Cofactor-enabled functional expression of fruit fly, honeybee, and bumblebee nicotinic receptors reveals picomolar neonicotinoid actions.

The difficulty of achieving robust functional expression of insect nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) has hampered our understanding of these important molecular targets of globally deployed neonicotinoid insecticides at a time when concerns have grown regarding the toxicity of this chemotype to insect pollinators. We show that thioredoxin-related transmembrane protein 3 (TMX3) is essential to enable robust expression in Xenopus laevis oocytes of honeybee (Apis mellifera) and bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) as well as fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) nAChR heteromers targeted by neonicotinoids and not hitherto robustly expressed. This has enabled the characterization of picomolar target site actions of neonicotinoids, findings important in understanding their toxicity.

Combined effects of mutations in loop C and the loop D-E-G triangle on neonicotinoid interactions with Drosophila Dα1/chicken ß2 hybrid nAChRs.

Neonicotinoid insecticides interact with the orthosteric sites of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) formed at the interfaces of (a) two adjacent α subunits and (b) α and non-α subunits. However, little is known of the detailed contributions of these two orthosteric sites to neonicotinoid actions. We therefore applied voltage-clamp electrophysiology to the Dα1/chicken ß2 hybrid nAChR expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes to explore the agonist actions of imidacloprid and thiacloprid on wild type receptors and following binding site mutations. First, we studied the S221E mutation in loop C of the ACh binding site of the Dα1 subunit. Secondly, we explored the impact of combining this mutation in loop C with others in the loop D-E-G triangle (R57S; E78K; K140T; S221E). The S221E loop C mutation alone reduced the affinity of the neonicotinoids tested, while hardly affecting the concentration-response curve for acetylcholine. Addition of the three R57S; E78K; K140T mutations in the loop D-E-G triangle led to a further reduction in neonicotinoid sensitivity, suggesting that all four binding site loops (C, D, E, G) in the Dα1 subunit, which are located upstream of loop B in the N-terminal, extracellular domain, contribute to the selective actions of neonicotinoid insecticides.

Loops D, E and G in the Drosophila Dα1 subunit contribute to high neonicotinoid sensitivity of Dα1-chicken ß2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Neonicotinoid insecticides interact with the orthosteric site formed at subunit interfaces of insect nicotinic ACh (nACh) receptors. However, their interactions with the orthosteric sites at α-non α and α-α subunit interfaces remain poorly understood. The aim of this study was to elucidate the mechanism of neonicotinoid actions using the Drosophila Dα1-chicken ß2 hybrid nACh receptor. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: Computer models of the (Dα1)3 (ß2)2 nACh receptor in complex with imidacloprid and thiacloprid were generated. Amino acids in the Dα1 subunit were mutated to corresponding amino acids in the human α4 subunit to examine their effects on the agonist actions of neonicotinoids on (Dα1)3 (ß2)2 and (Dα1)2 (ß2)3 nACh receptors expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes using voltage-clamp electrophysiology. KEY RESULTS: The (Dα1)3 (ß2)2 nACh receptor models indicated that amino acids in loops D, E and G probably determine the effects of neonicotinoids. The amino acid mutations tested had minimal effects on the EC50 for ACh. However, the R57S mutation in loop G, although having minimal effect on imidacloprid's actions, reduced the affinity of thiacloprid for the (Dα1)3 (ß2)2 nACh receptor, while scarcely affecting thiacloprid's action on the (Dα1)2 (ß2)3 nACh receptor. Both the K140T and the combined R57S;K140T mutations reduced neonicotinoid efficacy but only for the (Dα1)3 (ß2)2 nACh receptor. Combining the E78K mutation with the R57S;K140T mutations resulted in a selective reduction of thiacloprid's affinity for the (Dα1)3 (ß2)2 nACh receptor. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: These findings suggest that a triangle of residues from loops D, E and G contribute to the selective actions of neonicotinoids on insect-vertebrate hybrid nACh receptors. LINKED ARTICLES: This article is part of a themed section on Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v175.11/issuetoc.