Crystal structure of the ligand-free G-protein-coupled receptor opsin

In the G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) rhodopsin, the inactivating ligand 11-cis-retinal is bound in the seven-transmembrane helix (TM) bundle and is cis/trans isomerized by light to form active metarhodopsin II. With metarhodopsin II decay, all-trans-retinal is released, and opsin is reloaded with new 11-cis-retinal. Here we present the crystal structure of ligand-free native opsin from bovine retinal rod cells at 2.9 ?ngstr?m (A) resolution. Compared to rhodopsin, opsin shows prominent structural changes in the conserved E(D)RY and NPxxY(x)(5,6)F regions and in TM5-TM7. At the cytoplasmic side, TM6 is tilted outwards by 6-7 A, whereas the helix structure of TM5 is more elongated and close to TM6. These structural changes, some of which were attributed to an active GPCR state, reorganize the empty retinal-binding pocket to disclose two openings that may serve the entry and exit of retinal. The opsin structure sheds new light on ligand binding to GPCRs and on GPCR activation.     

Crystal structure of opsin in its G-protein-interacting conformation

Opsin, the ligand-free form of the G-protein-coupled receptor rhodopsin, at low pH adopts a conformationally distinct, active G-protein-binding state known as Ops*. A synthetic peptide derived from the main binding site of the heterotrimeric G protein-the carboxy terminus of the alpha-subunit (GalphaCT)-stabilizes Ops*. Here we present the 3.2 A crystal structure of the bovine Ops*-GalphaCT peptide complex. GalphaCT binds to a site in opsin that is opened by an outward tilt of transmembrane helix (TM) 6, a pairing of TM5 and TM6, and a restructured TM7-helix 8 kink. Contacts along the inner surface of TM5 and TM6 induce an alpha-helical conformation in GalphaCT with a C-terminal reverse turn. Main-chain carbonyl groups in the reverse turn constitute the centre of a hydrogen-bonded network, which links the two receptor regions containing the conserved E(D)RY and NPxxY(x)(5,6)F motifs. On the basis of the Ops*-GalphaCT structure and known conformational changes in Galpha, we discuss signal transfer from the receptor to the G protein nucleotide-binding site.     

Molecular mechanism of vectorial proton translocation by bacteriorhodopsin

Bacteriorhodopsin, a membrane protein with a relative molecular mass of 27,000, is a light driven pump which transports protons across the cell membrane of the halophilic organism Halobacterium salinarum. The chromophore retinal is covalently attached to the protein via a protonated Schiff base. Upon illumination, retinal is isomerized. The Schiff base then releases a proton to the extracellular medium, and is subsequently reprotonated from the cytoplasm. An atomic model for bacteriorhodopsin was first determined by Henderson et al, and has been confirmed and extended by work in a number of laboratories in the last few years. Here we present an atomic model for structural changes involved in the vectorial, light-driven transport of protons by bacteriorhodopsin. A 'switch' mechanism ensures the vectorial nature of pumping. First, retinal unbends, triggered by loss of the Schiff base proton, and second, a protein conformational change occurs. This conformational change, which we have determined by electron crystallography at atomic (3.2 A in-plane and 3.6 A vertical) resolution, is largely localized to helices F and G, and provides an 'opening' of the protein to protons on the cytoplasmic side of the membrane.     

The structural basis of agonist-induced activation in constitutively active rhodopsin

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) comprise the largest family of membrane proteins in the human genome and mediate cellular responses to an extensive array of hormones, neurotransmitters and sensory stimuli. Although some crystal structures have been determined for GPCRs, most are for modified forms, showing little basal activity, and are bound to inverse agonists or antagonists. Consequently, these structures correspond to receptors in their inactive states. The visual pigment rhodopsin is the only GPCR for which structures exist that are thought to be in the active state. However, these structures are for the apoprotein, or opsin, form that does not contain the agonist all-trans retinal. Here we present a crystal structure at a resolution of 3 ? for the constitutively active rhodopsin mutant Glu 113 Gln in complex with a peptide derived from the carboxy terminus of the α-subunit of the G protein transducin. The protein is in an active conformation that retains retinal in the binding pocket after photoactivation. Comparison with the structure of ground-state rhodopsin suggests how translocation of the retinal β-ionone ring leads to a rotation of transmembrane helix 6, which is the critical conformational change on activation. A key feature of this conformational change is a reorganization of water-mediated hydrogen-bond networks between the retinal-binding pocket and three of the most conserved GPCR sequence motifs. We thus show how an agonist ligand can activate its GPCR.     

