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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 281, Issue 13, 8864-8870, March 31, 2006

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Activation of Family C G-protein-coupled Receptors by the Tripeptide Glutathione^*

From the Departments of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2S2, Canada

The Family C G-protein-coupled receptors include the metabotropic glutamate receptors, the -aminobutyric acid, type B (GABA_B) receptor, the calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR), which participates in the regulation of calcium homeostasis in the body, and a diverse group of sensory receptors that encompass the amino acid-activated fish 5.24 chemosensory receptor, the mammalian T1R taste receptors, and the V2R pheromone receptors. A common feature of Family C receptors is the presence of an amino acid binding site. In this study, a preliminary in silico analysis of the size and shape of the amino acid binding pocket in selected Family C receptors suggested that some members of this family could accommodate larger ligands such as peptides. Subsequent screening and docking experiments identified GSH as a potential ligand or co-ligand at the fish 5.24 receptor and the rat CaSR. These in silico predictions were confirmed using an [³H]GSH radioligand binding assay and a fluorescence-based functional assay performed on wild-type and chimeric receptors. Glutathione was shown to act as an orthosteric agonist at the 5.24 receptor and as a potent enhancer of calcium-induced activation of the CaSR. Within the mammalian receptors, this effect was specific to the CaSR because GSH neither directly activated nor potentiated other Family C receptors including GPRC6A (the putative mammalian homolog of the fish 5.24 receptor), the metabotropic glutamate receptors, or the GABA_B receptor. Our findings reveal a potential new role for GSH and suggest that this peptide may act as an endogenous modulator of the CaSR in the parathyroid gland where this receptor is known to control the release of parathyroid hormone, and in other tissues such as the brain and gastrointestinal tract where the role of the calcium receptor appears to subserve other, as yet unknown, physiological functions.

Received for publication, December 1, 2005 , and in revised form, January 26, 2006.

^* This work was supported by an operating grant (to D. R. H.) and funds (for M. W.) from a Training Grant in Membrane Proteins Linked to Disease from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

The on-line version of this article (available at http://www.jbc.org) contains supplemental Fig. S1.

¹ These two authors contributed equally to the work.

² To whom correspondence should be addressed: Dept. of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toronto, 19 Russell St., Toronto, Ontario M5S 2S2, Canada. Tel.: 416-978-4494; Fax: 416-978-8511; E-mail: d.hampson{at}utoronto.ca.

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