Structures and Agonist Binding Sites of Bitter Taste Receptor TAS2R5 Complexed with Gi Protein and Validated against Experiment

J Phys Chem Lett. 2021 Sep 30;12(38):9293-9300. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.1c02162. Epub 2021 Sep 20.

Abstract

Bitter taste receptors (TAS2Rs) function in taste perception, but are also expressed in many extraoral tissues, presenting attractive therapeutic targets. TAS2R5s expressed on human airway smooth muscle cells can induce bronchodilation for treating asthma and other obstructive diseases. But TAS2R5s display low agonist affinity and the lack of a 3D structure has hindered efforts to design more active ligands. We report the structure of the activated TAS2R5 coupled to the Gi protein and bound to each of 19 agonists, using computational approaches. These agonists bind to two polar residues in TM3 that are unique for TAS2R5 among 25 TAS2R subtypes. Our predicted results correlate well with experimental results of agonist-receptor signaling coefficients, providing validation of the predicted structure. These results provide highly specific data on how agonists activate TAS2R5, how modifications of ligand structure alter receptor activation, and a guide to structure-based drug design.

MeSH terms

  • Binding Sites
  • GTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunits, Gi-Go / chemistry*
  • GTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunits, Gi-Go / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Molecular Dynamics Simulation
  • Protein Isoforms / agonists
  • Protein Isoforms / chemistry
  • Protein Isoforms / metabolism
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / agonists*
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / chemistry
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / metabolism
  • Thermodynamics

Substances

  • Protein Isoforms
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled
  • taste receptors, type 2
  • GTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunits, Gi-Go