High-resolution X-ray structure of an early intermediate in the bacteriorhodopsin photocycle.

Bacteriorhodopsin is the simplest known photon-driven proton pump and as such provides a model for the study of a basic function in bioenergetics. Its seven transmembrane helices encompass a proton translocation pathway containing the chromophore, a retinal molecule covalently bound to lysine 216 through a protonated Schiff base, and a series of proton donors and acceptors. Photoisomerization of the all-trans retinal to the 13-cis configuration initiates the vectorial translocation of a proton from the Schiff base, the primary proton donor, to the extracellular side, followed by reprotonation of the Schiff base from the cytoplasm. Here we describe the high-resolution X-ray structure of an early intermediate in the photocycle of bacteriorhodopsin, which is formed directly after photoexcitation. A key water molecule is dislocated, allowing the primary proton acceptor, Asp 85, to move. Movement of the main-chain Lys 216 locally disrupts the hydrogen-bonding network of helix G, facilitating structural changes later in the photocycle.     

视网膜振荡电位异常改变的临床分析

目的 对多种眼科疾病进行视网膜振荡电位(Ops)的检测及分析，探讨了视网膜振荡电位在眼科多种疾病的诊断及评估方面的临床意义。方法对261例412只眼进行Ops检测，对Ops的检测结果进行分析。结果发现糖尿病及糖尿病性视网膜病变、视网膜中央及分支静脉阻塞、高度近视及高度近视性视网膜病变、视网膜色素变性等均有不同程度的Ops总幅值改变。同时发现，老年性黄斑变性、老年性白内障、弱视、中心性浆液性视网膜脉络膜病变及轻、中度近视者，则Ops总幅值无明显改变。结论视网膜Ops的检测是临床眼科诊断及评估的有力手段。     

Structure of a nanobody-stabilized active state of the β(2) adrenoceptor

G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) exhibit a spectrum of functional behaviours in response to natural and synthetic ligands. Recent crystal structures provide insights into inactive states of several GPCRs. Efforts to obtain an agonist-bound active-state GPCR structure have proven difficult due to the inherent instability of this state in the absence of a G protein. We generated a camelid antibody fragment (nanobody) to the human β(2) adrenergic receptor (β(2)AR) that exhibits G protein-like behaviour, and obtained an agonist-bound, active-state crystal structure of the receptor-nanobody complex. Comparison with the inactive β(2)AR structure reveals subtle changes in the binding pocket; however, these small changes are associated with an 11?? outward movement of the cytoplasmic end of transmembrane segment 6, and rearrangements of transmembrane segments 5 and 7 that are remarkably similar to those observed in opsin, an active form of rhodopsin. This structure provides insights into the process of agonist binding and activation.     

捕食线虫真菌Drechslerella dactyloides Gα基因克隆及系统发育分析

 运用简并PCR和DNA Walking技术首次从捕食线虫真菌(Drechslerella dactyloides)中克隆了Gα的编码全长基因Dga1.该基因全长1 420 bp,编码356个氨基酸,推测其编码蛋白的分子质量和pI值分别为40.84 ku和6.68.通过同源比对和系统发育分析,表明Dgal属于真菌Gα的第3类群,推测Dgal具有激活腺苷酸环化酶的作用.     

