Molecular Basis for G-protein-Coupled Receptor (GPCR) Activation and Biased Signalling at the Platelet Thrombin Receptor Proteinase Activated Receptor-4 (PAR4)

Abstract

Proteinase Activated Receptor-4 (PAR4) is a member of the proteolytically-activated PAR family of G-Protein-coupled Receptors (GPCRs). PARs are activated following proteolytic cleavage of the receptor N-terminus by enzymes such as thrombin, trypsin, and cathepsin-G to reveal the receptor-activating motif termed the tethered ligand. The tethered ligand binds intramolecularly to the receptor and triggers receptor signalling and cellular responses. In spite of this unusual mechanism of activation, PARs are fundamentally peptide receptors and can also be activated by exogenous application of short synthetic peptides derived from the tethered ligand sequence. In order to gain a better understanding of the molecular basis for PAR4-dependent signalling, we examined signalling responses to a library of peptides derived from the canonical PAR4 activating peptide (PAR4-AP), AYPGKF-NH2. We examined peptide residues involved in activation of the Gq/11-coupled calcium signalling pathway, {beta}-arrestin recruitment, and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway activation. The peptide N-methyl-alanine-YPGKF-NH2 was identified as a compound that is a poor activator of PAR4-dependent calcium signalling but was fully competent in recruiting {beta}-arrestin-1 and -2. In order to gain a better understanding of the ligand-binding pocket, we used in silico docking to identify key residues involved in PAR4 interaction with AYPGKF-NH2. The predicted interactions were verified by site-directed mutagenesis and analysis of calcium signalling and {beta}-arrestin-1/-2 recruitment following proteolytic activation (with thrombin) or activation with the synthetic agonist peptide (AYPGKF-NH2). We determined that a key extracellular loop-2 aspartic acid residue (Asp230) is critical for signalling following both proteolytic and peptide activation of PAR4. Finally, we investigated platelet aggregation in response to AyPGKF-NH2 (a peptide with D-tyrosine in position two) which is unable to activate calcium signalling, and AYPGRF-NH2 a peptide that is equipotent to the parental peptide AYPGKF-NH2 for calcium signalling but is more potent at recruiting {beta}-arrestins. We found that AyPGKF-NH2 fails to activate platelets while AYPGRF-NH2 causes a platelet aggregation response that is greater than that seen with the parental peptide and is comparable to that seen with thrombin stimulation. Overall, these studies uncover molecular determinants for agonist binding and signalling through a non-canonically activated GPCR and provide a template for development of small molecule modulators of PAR4.