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Papers of the Week


Papers: 12 Jan 2019 - 18 Jan 2019


Pharmacology/Drug Development


2019 Jan 24


Cell


176


3

Structure of a Signaling Cannabinoid Receptor 1-G Protein Complex.

Authors

Krishna Kumar K, Shalev-Benami M, Robertson MJ, Hu H, Banister SD, Hollingsworth SA, Latorraca NR, Kato HE, Hilger D, Maeda S, Weis WI, Farrens DL, Dror RO, Malhotra SV, Kobilka BK, Skiniotis G
Cell. 2019 Jan 24; 176(3):448-458.e12.
PMID: 30639101.

Abstract

Cannabis elicits its mood-enhancing and analgesic effects through the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1), a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that signals primarily through the adenylyl cyclase-inhibiting heterotrimeric G protein G. Activation of CB1-G signaling pathways holds potential for treating a number of neurological disorders and is thus crucial to understand the mechanism of G activation by CB1. Here, we present the structure of the CB1-G signaling complex bound to the highly potent agonist MDMB-Fubinaca (FUB), a recently emerged illicit synthetic cannabinoid infused in street drugs that have been associated with numerous overdoses and fatalities. The structure illustrates how FUB stabilizes the receptor in an active state to facilitate nucleotide exchange in G. The results compose the structural framework to explain CB1 activation by different classes of ligands and provide insights into the G protein coupling and selectivity mechanisms adopted by the receptor.