The Complex Signaling Pathways of the Ghrelin Receptor

Endocrinology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 161 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Morten Adler Hedegaard ◽  
Birgitte Holst
Keyword(s):  
Signaling Pathways ◽  
Peptide Ligands ◽  
Ghrelin Receptor ◽  
Promising Target ◽  
Biased Signaling ◽  
Future Drug ◽  
Ligand Stimulation ◽  
Treatment Of Obesity ◽  
Complex Signaling ◽  
G Protein Coupled

Abstract The ghrelin receptor (GhrR) is known for its strong orexigenic effects in pharmacological doses and has long been considered as a promising target for the treatment of obesity. Several antagonists have been developed to decrease the orexigenic signaling, but none of these have been approved for the treatment of obesity because of adverse effects and lack of efficacy. Heterodimerization and biased signaling are important concepts for G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling, and the influence of these aspects on the GhrR may be important for feeding behavior and obesity. GhrR has been described to heterodimerize with other GPCRs, such as the dopamine receptors 1 and 2, leading to a modulation of the signaling properties of both dimerization partners. Another complicating factor of GhrR-mediated signaling is its ability to activate several different signaling pathways on ligand stimulation. Importantly, some ligands have shown to be “biased” or “functionally selective,” implying that the ligand favors a particular signaling pathway. These unique signaling properties could have a sizeable impact on the physiological functions of the GhrR system. Importantly, heterodimerization may explain why the GhrR is expressed in areas of the brain that are difficult for peptide ligands to access. One possibility is that the purpose of GhrR expression is to modulate the function of other receptors in addition to merely being independently activated. We suggest that a deeper understanding of the signaling properties of the GhrR will facilitate future drug discovery in the areas of obesity and weight management.

scholarly journals G Proteins and GPCRs in C. elegans Development: A Story of Mutual Infidelity

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Matúš ◽  
Simone Prömel
Keyword(s):  
Signaling Pathways ◽  
G Protein ◽  
G Proteins ◽  
Cell Polarity ◽  
Protein Activity ◽  
Independent Manner ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Downstream Effectors ◽  
Complex Signaling ◽  
G Protein Coupled

Many vital processes during C. elegans development, especially the establishment and maintenance of cell polarity in embryogenesis, are controlled by complex signaling pathways. G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), such as the four Frizzled family Wnt receptors, are linchpins in regulating and orchestrating several of these mechanisms. However, despite being GPCRs, which usually couple to G proteins, these receptors do not seem to activate classical heterotrimeric G protein-mediated signaling cascades. The view on signaling during embryogenesis is further complicated by the fact that heterotrimeric G proteins do play essential roles in cell polarity during embryogenesis, but their activity is modulated in a predominantly GPCR-independent manner via G protein regulators such as GEFs GAPs and GDIs. Further, the triggered downstream effectors are not typical. Only very few GPCR-dependent and G protein-mediated signaling pathways have been unambiguously defined in this context. This unusual and highly intriguing concept of separating GPCR function and G-protein activity, which is not restricted to embryogenesis in C. elegans but can also be found in other organisms, allows for essential and multi-faceted ways of regulating cellular communication and response. Although its relevance cannot be debated, its impact is still poorly discussed, and C. elegans is an ideal model to understand the underlying principles.

scholarly journals Biased Ghrelin Receptor Signaling and the Dopaminergic System as Potential Targets for Metabolic and Psychological Symptoms of Anorexia Nervosa

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariam S. Khelifa ◽  
Louise J. Skov ◽  
Birgitte Holst
Keyword(s):  
Anorexia Nervosa ◽  
Complex Disease ◽  
Dopaminergic System ◽  
Psychological Symptoms ◽  
Ghrelin Receptor ◽  
Promising Target ◽  
Gut Hormone ◽  
Biased Signaling ◽  
The Common ◽  
Intracellular Pathways

Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is a complex disease that impairs the metabolic, mental and physiological health of affected individuals in a severe and sometimes lethal way. Many of the common symptoms in AN patients, such as reduced food intake, anxiety, impaired gut motility or overexercising are connected to both the orexigenic gut hormone ghrelin and the dopaminergic system. Targeting the ghrelin receptor (GhrR) to treat AN seems a promising possibility in current research. However, GhrR signaling is highly complex. First, the GhrR can activate four known intracellular pathways Gαq, Gαi/o, Gα12/13 and the recruitment of β-arrestin. Biased signaling provides the possibility to activate or inhibit only one or a subset of the intracellular pathways of a pleiotropic receptor. This allows specific targeting of physiological functions without adverse effects. Currently little is known on how biased signaling could specifically modulate GhrR effects. Second, GhrR signaling has been shown to be interconnected with the dopaminergic system, particularly in the context of AN symptoms. This review highlights that a biased agonist for the GhrR may be a promising target for the treatment of AN, however extensive and systematic translational studies are still needed and the connection to the dopaminergic system has to be taken into account.

scholarly journals The GPCR accessory protein MRAP2 regulates both biased signaling and constitutive activity of the ghrelin receptor GHSR1a

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (613) ◽  
pp. eaax4569 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alix A. J. Rouault ◽  
Luciana K. Rosselli-Murai ◽  
Ciria C. Hernandez ◽  
Luis E. Gimenez ◽  
Gregory G. Tall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Homeostasis ◽  
Accessory Protein ◽  
Constitutive Activity ◽  
Growth Hormone Secretagogue ◽  
Ghrelin Receptor ◽  
Biased Signaling ◽  
Important Regulator ◽  
Treatment Of Obesity

Ghrelin is a hormone secreted by the stomach during fasting periods and acts through its receptor, the growth hormone secretagogue 1a (GHSR1a), to promote food intake and prevent hypoglycemia. As such, GHSR1a is an important regulator of energy and glucose homeostasis and a target for the treatment of obesity. Here, we showed that the accessory protein MRAP2 altered GHSR1a signaling by inhibiting its constitutive activity, as well as by enhancing its G protein–dependent signaling and blocking the recruitment and signaling of β-arrestin in response to ghrelin. In addition, the effects of MRAP2 on the Gαq and β-arrestin pathways were independent and involved distinct regions of MRAP2. These findings may have implications for the regulation of ghrelin function in vivo and the role of MRAP2 in energy homeostasis. They also show that accessory proteins can bias signaling downstream of GPCRs in response to their endogenous agonist.

scholarly journals The Effects of Apelin and Elabela Ligands on Apelin Receptor Distinct Signaling Profiles

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunlu Jiang ◽  
Maocai Yan ◽  
Chunmei Wang ◽  
Qinqin Wang ◽  
Xiaoyu Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Signal Transduction ◽  
Signaling Pathways ◽  
G Protein ◽  
Peptide Ligands ◽  
Erk Activation ◽  
Downstream Signaling ◽  
Apelin Receptor ◽  
Clathrin Adaptor ◽  
And Function ◽  
G Protein Coupled

Apelin and Elabela are endogenous peptide ligands for Apelin receptor (APJ), a widely expressed G protein-coupled receptor. They constitute a spatiotemporal dual ligand system to control APJ signal transduction and function. We investigated the effects of Apelin-13, pGlu1-apelin-13, Apelin-17, Apelin-36, Elabela-21 and Elabela-32 peptides on APJ signal transduction. Whether different ligands are biased to different APJ mediated signal transduction pathways was studied. We observed the different changes of G protein dependent and β-arrestin dependent signaling pathways after APJ was activated by six peptide ligands. We demonstrated that stimulation with APJ ligands resulted in dose-dependent increases in both G protein dependent [cyclic AMP (cAMP), Ca2+ mobilization, and the early phase extracellular related kinase (ERK) activation] and β-arrestin dependent [GRKs, β-arrestin 1, β-arrestin 2, and β2 subunit of the clathrin adaptor AP2] signaling pathways. However, the ligands exhibited distinct signaling profiles. Elabela-32 showed a >1000-fold bias to the β-statin-dependent signaling pathway. These data provide that Apelin-17 was biased toward β-arrestin dependent signaling. Eabela-21 and pGlu1-Apelin-13 exhibited very distinct activities on the G protein dependent pathway. The activity profiles of these ligands could be valuable for the development of drugs with high selectivity for specific APJ downstream signaling pathways.

