Receptor (biochemistry)

In biochemistry, a receptor is a protein molecule, embedded in either the plasma membrane or cytoplasm of a cell, to which a mobile signaling (or "signal") molecule may attach. A molecule which binds to a receptor is called a "ligand," and may be a peptide (such as a neurotransmitter), a hormone, a pharmaceutical drug, or a toxin, and when such binding occurs, the receptor goes into a conformational change which ordinarily initiates a cellular response. However, some ligands merely block receptors without inducing any response (e.g. antagonists). Ligand-induced changes in receptors result in physiological changes which constitute the biological activity of the ligands.

Contents

Overview

The shapes and actions of receptors are studied by X-ray crystallography and computer modelling, which have advanced the understanding of drug action at the binding sites of receptors.

Transmembrane receptor:E=extracellular space; I=intracellular space; P=plasma membrane

Depending on their functions and ligands, several types of receptors may be identified:

Binding and activation

Ligand binding is an equilibrium process. Ligands bind to receptors and dissociate from them according to the law of mass action.

:\left[\mathrm{Ligand}\right] \cdot \left[\mathrm{Receptor}\right]\;\;\overset{ K_d}{\rightleftharpoons}\;\;\left[\mbox{Ligand-receptor complex}\right]
(the brackets stand for concentrations)

One measure of how well a molecule fits a receptor is the binding affinity, which is inversely related to the dissociation constant Kd. A good fit corresponds with high affinity and low Kd. The final biological response (e.g. second messenger cascade or muscle contraction), is only achieved after a significant number of receptors are activated.

If the receptor exists in two states (see this picture), then the ligand binding must account for these two receptor states. For a more detailed discussion of two-state binding, which is thought to occur as an activation mechanism in many receptors see this link.

Constitutive activity

A receptor which is capable of producing its biological response in the absence of a bound ligand is said to display "constitutive activity." [1] The constitutive activity of receptors may be blocked by inverse agonist binding. Mutations in receptors that result in increased constitutive activity underlie some inherited diseases, such as precocious puberty (due to mutations in luteinizing hormone receptors) and hyperthyroidism (due to mutations in thyroid-stimulating hormone receptors). Psychostimulants act as inverse agonists on dopamine receptors.

For the use of statistical mechanics in a quantitative study of the ligand-receptor binding affinity, see the comprehensive article[2] on the configuration integral.

Agonists versus antagonists

Not every ligand that binds to a receptor also activates the receptor. The following classes of ligands exist:

Peripheral membrane protein receptors

See also: Peripheral membrane protein

Transmembrane receptors

Main article: Transmembrane receptor

Metabotropic receptors

Main article: Metabotropic receptor

G protein-coupled receptors

These receptors are also known as seven transmembrane receptors or 7TM receptors, because they pass through the membrane seven times.

Receptor tyrosine kinases

Main article: Receptor tyrosine kinase

These receptors detect ligands and propagate signals via the tyrosine kinase of their intracellular domains. This family of receptors includes;

Guanylyl cyclase receptors

Ionotropic receptors

Ionotropic receptors are heteromeric or homomeric oligomers [3]. They are receptors that respond to extracellular ligands and receptors that respond to intracellular ligands.

Extracellular ligands

Receptor Ligand Ion current
Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor Acetylcholine, Nicotine Na+, K+, Ca2+ [3]
Glycine receptor (GlyR) Glycine, Strychnine Cl- > HCO-3 [3]
GABA receptors: GABA-A, GABA-C GABA Cl- > HCO-3 [3]
Glutamate receptors: NMDA receptor, AMPA receptor, and Kainate receptor Glutamate Na+, K+, Ca2+ [3]
5-HT3 receptor Serotonin Na+, K+ [3]
P2X receptors ATP Ca2+, Na+, Mg2+ [3]

Intracellular ligands

Receptor Ligand Ion current
cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channels cGMP (vision), cAMP and cGTP (olfaction) Na+, K+ [3]
IP3 receptor IP3 Ca2+ [3]
Intracellular ATP receptors ATP (closes channel)[3] K+ [3]
Ryanodine receptor Ca2+ Ca2+ [3]

The entire repertoire of human plasma membrane receptors is listed at the Human Plasma Membrane Receptome (http://www.receptome.org).

Intracellular receptors

Main article: Intracellular receptor

Transcription factors

Various

Role in Genetic Disorders

Many genetic disorders involve hereditary defects in receptor genes. Often, it is hard to determine whether the receptor is nonfunctional or the hormone is produced at decreased level; this gives rise to the "pseudo-hypo-" group of endocrine disorders, where there appears to be a decreased hormonal level while in fact it is the receptor that is not responding sufficiently to the hormone.

Receptor Regulation

Cells can increase (upregulate) or decrease (downregulate) the number of receptors to a given hormone or neurotransmitter to alter its sensitivity to this molecule. This is a locally acting feedback mechanism.

Receptor desensitization

Ligand-bound desensitation Vol. 135. No. 5 2130-2136</ref>

In immune system

Main article: Immune receptor

The main receptors in the immune system are pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), Toll-like receptors (TLRs), killer activated and killer inhibitor receptors (KARs and KIRs), complement receptors, Fc receptors, B cell receptors and T cell receptors. [6]

See also

References

  1. Milligan G (December 2003). "Constitutive activity and inverse agonists of G protein-coupled receptors: a current perspective". Mol. Pharmacol. 64 (6): 1271–6. doi:10.1124/mol.64.6.1271. PMID 14645655. 
  2. Vu-Quoc, L., Configuration integral (statistical mechanics), 2008.
  3. 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 Medical Physiology, Boron & Boulpaep, ISBN 1-4160-2328-3, Elsevier Saunders 2005. Updated edition. Page 90.
  4. Gobeil F, et al. (2006) G-protein-coupled receptors signalling at the cell nucleus: an emerging paradigm. Can J Physiol Pharmacol. 2006 Mar-Apr;84(3-4):287-97. PMID 16902576
  5. G. Boulay, L. Chrbtien, D.E. Richard, AND G. Guillemettes. (1994) Short-Term Desensitization of the Angiotensin II Receptor of Bovine Adrenal Glomerulosa Cells Corresponds to a Shift from a High to a Low Affinity State. Endocrinology Vol. 135. No. 5 2130-2136
  6. Lippincott's Illustrated Reviews: Immunology. Paperback: 384 pages. Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; (July 1, 2007). Language: English. ISBN-10: 0781795435. ISBN-13: 978-0781795432. Page 20

External links