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XB-ART-48430
J Biol Chem 2013 Oct 18;28842:30373-30386. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M113.494583.
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Cysteine substitutions define etomidate binding and gating linkages in the α-M1 domain of γ-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptors.

Stewart DS , Hotta M , Li GD , Desai R , Chiara DC , Olsen RW , Forman SA .


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Etomidate is a potent general anesthetic that acts as an allosteric co-agonist at GABAA receptors. Photoreactive etomidate derivatives labeled αMet-236 in transmembrane domain M1, which structural models locate in the β+/α- subunit interface. Other nearby residues may also contribute to etomidate binding and/or transduction through rearrangement of the site. In human α1β2γ2L GABAA receptors, we applied the substituted cysteine accessibility method to α1-M1 domain residues extending from α1Gln-229 to α1Gln-242. We used electrophysiology to characterize each mutant's sensitivity to GABA and etomidate. We also measured rates of sulfhydryl modification by p-chloromercuribenzenesulfonate (pCMBS) with and without GABA and tested if etomidate blocks modification of pCMBS-accessible cysteines. Cys substitutions in the outer α1-M1 domain impaired GABA activation and variably affected etomidate sensitivity. In seven of eight residues where pCMBS modification was evident, rates of modification were accelerated by GABA co-application, indicating that channel activation increases water and/or pCMBS access. Etomidate reduced the rate of modification for cysteine substitutions at α1Met-236, α1Leu-232 and α1Thr-237. We infer that these residues, predicted to face β2-M3 or M2 domains, contribute to etomidate binding. Thus, etomidate interacts with a short segment of the outer α1-M1 helix within a subdomain that undergoes significant structural rearrangement during channel gating. Our results are consistent with in silico docking calculations in a homology model that orient the long axis of etomidate approximately orthogonal to the transmembrane axis.

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Species referenced: Xenopus laevis
Genes referenced: gabarap

References [+] :
Akk, Mutations of the GABA-A receptor alpha1 subunit M1 domain reveal unexpected complexity for modulation by neuroactive steroids. 2008, Pubmed