Cryo-EM structure of the adenosine A2A receptor coupled to an engineered heterotrimeric G protein

By J. García-Nafría, Yang Lee, X. Bai, B. Carpenter, C. Tate. 2018

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The adenosine A2A receptor (A2AR) is a prototypical G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that couples to the heterotrimeric G protein GS. Here we determine the structure by electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM) of A2AR at pH 7.5 bound to the small molecule agonist NECA and coupled to an engineered heterotrimeric G protein, which contains mini-GS, the βγ subunits and nanobody Nb35. Most regions of the complex have a resolution of ~3.8 Å or better. Comparison with the 3.4 Å resolution crystal structure shows that the receptor and mini-GS are virtually identical and that the density of the side chains and ligand are of comparable quality. However, the cryo-EM density map also indicates regions that are flexible in comparison to the crystal structures, which unexpectedly includes regions in the ligand binding pocket. In addition, an interaction between intracellular loop 1 of the receptor and the β subunit of the G protein was observed.

Subfields: Molecular Biology, Physiology, Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging

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In Molecular Biology

  1. Anima Anandkumar
  2. Weili Nie
  3. Arash Vahdat
  4. Thomas F. Miller
  5. Zhuoran Qiao

In Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging

  1. Arash Vahdat

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