Phe-308 and Phe-312 in transmembrane domain 7 are major sites of alpha 1-adrenergic receptor antagonist binding. Imidazoline agonists bind like antagonists.

Although agonist binding in adrenergic receptors is fairly well understood and involves residues located in transmembrane domains 3 through 6, there are few residues reported that are involved in antagonist binding. In fact, a major docking site for antagonists has never been reported in any G-protein coupled receptor. It has been speculated that antagonist binding is quite diverse depending upon the chemical structure of the antagonist, which can be quite different from agonists. We now report the identification of two phenylalanine residues in transmembrane domain 7 of the alpha(1a)-adrenergic receptor (Phe-312 and Phe-308) that are a major site of antagonist affinity. Mutation of either Phe-308 or Phe-312 resulted in significant losses of affinity (4-1200-fold) for the antagonists prazosin, WB4101, BMY7378, (+) niguldipine, and 5-methylurapidil, with no changes in affinity for phenethylamine-type agonists such as epinephrine, methoxamine, or phenylephrine. Interestingly, both residues are involved in the binding of all imidazoline-type agonists such as oxymetazoline, cirazoline, and clonidine, confirming previous evidence that this class of ligand binds differently than phenethylamine-type agonists and may be more antagonist-like, which may explain their partial agonist properties. In modeling these interactions with previous mutagenesis studies and using the current backbone structure of rhodopsin, we conclude that antagonist binding is docked higher in the pocket closer to the extracellular surface than agonist binding and appears skewed toward transmembrane domain 7.

Hypotension, autonomic failure, and cardiac hypertrophy in transgenic mice overexpressing the alpha 1B-adrenergic receptor.

alpha(1)-Adrenergic receptors (alpha(1A), alpha(1B), and alpha(1D)) are regulators of systemic arterial blood pressure and blood flow. Whereas vasoconstrictory action of the alpha(1A) and alpha(1D) subtypes is thought to be mainly responsible for this activity, the role of the alpha(1B)-adrenergic receptor (alpha(1B)AR) in this process is controversial. We have generated transgenic mice that overexpress either wild type or constitutively active alpha(1B)ARs. Transgenic expression was under the control of the isogenic promoter, thus assuring appropriate developmental and tissue-specific expression. Cardiovascular phenotypes displayed by transgenic mice included myocardial hypertrophy and hypotension. Indicative of cardiac hypertrophy, transgenic mice displayed an increased heart to body weight ratio, which was confirmed by the echocardiographic finding of an increased thickness of the interventricular septum and posterior wall. Functional deficits included an increased isovolumetric relaxation time, a decreased heart rate, and cardiac output. Transgenic mice were hypotensive and exhibited a decreased pressor response. Vasoconstrictory regulation by alpha(1B)AR was absent as shown by the lack of phenylephrine-induced contractile differences between ex vivo mesenteric artery preparations. Plasma epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol levels were also reduced in transgenic mice, suggesting a loss of sympathetic nerve activity. Reduced catecholamine levels together with basal hypotension, bradycardia, reproductive problems, and weight loss suggest autonomic failure, a phenotype that is consistent with the multiple system atrophy-like neurodegeneration that has been reported previously in these mice. These results also suggest that this receptor subtype is not involved in the classic vasoconstrictory action of alpha(1)ARs that is important in systemic regulation of blood pressure.

Overexpression of the alpha1B-adrenergic receptor causes apoptotic neurodegeneration: multiple system atrophy.

Progress toward elucidating the function of alpha1B-adrenergic receptors (alpha1BARs) in the central nervous system has been constrained by a lack of agonists and antagonists with adequate alpha1B-specificity. We have obviated this constraint by generating transgenic mice engineered to overexpress either wild-type or constitutively active alpha1BARs in tissues that normally express the receptor, including the brain. All transgenic lines showed granulovacular neurodegeneration, beginning in alpha1B-expressing domains of the brain and progressing with age to encompass all areas. The degeneration was apoptotic and did not occur in non-transgenic mice. Correspondingly, transgenic mice showed an age-progressive hindlimb disorder that was parkinsonian-like, as demonstrated by rescue of the dysfunction by 3, 4-dihydroxyphenylalanine and considerable dopaminergic-neuronal degeneration in the substantia nigra. Transgenic mice also had a grand mal seizure disorder accompanied by a corresponding dysplasia and neurodegeneration of the cerebral cortex. Both behavioral phenotypes (locomotor impairment and seizure) could be partially rescued with the alpha1AR antagonist terazosin, indicating that alpha1AR signaling participated directly in the pathology. Our results indicate that overstimulation of alpha1BAR leads to apoptotic neurodegeneration with a corresponding multiple system atrophy indicative of Shy-Drager syndrome, a disease whose etiology is unknown.

Binding, partial agonism, and potentiation of alpha(1)-adrenergic receptor function by benzodiazepines: A potential site of allosteric modulation.

