Molecular mechanisms of human P2X3 receptor channel activation and modulation by divalent cation bound ATP
Mufeng Li,
Yao Wang,
Rahul Banerjee,
Fabrizio Marinelli,
Shai Silberberg,
José D Faraldo-Gómez,
Motoyuki Hattori,
Kenton Jon Swartz
Affiliations
Mufeng Li
Molecular Physiology and Biophysics Section, Porter Neuroscience Research Center, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, United States
Yao Wang
State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Collaborative Innovation Center of Genetics and Development, Multiscale Research Institute for Complex Systems, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Rahul Banerjee
Theoretical Molecular Biophysics Laboratory, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, United States
Theoretical Molecular Biophysics Laboratory, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, United States
Shai Silberberg
Molecular Physiology and Biophysics Section, Porter Neuroscience Research Center, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, United States
State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Collaborative Innovation Center of Genetics and Development, Multiscale Research Institute for Complex Systems, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Molecular Physiology and Biophysics Section, Porter Neuroscience Research Center, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, United States
P2X3 receptor channels expressed in sensory neurons are activated by extracellular ATP and serve important roles in nociception and sensory hypersensitization, making them attractive therapeutic targets. Although several P2X3 structures are known, it is unclear how physiologically abundant Ca2+-ATP and Mg2+-ATP activate the receptor, or how divalent cations regulate channel function. We used structural, computational and functional approaches to show that a crucial acidic chamber near the nucleotide-binding pocket in human P2X3 receptors accommodates divalent ions in two distinct modes in the absence and presence of nucleotide. The unusual engagement between the receptor, divalent ion and the γ-phosphate of ATP enables channel activation by ATP-divalent complex, cooperatively stabilizes the nucleotide on the receptor to slow ATP unbinding and recovery from desensitization, a key mechanism for limiting channel activity. These findings reveal how P2X3 receptors recognize and are activated by divalent-bound ATP, aiding future physiological investigations and drug development.