手性希夫碱的合成及其催化不对称硅氢插入反应的研究

合成了结构中同时含有氮和磷的新型手性希夫碱,将希夫碱与金属配合物结合催化α-苯基-α-重氮乙酸甲酯与硅氢化合物的不对称硅氢插入反应,考察了不同的金属铜配合物和希夫碱对反应的影响,探讨了手性希夫碱／金属配合物催化体系对不同硅氢底物的适应性．当采用希夫碱4与Cu（CH3CN）4PF6的催化体系催化α-苯基-α-重氮乙酸甲酯与二甲基苯基硅烷的不对称硅氢插入反应时,反应具有优良的产率（100％）和对映选择性（76％）．     

2-巯基吡啶与钴(Ⅱ)、锰(Ⅱ)螯合物的合成及表征

以2—巯基吡啶为配体的钴(Ⅱ)、锰(Ⅱ)二种螯合物．经EDTA络合滴定分析、热重分析、红外光谱分析，确认了螯合物的组成与结构．结果表明：配体2—巯基吡啶是以S，N两原子为配体原子，与Mn(Ⅱ)以2：1、与Co(Ⅱ)以3：1的配比形成中性螯合物。     

Structural alterations for proton translocation in the M state of wild-type bacteriorhodopsin

The transport of protons across membranes is an important process in cellular bioenergetics. The light-driven proton pump bacteriorhodopsin is the best-characterized protein providing this function. Photon energy is absorbed by the chromophore retinal, covalently bound to Lys 216 via a protonated Schiff base. The light-induced all-trans to 13-cis isomerization of the retinal results in deprotonation of the Schiff base followed by alterations in protonatable groups within bacteriorhodopsin. The changed force field induces changes, even in the tertiary structure, which are necessary for proton pumping. The recent report of a high-resolution X-ray crystal structure for the late M intermediate of a mutant bacteriorhopsin (with Asp 96-->Asn) displays the structure of a proton pathway highly disturbed by the mutation. To observe an unperturbed proton pathway, we determined the structure of the late M intermediate of wild-type bacteriorhodopsin (2.25 A resolution). The cytoplasmic side of our M2 structure shows a water net that allows proton transfer from the proton donor group Asp 96 towards the Schiff base. An enlarged cavity system above Asp 96 is observed, which facilitates the de- and reprotonation of this group by fluctuating water molecules in the last part of the cycle.     

Crystal structure of squid rhodopsin

Invertebrate phototransduction uses an inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate signalling cascade in which photoactivated rhodopsin stimulates a G(q)-type G protein, that is, a class of G protein that stimulates membrane-bound phospholipase Cbeta. The same cascade is used by many G-protein-coupled receptors, indicating that invertebrate rhodopsin is a prototypical member. Here we report the crystal structure of squid (Todarodes pacificus) rhodopsin at 2.5 A resolution. Among seven transmembrane alpha-helices, helices V and VI extend into the cytoplasmic medium and, together with two cytoplasmic helices, they form a rigid protrusion from the membrane surface. This peculiar structure, which is not seen in bovine rhodopsin, seems to be crucial for the recognition of G(q)-type G proteins. The retinal Schiff base forms a hydrogen bond to Asn 87 or Tyr 111; it is far from the putative counterion Glu 180. In the crystal, a tight association is formed between the amino-terminal polypeptides of neighbouring monomers; this intermembrane dimerization may be responsible for the organization of hexagonally packed microvillar membranes in the photoreceptor rhabdom.     

