Constitutive signal bias mediated by the human GHRHR splice variant 1
- PMID: 34599099
- PMCID: PMC8501799
- DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2106606118
Constitutive signal bias mediated by the human GHRHR splice variant 1
Abstract
Alternative splicing of G protein-coupled receptors has been observed, but their functions are largely unknown. Here, we report that a splice variant (SV1) of the human growth hormone-releasing hormone receptor (GHRHR) is capable of transducing biased signal. Differing only at the receptor N terminus, GHRHR predominantly activates Gs while SV1 selectively couples to β-arrestins. Based on the cryogenic electron microscopy structures of SV1 in the apo state or GHRH-bound state in complex with the Gs protein, molecular dynamics simulations reveal that the N termini of GHRHR and SV1 differentiate the downstream signaling pathways, Gs versus β-arrestins. As suggested by mutagenesis and functional studies, it appears that GHRH-elicited signal bias toward β-arrestin recruitment is constitutively mediated by SV1. The level of SV1 expression in prostate cancer cells is also positively correlated with ERK1/2 phosphorylation but negatively correlated with cAMP response. Our findings imply that constitutive signal bias may be a mechanism that ensures cancer cell proliferation.
Keywords: cancer; cell proliferation; class B1 GPCR; receptor bias.
Copyright © 2021 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.
Conflict of interest statement
The authors declare no competing interest.
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