Location bias contributes to functionally selective responses of biased CXCR3 agonists.

Publication Type Academic Article
Authors Eiger D, Boldizsar N, Honeycutt C, Gardner J, Kirchner S, Hicks C, Choi I, Pham U, Zheng K, Warman A, Smith J, Zhang J, Rajagopal S
Journal Nat Commun
Volume 13
Issue 1
Pagination 5846
Date Published 10/04/2022
ISSN 2041-1723
Keywords GTP-Binding Proteins, Receptors, CXCR3
Abstract Some G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) ligands act as "biased agonists" that preferentially activate specific signaling transducers over others. Although GPCRs are primarily found at the plasma membrane, GPCRs can traffic to and signal from many subcellular compartments. Here, we determine that differential subcellular signaling contributes to the biased signaling generated by three endogenous ligands of the GPCR CXC chemokine receptor 3 (CXCR3). The signaling profile of CXCR3 changes as it traffics from the plasma membrane to endosomes in a ligand-specific manner. Endosomal signaling is critical for biased activation of G proteins, β-arrestins, and extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK). In CD8 + T cells, the chemokines promote unique transcriptional responses predicted to regulate inflammatory pathways. In a mouse model of contact hypersensitivity, β-arrestin-biased CXCR3-mediated inflammation is dependent on receptor internalization. Our work demonstrates that differential subcellular signaling is critical to the overall biased response observed at CXCR3, which has important implications for drugs targeting chemokine receptors and other GPCRs.
DOI 10.1038/s41467-022-33569-2
PubMed ID 36195635
PubMed Central ID PMC9532441
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