Induction of photosensitivity by heterologous expression of melanopsin

Melanopsin has been proposed to be the photopigment of the intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs); these photoreceptors of the mammalian eye drive circadian and pupillary adjustments through direct projections to the brain. Their action spectrum (lambda(max) approximately 480 nm) implicates an opsin and melanopsin is the only opsin known to exist in these cells. Melanopsin is required for ipRGC photosensitivity and for behavioural photoresponses that survive disrupted rod and cone function. Heterologously expressed melanopsin apparently binds retinaldehyde and mediates photic activation of G proteins. However, its amino-acid sequence differs from vertebrate photosensory opsins and some have suggested that melanopsin may be a photoisomerase, providing retinoid chromophore to an unidentified opsin. To determine whether melanopsin is a functional sensory photopigment, here we transiently expressed it in HEK293 cells that stably expressed TRPC3 channels. Light triggered a membrane depolarization in these cells and increased intracellular calcium. The light response resembled that of ipRGCs, with almost identical spectral sensitivity (lambda(max) approximately 479 nm). The phototransduction pathway included Gq or a related G protein, phospholipase C and TRPC3 channels. We conclude that mammalian melanopsin is a functional sensory photopigment, that it is the photopigment of ganglion-cell photoreceptors, and that these photoreceptors may use an invertebrate-like phototransduction cascade.     

关于态射的一个注记

设G是群,end（G）表示g的自同态组成的集合。在这篇注记中,我们证明了：若G是有限群,则α∈end（G）是态射当且仅当G=Gα×Ker（α）;并讨论了G为无限群时的一个结论。进一步,给出了α∈end（G）为态射的一些性质。     

Relation of an array of early-differentiating cones to the photoreceptor mosaic in the primate retina.

The retina of diurnal primates, including humans, contains a reiterative mosaic of red-, green- and blue-sensitive cones whose visual pigments are maximally sensitive to long, middle or short wavelengths, respectively. Although the distribution of the cone subtypes in the adult rhesus monkey has been quantified using opsin-specific antisera, the mechanism for the phenotypic specification of the cone subtypes and the establishment of their ratios in the retinal mosaic remain unknown. Here we present immunocytochemical evidence that a subset of cones (about 10%) express their cell-specific opsin two to three weeks before the surrounding cones. Remarkably, these precocious cones are evenly stationed throughout undifferentiated regions of the retinal surface from several weeks after their last mitotic division, and at least one month before the formation of their synapses with bipolar and horizontal cells. Use of confocal laser microscopy reveals that the inner segments of immunolabelled and surrounding unlabelled cones are transiently in apposition with one another, enabling surface mediated interactions to occur during this period. We suggest that the early maturing cones induce neighbouring undifferentiated cones to express an appropriate opsin phenotype, and therefore constitute a 'protomap' for the emergence of the species-specific retinal mosaic.     

Photoreceptor-specific degeneration caused by tunicamycin

The antibiotic tunicamycin inhibits the biosynthesis of N-acetylglucosaminylpyrophosphoryl polyisoprenol, a key intermediate in the formation of the asparagine-linked oligosaccharides of glycoproteins. The effects of tunicamycin have been studied in various biological systems, primarily with the aim of elucidating the role of the carbohydrate moieties in the cellular function of glycoproteins. Rhodopsin, the visual pigment of retinal rod photoreceptor cells, is a membrane glycoprotein which consists of a single polypeptide chain (opsin) to which a chromophoric prosthetic group (II-cis-retinaldehyde) and two asparagine-linked oligosaccharide chains are covalently attached. The glycosylation of opsin can be blocked with tunicamycin in vitro in conditions where polypeptide synthesis is only slightly decreased. We have reported that tunicamycin can disrupt the normal assembly of rod outer segment membranes in vitro without significantly inhibiting the biosynthesis or intracellular transport of opsin. Here we report that intraocular injection of tunicamycin produces a photoreceptor-specific degeneration characterized by progressive shortening of rod outer segment, decreased membrane assembly, and eventual photoreceptor cell death.     

Crystal structure of the β2 adrenergic receptor-Gs protein complex

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are responsible for the majority of cellular responses to hormones and neurotransmitters as well as the senses of sight, olfaction and taste. The paradigm of GPCR signalling is the activation of a heterotrimeric GTP binding protein (G protein) by an agonist-occupied receptor. The β(2) adrenergic receptor (β(2)AR) activation of Gs, the stimulatory G protein for adenylyl cyclase, has long been a model system for GPCR signalling. Here we present the crystal structure of the active state ternary complex composed of agonist-occupied monomeric β(2)AR and nucleotide-free Gs heterotrimer. The principal interactions between the β(2)AR and Gs involve the amino- and carboxy-terminal α-helices of Gs, with conformational changes propagating to the nucleotide-binding pocket. The largest conformational changes in the β(2)AR include a 14 ? outward movement at the cytoplasmic end of transmembrane segment 6 (TM6) and an α-helical extension of the cytoplasmic end of TM5. The most surprising observation is a major displacement of the α-helical domain of Gαs relative to the Ras-like GTPase domain. This crystal structure represents the first high-resolution view of transmembrane signalling by a GPCR.     

