Structural Properties of the Human Protease-Activated Receptor 1 Changing by a Strong Antagonist

Abstract

The protease-activated receptor 1 (PAR1), a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) involved in hemostasis, thrombosis, and inflammation, is activated by thrombin or other coagulation proteases. This activation is inhibited by the irreversible antagonist vorapaxar used for anti-platelet therapy. Despite detailed structural and functional information, how vorapaxar binding alters the structural properties of PAR1 to prevent activation is hardly known. Here we apply dynamic single-molecule force spectroscopy to characterize how vorapaxar binding changes the mechanical, kinetic, and energetic properties of human PAR1 under physiologically relevant conditions. We detect structural segments stabilizing PAR1 and quantify their properties in the unliganded and the vorapaxar-bound state. In the presence of vorapaxar, most structural segments increase conformational variability, lifetime, and free energy, and reduce mechanical rigidity. These changes highlight a general trend in how GPCRs are affected by strong antagonists.

Keywords: G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR); antagonist; atomic force microscopy (AFM); conformations; free-energy landscape; ligand binding; protease-activated receptor 1 (PAR1); single-molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS); unfolding; vorapaxar.