A compendium of G-protein–coupled receptors and cyclic nucleotide regulation of adipose tissue metabolism and energy expenditure

2020 ◽  
Vol 134 (5) ◽  
pp. 473-512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan P. Ceddia ◽  
Sheila Collins
Keyword(s):  
Adipose Tissue ◽  
Energy Expenditure ◽  
Signaling Pathways ◽  
G Protein ◽  
Uncoupling Protein ◽  
Beige Adipocytes ◽  
Nucleotide Regulation ◽  
Ucp1 Expression ◽  
Thermogenic Adipocytes ◽  
G Protein Coupled

Abstract With the ever-increasing burden of obesity and Type 2 diabetes, it is generally acknowledged that there remains a need for developing new therapeutics. One potential mechanism to combat obesity is to raise energy expenditure via increasing the amount of uncoupled respiration from the mitochondria-rich brown and beige adipocytes. With the recent appreciation of thermogenic adipocytes in humans, much effort is being made to elucidate the signaling pathways that regulate the browning of adipose tissue. In this review, we focus on the ligand–receptor signaling pathways that influence the cyclic nucleotides, cAMP and cGMP, in adipocytes. We chose to focus on G-protein–coupled receptor (GPCR), guanylyl cyclase and phosphodiesterase regulation of adipocytes because they are the targets of a large proportion of all currently available therapeutics. Furthermore, there is a large overlap in their signaling pathways, as signaling events that raise cAMP or cGMP generally increase adipocyte lipolysis and cause changes that are commonly referred to as browning: increasing mitochondrial biogenesis, uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) expression and respiration.

scholarly journals Dominant Enhancers of Egfr in Drosophila melanogaster: Genetic Links Between the Notch and Egfr Signaling Pathways

Genetics ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 147 (3) ◽  
pp. 1139-1153 ◽  
Author(s):  
James V Price ◽  
Edward D Savenye ◽  
David Lum ◽  
Ashton Breitkreutz
Keyword(s):  
Notch Signaling ◽  
Signaling Pathways ◽  
Growth Factor Receptor ◽  
Compound Eyes ◽  
Egfr Signaling ◽  
Wing Vein ◽  
Developmental Context ◽  
Epidermal Growth ◽  
Hypomorphic Alleles ◽  
Complex Signaling

The Drosophila epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a key component of a complex signaling pathway that participates in multiple developmental processes. We have performed and F1 screen for mutations that cause dominant enhancement of wing vein phenotypes associated with mutations in Egfr. With this screen, we have recovered mutations in Hairless (H), vein, groucho (gro), and three apparently novel loci. All of the E(Egfr)s we have identified show dominant interactions in transheterozygous combinations with each other and with alleles of N or Su(H), suggesting that they are involved in cross-talk between the N and EGFR signaling pathways. Further examination of the phenotypic interactions between Egfr, H, and gro revealed that reductions in Egfr activity enhanced both the bristle loss associated with H mutations, and the bristle hyperplasia and ocellar hypertrophy associated with gro mutations. Double mutant combinations of Egfr and gro hypomorphic alleles led to the formation of ectopic compound eyes in a dosage sensitive manner. Our findings suggest that these E(Egfr)s represent links between the Egfr and Notch signaling pathways, and that Egfr activity can either promote or suppress Notch signaling, depending on its developmental context.

Abstract 626: Interaction Between The Ang-(1-7) Receptor Mas And The Bradykinin B2 Receptor: Functional Implications

Hypertension ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 64 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno Cerrato ◽  
Oscar Carretero ◽  
Hernán Grecco ◽  
Mariela M Gironacci
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Binding Assays ◽  
Transfected Cells ◽  
Oligomer Formation ◽  
Early Endosomes ◽  
Functional Implications ◽  
Functional Consequences ◽  
Ligand Stimulation ◽  
G Protein Coupled ◽  
Fluorescence Energy

