Structural Perspective on Ancient Neuropeptide Y-like System reveals Hallmark Features for Peptide Recognition and Receptor Activation

We report data on the structural dynamics of the neuropeptide Y (NPY) G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) type 1 (Y1R), a typical representative of class A peptide ligand GPCRs, using a combination of solid-state NMR and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. First, the equilibrium dynamics of Y1R were studied using 15N-NMR and quantitative determination of 1H-13C order parameters through the measurement of dipolar couplings in separated-local-field NMR experiments. Order parameters reporting the amplitudes of the molecular motions of the C-H bond vectors of Y1R in DMPC membranes are 0.57 for the Cα sites and lower in the side chains (0.37 for the CH2 and 0.18 for the CH3 groups). Different NMR excitation schemes identify relatively rigid and also dynamic segments of the molecule. In monounsaturated membranes composed of longer lipid chains, Y1R is more rigid, attributed to a higher hydrophobic thickness of the lipid membrane. The presence of an antagonist or NPY has little influence on the amplitude of motions, whereas the addition of agonist and arrestin led to a pronounced rigidization. To investigate Y1R dynamics with site resolution, we conducted extensive all-atom MD simulations of the apo and antagonist-bound state. In each state, three replicas with a length of 20 μs (with one exception, where the trajectory length was 10 μs) were conducted. In these simulations, order parameters of each residue were determined and showed high values in the transmembrane helices, whereas the loops and termini exhibit much lower order. The extracellular helix segments undergo larger amplitude motions than their intracellular counterparts, whereas the opposite is observed for the loops, Helix 8, and termini. Only minor differences in order were observed between the apo and antagonist-bound state, whereas the time scale of the motions is shorter for the apo state. Although these relatively fast motions occurring with correlation times of ns up to a few µs have no direct relevance for receptor activation, it is believed that they represent the prerequisite for larger conformational transitions in proteins.

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Neuropeptide Y and neurovascular control in skeletal muscle and skin

AJP Regulatory Integrative and Comparative Physiology ◽

10.1152/ajpregu.00157.2009 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 297 (3) ◽

pp. R546-R555 ◽

Cited By ~ 35

Author(s):

Gary J. Hodges ◽

Dwayne N. Jackson ◽

Louis Mattar ◽

John M. Johnson ◽

J. Kevin Shoemaker

Keyword(s):

Skeletal Muscle ◽

Neuropeptide Y ◽

Receptor Activation ◽

Female Rats ◽

Whole Body ◽

Vasomotor Tone ◽

Local Cooling ◽

Vascular Conductance ◽

Vasoactive Agent

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a ubiquitous peptide with multiple effects on energy metabolism, reproduction, neurogenesis, and emotion. In addition, NPY is an important sympathetic neurotransmitter involved in neurovascular regulation. Although early studies suggested that the vasoactive effects of NPY were limited to periods of high stress, there is growing evidence for the involvement of NPY on baseline vasomotor tone and sympathetically evoked vasoconstriction in vivo in both skeletal muscle and the cutaneous circulation. In Sprague-Dawley rat skeletal muscle, Y1-receptor activation appears to play an important role in the regulation of basal vascular conductance, and this effect is similar in magnitude to the α1-receptor contribution. Furthermore, under baseline conditions, agonist and receptor-based mechanisms for Y1-receptor-dependent control of vascular conductance in skeletal muscle are greater in male than female rats. In skin, there is Y1-receptor-mediated vasoconstriction during whole body, but not local, cooling. As with the NPY system in muscle, this neural effect in skin differs between males and females and in addition, declines with aging. Intriguingly, skin vasodilation to local heating also requires NPY and is currently thought to be acting via a nitric oxide pathway. These studies are establishing further interest in the role of NPY as an important vasoactive agent in muscle and skin, adding to the complexity of neurovascular regulation in these tissues. In this review, we focus on the role of NPY on baseline vasomotor tone in skeletal muscle and skin and how NPY modulates vasomotor tone in response to stress, with the aim of compiling what is currently known, while highlighting some of the more pertinent questions yet to be answered.

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NEUROPEPTIDE Y Y2 RECEPTOR ACTIVATION PREVENTS METHAMPHETAMINE-INDUCED ENDOTHELIAL ALTERATIONS

10.26226/morressier.5d1a037357558b317a1403e9 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Fabiana Ventura ◽

Ana Paula Silva ◽

Ricardo Alexandre Leitão

Keyword(s):

Neuropeptide Y ◽

Receptor Activation ◽

Y2 Receptor

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Pharmacological and functional similarities of the human neuropeptide Y system in C. elegans challenges phylogenetic views on the FLP/NPR system

Cell Communication and Signaling ◽

10.1186/s12964-019-0436-1 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Miron Mikhailowitsch Gershkovich ◽

Victoria Elisabeth Groß ◽

Anette Kaiser ◽

Simone Prömel

Keyword(s):

Neuropeptide Y ◽

Pharmacological Study ◽

Receptor Activation ◽

Cross Reactivity ◽

Model Organisms ◽

Loss Of Function ◽

C Elegans ◽

Molecular Studies

Abstract Background The neuropeptide Y system affects various processes, among others food intake, and is frequently discussed in the context of targeting obesity. Studies in model organisms are indispensable to enable molecular studies in a physiological context. Although the NPY system is evolutionarily conserved in all bilaterians, in the widely used model Caenorhabditis elegans there is controversy on the existence of NPY orthologous molecules. While the FMRFamide-like peptide (FLP)/Neuropeptide receptor-Resemblance (NPR) system in the nematode was initially suggested to be orthologous to the mammalian NPY system, later global phylogenetic studies indicate that FLP/NPR is protostome-specific. Methods We performed a comprehensive pharmacological study of the FLP/NPR system in transfected cells in vitro, and tested for functional substitution in C. elegans knockout strains. Further, we phenotypically compared different flp loss-of-function strains. Differences between groups were compared by ANOVA and post-hoc testing (Dunnett, Bonferroni). Results Our pharmacological analysis of the FLP/NPR system including formerly functionally uncharacterized NPY-like peptides from C. elegans demonstrates that G protein-coupling and ligand requirements for receptor activation are similar to the human NPY system. In vitro and in vivo analyses show cross-reactivity of NPY with the FLP/NPR system manifesting in the ability of the human GPCRs to functionally substitute FLP/NPR signaling in vivo. The high pharmacological/functional similarities enabled us to identify C. elegans FLP-14 as a key molecule in avoidance behavior. Conclusions Our data demonstrate the pharmacological and functional similarities of human NPY and C. elegans NPR systems. This adds a novel perspective to current phylogenetic reconstructions of the neuropeptide Y system. NPY and NPR receptors are pharmacologically so similar that the human receptors can functionally compensate for the C. elegans ones, suggesting orthologous relationships. This is also underlined by the presence of NPY-like peptides and parallels in peptide requirements for receptor activation. Further, the results presented here highlight the potential of this knowledge for physiological as well as molecular studies on neuropeptide GPCRs such as the NPY system in the future.

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