scholarly journals Exploring Ligand Binding to Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide Receptors

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Deganutti ◽  
Silvia Atanasio ◽  
Roxana-Maria Rujan ◽  
Patrick M. Sexton ◽  
Denise Wootten ◽  
...  

Class B1 G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are important targets for many diseases, including cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. All the approved drugs for this receptor family are peptides that mimic the endogenous activating hormones. An understanding of how agonists bind and activate class B1 GPCRs is fundamental for the development of therapeutic small molecules. We combined supervised molecular dynamics (SuMD) and classic molecular dynamics (cMD) simulations to study the binding of the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) to the CGRP receptor (CGRPR). We also evaluated the association and dissociation of the antagonist telcagepant from the extracellular domain (ECD) of CGRPR and the water network perturbation upon binding. This study, which represents the first example of dynamic docking of a class B1 GPCR peptide, delivers insights on several aspects of ligand binding to CGRPR, expanding understanding of the role of the ECD and the receptor-activity modifying protein 1 (RAMP1) on agonist selectivity.

Endocrine ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Gustavo Lima ◽  
Gleuber Henrique Marques-Oliveira ◽  
Thaís Marques da Silva ◽  
Valéria Ernestânia Chaves

2006 ◽  
Vol 14 (25) ◽  
pp. 2484
Author(s):  
Fei-Fei Zhang ◽  
Jian-Zhong Mo ◽  
You-Ling Lv ◽  
Sheng-Liang Chen ◽  
Ming Lv ◽  
...  

1999 ◽  
Vol 276 (6) ◽  
pp. H2063-H2068 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Grewal ◽  
Janis Cuevas ◽  
Gautam Chaudhuri ◽  
Lauren Nathan

It has been demonstrated in reflex-intact animals that the sensitivity to calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is increased during pregnancy and that this action is mediated by sex steroids but not by nitric oxide (NO). We assessed the effects of CGRP in the following groups of anesthetized ganglion-blocked rats: 1) pregnant, 2) ovariectomized, and 3) ovariectomized and treated with estradiol and progesterone. Changes in mean arterial pressure (MAP) were assessed after the administration of varying doses of CGRP. Decreases in MAP after CGRP administration were significantly greater in pregnant rats and ovariectomized rats administered sex steroids than in ovariectomized controls. The CGRP antagonist CGRP8–37 produced a pressor response of similar magnitude in both pregnant and ovariectomized rats. We also assessed the effects of CGRP and the modulating role of NO in the isolated uterine vascular bed preparation. CGRP reduced perfusion pressure to a greater degree in ovariectomized animals treated with sex steroids than in ovariectomized animals. This response was attenuated by pretreatment with an NO synthesis inhibitor. CGRP8–37 produced a similar increase in perfusion pressure in both groups. We conclude that 1) the increased vascular sensitivity observed during pregnancy or after treatment with sex steroids is in part mediated by NO, and 2) CGRP8–37 has a vasoconstrictor action of its own.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 1024 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krystyna Makowska ◽  
Slawomir Gonkowski

Neurons of the enteric nervous system (ENS) may undergo changes during maturation and aging, but knowledge of physiological stimuli-dependent changes in the ENS is still fragmentary. On the other hand, the frequency of many ENS-related intestinal illnesses depends on age and/or sex. The double immunofluorescence technique was used to study the influence of both of these factors on calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP)—positive enteric nervous structures—in the descending colon in young and adult female and castrated male pigs. The influence of age and gender on the number and neurochemical characterization (i.e., co-localization of CGRP with substance P, nitric oxide synthase, galanin, cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript peptide and vesicular acetylcholine transporter) of CGRP-positive nerve structures in the colonic wall has been shown. These observations strongly suggest the participation of CGRP in adaptive processes in the ENS during GI tract maturation. Moreover, although the castration of males may mask some aspects of sex-dependent influences on the ENS, the sex-specific differences in CGRP-positive nervous structures were mainly visible in adult animals. This may suggest that the distribution and exact role of this substance in the ENS depend on the sex hormones.


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