.; Liangzhu Laboratory, Zhejiang University Medical Center, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.; MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Research and Brain-Machine Integration, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.; Key Laboratory of Immunity and Inflammatory Diseases of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.; The CAS Key Laboratory of Receptor Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.; The National Center for Drug Screening, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.; School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.; Department of Cell Biology and Cancer Institute of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; Institute of Gastroenterology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.; Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University; Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Science, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China.; Key Laboratory Experimental Teratology of the Ministry of Education, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.; Department of Microbiology and The Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.; Innovation Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine of Zhejiang University, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.; The CAS Key Laboratory of Receptor Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China. [email protected].; The National Center for Drug Screening, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China. [email protected].; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. [email protected].; School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. [email protected].; School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China. [email protected].; Department of Pharmacology, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. [email protected].; Department of Biophysics and Department of Pathology of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. [email protected].; Liangzhu Laboratory, Zhejiang University Medical Center, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. [email protected].; MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Research and Brain-Machine Integration, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. [email protected].; Key Laboratory of Immunity and Inflammatory Diseases of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. [email protected].
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