Yasuda,D., Imura,Y., Ishii,S., Shimizu,T. and Nakamura,M.
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Abstract
Asparagine-linked glycosylation (N-glycosylation) is necessary for the proper folding of secreted and membrane proteins, including G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Thus, many GPCRs possess the N-glycosylation motif Asn-X-Ser/Thr at their N-termini and/or extracellular loops. We found that human GPR109A (hGPR109A) has an N-glycosylation site at Asn17 in the N-terminal atypical motif, Asn17-Cys18-Cys19. Why does hGPR109A require the atypical motif, rather than the typical sequence? Here we show that Asn17-Cys18-Cys19 sequence of hGPR109A possess two biological roles. First, Asn17-X-Cys19 contributed to hGPR109A N-glycosylation by acting as an atypical motif. This modification is required for the normal surface expression of hGPR109A, as evidenced by the reduced surface expression of the non-glycosylated mutants, hGPR109A/N17A, and the finding that hGPR109A/C19S and hGPR109A/C19T, which are N-glycosylated at Asn17, exhibited expression similar to the wild-type receptor. Second, the X-Cys18-Cys19 dicysteine is indispensable for hGPR109A function. Substitution of Cys18 or Cys19 residue to Ala impaired Gi-mediated signaling via hGPR109A. We propose the disulfide bond formations of these residues with other Cys existed in the extracellular loops for the proper folding. Together, these results suggest that the atypical motif Asn17-Cys18-Cys19 is crucial for the normal surface trafficking and function of hGPR109A.
Research papers (academic journals)
