High capacity in G protein-coupled receptor signaling

Amiran Keshelava, Gonzalo P. Solis, Micha Hersch, Alexey Koval, Mikhail Kryuchkov, Sven Bergmann () and Vladimir L. Katanaev ()
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Amiran Keshelava: Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne
Gonzalo P. Solis: Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne
Micha Hersch: Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne
Alexey Koval: Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne
Mikhail Kryuchkov: Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne
Sven Bergmann: Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne
Vladimir L. Katanaev: Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) constitute a large family of receptors that activate intracellular signaling pathways upon detecting specific extracellular ligands. While many aspects of GPCR signaling have been uncovered through decades of studies, some fundamental properties, like its channel capacity—a measure of how much information a given transmission system can reliably transduce—are still debated. Previous studies concluded that GPCRs in individual cells could transmit around one bit of information about the concentration of the ligands, allowing only for a reliable on or off response. Using muscarinic receptor-induced calcium response measured in individual cells upon repeated stimulation, we show that GPCR signaling systems possess a significantly higher capacity. We estimate the channel capacity of this system to be above two, implying that at least four concentration levels of the agonist can be distinguished reliably. These findings shed light on the basic principles of GPCR signaling.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-02868-y

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