Benzodiazepines, a class of drugs commonly used to induce anesthesia and sedation, can attenuate intracellular calcium oscillations evoked by alpha(1)-adrenergic receptor (alpha(1)-AR) stimulation in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells. We postulated a direct action of benzodiazepines in modulating alpha(1)-AR function at the receptor level. Benzodiazepines bound to each of the cloned alpha(1)-AR subtypes (alpha(1a)-, alpha(1b)-, or alpha(1d)-AR) on COS-1 cell membranes transiently transfected to express a single population of alpha(1)-AR subtype. The ability of benzodiazepines to alter alpha(1)-AR signal transduction was investigated by measuring total inositol phosphate generation in rat-1 fibroblast cells, stably transfected to express a single alpha(1)-AR subtype. By themselves, benzodiazepines displayed partial agonism. At alpha(1b)-ARs and alpha(1d)-ARs, the maximal inositol phosphate response to phenylephrine was potentiated almost 2-fold by either midazolam or lorazepam (100 microM). At alpha(1a)-ARs, diazepam, lorazepam, and midazolam all increased the maximal response of the partial agonist clonidine at these receptors, whereas the response to the full agonist phenylephrine was unaltered or inhibited. The potentiating actions of midazolam and its partial agonism at alpha(1)-ARs was blocked by the addition of 1 microM prazosin, an alpha(1)-AR antagonist, and not by a gamma-aminobutyric acid(A)-receptor antagonist. These studies show that benzodiazepines modulate the function of alpha(1)-ARs in vitro, and this is the first report of a potential allosteric site on alpha(1)-ARs that may be therapeutically useful for drug design.

The third extracellular loop of the beta2-adrenergic receptor can modulate receptor/G protein affinity.

Chimeric receptors of the beta2-adrenergic receptor in which the extracellular loops were replaced with the corresponding amino acids of the alpha1a-adrenergic receptor were generated to measure changes in alpha1-antagonist affinity. Although no changes in alpha1-antagonist affinity were measured in the beta2/alpha1a chimeras, a decreased IC50 (10-fold) for agonists as compared with wild type beta2 control was found because of the replacement of the third extracellular loop (EX3). These agonist high affinity changes were because of a greater proportion of high affinity sites (2-fold) that were convertible to low affinity sites with guanosine 5'-3-O-(thio)triphosphate. Adenylate cyclase activity evoked by the EX3 chimera showed commensurate increases in the basal signal transduction as well as the isoproterenol-stimulated potency, suggesting constitutive activity. However, unlike other constitutively active adrenergic receptor mutants in which the mutation causes G protein-independent changes, the mechanism of the EX3 chimera seems to be attributable to a greater ease with which the active ternary complex is formed because of a higher affinity/coupling of the G protein. Although the changes because of EX3 are indirect and most likely affect helical packing, they support an emerging hypothesis that G protein-coupled receptors have evolved their structure-function relationships to constrain the receptor in an inactive state.

Genomic organization and expression of the human alpha 1B-adrenergic receptor.

alpha 1-Adrenergic receptors (ARs) are members of the guanine nucleotide-binding protein-coupled receptor superfamily. The genes for all ARs described thus far are intronless. We report here the cloning and the nucleotide sequence of the gene for the human alpha 1B-AR. It consists of two exons and a single large intron of at least 20 kilobases which interrupts the coding region at the end of the putative sixth transmembrane domain. The deduced amino acid sequence of the encoded receptor has a high degree of homology to the cloned hamster, rat, and dog alpha 1B-ARs. To characterize the encoded protein, a fusion gene constructed by splicing together exon 1 and exon 2 was expressed transiently in COS-1 cells. The transfected gene fusion product resulted in the production of an alpha 1B-AR with ligand binding characteristics indistinguishable from those of the expressed hamster alpha 1B cDNA. Evidence that the human alpha 1B-AR gene we have isolated is indeed transcribed is the finding of similar sized (2.8-kilobase) transcripts in human heart and other tissues by Northern blot analysis when either exon 1 or exon 2 is used as a probe. Moreover, using primers designed to span the exon 1/exon 2 boundary, a polymerase chain reaction product generated from single-stranded DNA prepared from human heart mRNA had the exact size and nucleotide sequence predicted for a transcript in which exon 1 is spliced to exon 2. The 5'-flanking region (924 base pairs (bp)) of exon 1 contains neither a TATA box nor a CAAT box but is high in GC content (70%) and contains several Sp1 binding sites (GC boxes), consistent with promoters described for housekeeping genes. The 5'-untranslated region also contains a putative cyclic AMP response element. Primer extension studies and RNase protection assays suggested that there are several potential transcription start sites in most tissues with a predominant site located 173 bp upstream from the translation start site. The 3'-flanking region contains a putative polyadenylation signal (ATTAAA) 492 bp downstream from the stop codon. The genomic organization of the human alpha 1B-AR with a single large intron interrupting its coding region differs from those of other ARs as well as muscarinic and 5-hydroxy-tryptamine receptors, which are intronless. The location of the intron in the human alpha 1B-AR gene is also unique among those members of the G-protein-coupled receptor family that do possess introns.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Detection of coronary artery reperfusion with creatine kinase-MB determinations during thrombolytic therapy: correlation with acute angiography.

Increases in plasma creatine kinase-MB (MB CK) were correlated with the onset of coronary artery reperfusion determined angiographically in 32 patients with acute myocardial infarction who were treated with recombinant human tissue-type plasminogen activator (rt-PA). Reperfusion occurred in 14 (70%) of 20 patients with left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion and in 8 (73%) of 11 patients with right coronary artery occlusion. One patient had persistent left circumflex coronary artery occlusion. Plasma MB CK levels (radioimmunometric assay) did not increase significantly in patients with persistent occlusion, but increased by a mean (+/- SEM) of 8 +/- 1 and 6 +/- 1 times over pretreatment levels at the end of the infusion in patients with a reperfused left anterior descending and right coronary artery, respectively. When a greater than or equal to 2.5-fold increase in MB CK levels at the end of the rt-PA infusion was taken as evidence of reperfusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery, 13 (93%) of 14 patients with reperfusion and 5 (83%) of 6 with persistent occlusion were correctly identified. When a greater than or equal to 2.2-fold increase in MB CK levels was used to identify right coronary artery reperfusion, seven (89%) of eight patients with persistent occlusion were correctly identified. The sensitivity and specificity of these indexes, derived from and applied to the same patient group, were 91 and 89%, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)