Identification of an Inhibitory Alcohol Binding Site in GABAA ρ1 Receptors.

Alcohols inhibit γ-aminobutyric acid type A ρ1 receptor function. After introducing mutations in several positions of the second transmembrane helix in ρ1, we studied the effects of ethanol and hexanol on GABA responses using two-electrode voltage clamp electrophysiology in Xenopus laevis oocytes. The 6' mutations produced the following effects on ethanol and hexanol responses: small increase or no change (T6'M), increased inhibition (T6'V), and small potentiation (T6'Y and T6'F). The 5' mutations produced mainly increases in hexanol inhibition. Other mutations produced small (3' and 9') or no changes (2' and L277 in the first transmembrane domain) in alcohol effects. These results suggest an inhibitory alcohol binding site near the 6' position. Homology models of ρ1 receptors based on the X-ray structure of GluCl showed that the 2', 5', 6', and 9' residues were easily accessible from the ion pore, with 5' and 6' residues from neighboring subunits facing each other; L3' and L277 also faced the neighboring subunit. We tested ethanol through octanol on single and double mutated ρ1 receptors [ρ1(I15'S), ρ1(T6'Y), and ρ1(T6'Y,I15'S)] to further characterize the inhibitory alcohol pocket in the wild-type ρ1 receptor. The pocket can only bind relatively short-chain alcohols and is eliminated by introducing Y in the 6' position. Replacing the bulky 15' residue with a smaller side chain introduced a potentiating binding site, more sensitive to long-chain than to short-chain alcohols. In conclusion, the net alcohol effect on the ρ1 receptor is determined by the sum of its actions on inhibitory and potentiating sites.

Functional validation of virtual screening for novel agents with general anesthetic action at ligand-gated ion channels.

GABA(A) receptors play a crucial role in the actions of general anesthetics. The recently published crystal structure of the general anesthetic propofol bound to Gloeobacter violaceus ligand-gated ion channel (GLIC), a bacterial homolog of GABA(A) receptors, provided an opportunity to explore structure-based ligand discovery for pentameric ligand-gated ion channels (pLGICs). We used molecular docking of 153,000 commercially available compounds to identify molecules that interact with the propofol binding site in GLIC. In total, 29 compounds were selected for functional testing on recombinant GLIC, and 16 of these compounds modulated GLIC function. Active compounds were also tested on recombinant GABA(A) receptors, and point mutations around the presumed binding pocket were introduced into GLIC and GABA(A) receptors to test for binding specificity. The potency of active compounds was only weakly correlated with properties such as lipophilicity or molecular weight. One compound was found to mimic the actions of propofol on GLIC and GABA(A), and to be sensitive to mutations that reduce the action of propofol in both receptors. Mutant receptors also provided insight about the position of the binding sites and the relevance of the receptor's conformation for anesthetic actions. Overall, the findings support the feasibility of the use of virtual screening to discover allosteric modulators of pLGICs, and suggest that GLIC is a valid model system to identify novel GABA(A) receptor ligands.

Structural basis for potentiation by alcohols and anaesthetics in a ligand-gated ion channel.

Ethanol alters nerve signalling by interacting with proteins in the central nervous system, particularly pentameric ligand-gated ion channels. A recent series of mutagenesis experiments on Gloeobacter violaceus ligand-gated ion channel, a prokaryotic member of this family, identified a single-site variant that is potentiated by pharmacologically relevant concentrations of ethanol. Here we determine crystal structures of the ethanol-sensitized variant in the absence and presence of ethanol and related modulators, which bind in a transmembrane cavity between channel subunits and may stabilize the open form of the channel. Structural and mutagenesis studies defined overlapping mechanisms of potentiation by alcohols and anaesthetics via the inter-subunit cavity. Furthermore, homology modelling show this cavity to be conserved in human ethanol-sensitive glycine and GABA(A) receptors, and to involve residues previously shown to influence alcohol and anaesthetic action on these proteins. These results suggest a common structural basis for ethanol potentiation of an important class of targets for neurological actions of ethanol.