G protein-coupled receptors (R) exist as homo- or hetero-oligomers, which is essential for receptor function. Since BK actions were blocked by a Mas R antagonist or that Ang-(1-7) responses disappeared when the BK receptor B2 was blocked, we hypothesized that Mas and B2 Rs on the plasma membrane may interact through hetero-oligomer formation. Our aim was to investigate the existence of heteromerization between Mas and B2 Rs by the fluorescence energy transfer (FRET) technique and the functional consequences of this oligomer formation. HEK293T cells were transfected with the coding sequence for Mas R fused to YFP and B2 R fused to CFP. After 48 h cells were incubated in the absence and presence of 1 μM Ang-(1-7) or BK during 15 min and interaction between Mas and B2 R was evaluated by FRET. Functional consequences of this interaction were determined by ligand binding assays. A positive FRET was observed in cells cotransfected with MasR-YFP and B2R-CFP, suggesting that both Mas and B2 Rs interact by a hetero-oligomer formation in a constitutive manner. This hetero-oligomer was not altered by the agonist because FRET was not modified when the cells were stimulated with BK or Ang-(1-7). Ang-(1-7) or BK induced internalization of this hetero-oligomer into early endosomes since MasR-YFP or B2R-CFP colocalized with Rab-5, an early endosome marker, after ligand stimulation. When MasR-YFP plus B2R-CFP transfected cells were stimulated with Ang-(1-7) there was a decrease of 82±6% in Mas R and 58±4% in B2 R present in the plasma membrane. Conversely, when MasR-YFP plus B2R-CFP transfected cells were stimulated with BK there was a decrease of 91±4% in B2 R and 53±3% in Mas R in the plasma membrane. This result clearly demonstrates that in co-expressing cells of both receptors the selective stimulation of one of the GPCRs promotes co-internalization of both receptors. We conclude that Mas and B2 Rs constitutively interact through an hetero-oligomer formation at the plasma membrane which may explain the cross-talk between Ang-(1-7) and BK. This hetero-oligomer is internalized upon stimulation with either Ang-(1-7) or BK, leading to a decrease in the number of Rs present in the membrane.

scholarly journals Endogenous modification of the chemoattractant CXCL5 alters receptor usage and enhances its activity toward neutrophils and monocytes

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (673) ◽  
pp. eaax3053
Author(s):  
Mieke Metzemaekers ◽  
Anneleen Mortier ◽  
Alessandro Vacchini ◽  
Daiane Boff ◽  
Karen Yu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Signaling Pathways ◽  
G Protein ◽  
Chemotactic Activity ◽  
G Protein Signaling ◽  
Protein Signaling ◽  
Agonist Activity ◽  
N Terminus ◽  
G Protein Coupled

The inflammatory human chemokine CXCL5 interacts with the G protein–coupled receptor CXCR2 to induce chemotaxis and activation of neutrophils. CXCL5 also has weak agonist activity toward CXCR1. The N-terminus of CXCL5 can be modified by proteolytic cleavage or deimination of Arg9 to citrulline (Cit), and these modifications can occur separately or together. Here, we chemically synthesized native CXCL5(1–78), truncated CXCL5 [CXCL5(9–78)], and the citrullinated (Cit9) versions and characterized their functions in vitro and in vivo. Compared with full-length CXCL5, N-terminal truncation resulted in enhanced potency to induce G protein signaling and β-arrestin recruitment through CXCR2, increased CXCL5-initiated internalization of CXCR2, and greater Ca2+ signaling downstream of not only CXCR2 but also CXCR1. Citrullination did not affect the capacity of CXCL5 to activate classical or alternative signaling pathways. Administering the various CXCL5 forms to mice revealed that in addition to neutrophils, CXCL5 exerted chemotactic activity toward monocytes and that this activity was increased by N-terminal truncation. These findings were confirmed by in vitro chemotaxis and Ca2+ signaling assays with primary human CD14+ monocytes and human THP-1 monocytes. In vitro and in vivo analyses suggested that CXCL5 targeted monocytes through CXCR1 and CXCR2. Thus, truncation of the N-terminus makes CXCL5 a more potent chemoattractant for both neutrophils and monocytes that acts through CXCR1 and CXCR2.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document