Phosphorylation patterns in the AT1R C-terminal tail specify distinct downstream signaling pathways

Sci Signal. 2024 Aug 13;17(849):eadk5736. doi: 10.1126/scisignal.adk5736. Epub 2024 Aug 13.

Abstract

Different ligands stabilize specific conformations of the angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R) that direct distinct signaling cascades mediated by heterotrimeric G proteins or β-arrestin. These different active conformations are thought to engage distinct intracellular transducers because of differential phosphorylation patterns in the receptor C-terminal tail (the "barcode" hypothesis). Here, we identified the AT1R barcodes for the endogenous agonist AngII, which stimulates both G protein activation and β-arrestin recruitment, and for a synthetic biased agonist that only stimulates β-arrestin recruitment. The endogenous and β-arrestin-biased agonists induced two different ensembles of phosphorylation sites along the C-terminal tail. The phosphorylation of eight serine and threonine residues in the proximal and middle portions of the tail was required for full β-arrestin functionality, whereas phosphorylation of the serine and threonine residues in the distal portion of the tail had little influence on β-arrestin function. Similarly, molecular dynamics simulations showed that the proximal and middle clusters of phosphorylated residues were critical for stable β-arrestin-receptor interactions. These findings demonstrate that ligands that stabilize different receptor conformations induce different phosphorylation clusters in the C-terminal tail as barcodes to evoke distinct receptor-transducer engagement, receptor trafficking, and signaling.

MeSH terms

  • Angiotensin II / metabolism
  • HEK293 Cells
  • Humans
  • Molecular Dynamics Simulation
  • Phosphorylation
  • Receptor, Angiotensin, Type 1* / chemistry
  • Receptor, Angiotensin, Type 1* / genetics
  • Receptor, Angiotensin, Type 1* / metabolism
  • Signal Transduction*
  • beta-Arrestins* / genetics
  • beta-Arrestins* / metabolism

Substances

  • Receptor, Angiotensin, Type 1
  • beta-Arrestins
  • Angiotensin II