带有巯基的席夫碱在金电极表面的自组装成膜

利用自组装技术,将带有巯基的席夫碱成功地自组装到Au电极表面,并利用循环伏安和交流阻抗电化学技术,对自组装膜的性质进行了表征。结果显示,单独用席夫碱成膜,由于分子结构的不规则性,形成的膜较疏松;采用二次成膜的方法,制备了由席夫碱和十八硫醇构成致密的复合膜,并通过实验和计算证明复合膜中的席夫碱呈线形方式排列,并且未被十八硫醇所取代。通过自组装膜,用电化学方法深入地研究了席夫碱中的电子传输机理、席夫碱与金属离子的络合机理、席夫碱在生物体中的活性等问题。     

Banach空间中的广义m—增生映象

1　ＰｒｅｌｉｍｉｎａｒｉｅｓＴｈｒｏｕｇｈｏｕｔｔｈｉｓｐａｐｅｒ ,ｌｅｔＥｂｅａｒｅａｌＢａｎａｃｈｓｐａｃｅｗｉｔｈｄｕａｌｓｐａｃｅＥ ,2 Ｅ ｄｅｎｏｔｅｔｈｅｆａｍｉｌｙｏｆａｌｌｔｈｅｎｏｎｅｍｐｔｙｓｕｂｓｅｔｓｏｆＥ ,ａｎｄ〈· ,·〉ｄｅｎｏｔｅｔｈｅｄｕａｌｐａｉｒｂｅｔｗｅｅｎＥａｎｄＥ .ＬｅｔＡ :Ｅ → 2 Ｅｂｅａｍｕｌｔｉｖａｌｕｅｄｍａｐｐｉｎｇ .ＤｅｆｉｎｅｔｈｅｎｏｒｍａｌｉｚｅｄｄｕａｌｉｔｙｍａｐｐｉｎｇＪ :Ｅ→ 2 Ｅ ｂｙＪ(ｘ) ={ ｆ∈Ｅ :〈ｘ ,ｆ〉 =‖ｆ‖ ·‖ｘ…     

Development of the signal in sensory rhodopsin and its transfer to the cognate transducer

The microbial phototaxis receptor sensory rhodopsin II (NpSRII, also named phoborhodopsin) mediates the photophobic response of the haloarchaeon Natronomonas pharaonis by modulating the swimming behaviour of the bacterium. After excitation by blue-green light NpSRII triggers, by means of a tightly bound transducer protein (NpHtrII), a signal transduction chain homologous with the two-component system of eubacterial chemotaxis. Two molecules of NpSRII and two molecules of NpHtrII form a 2:2 complex in membranes as shown by electron paramagnetic resonance and X-ray structure analysis. Here we present X-ray structures of the photocycle intermediates K and late M (M2) explaining the evolution of the signal in the receptor after retinal isomerization and the transfer of the signal to the transducer in the complex. The formation of late M has been correlated with the formation of the signalling state. The observed structural rearrangements allow us to propose the following mechanism for the light-induced activation of the signalling complex. On excitation by light, retinal isomerization leads in the K state to a rearrangement of a water cluster that partly disconnects two helices of the receptor. In the transition to late M the changes in the hydrogen bond network proceed further. Thus, in late M state an altered tertiary structure establishes the signalling state of the receptor. The transducer responds to the activation of the receptor by a clockwise rotation of about 15 degrees of helix TM2 and a displacement of this helix by 0.9 A at the cytoplasmic surface.