How broadly tuned olfactory receptors equally recognize their agonists. Human OR1G1 as a test case
Landry Charlier, Jérémie Topin, Catherine Ronin, Soo-Kyung Kim, William A. Goddard III, Roman Efremov, Jérôme Golebiowski
Abstract
The molecular features that dominate the binding mode of agonists by a broadly tuned olfactory receptor are analyzed through a joint approach combining cell biology, calcium imaging, and molecular modeling. The odorant/receptor affinities, estimated through statistics accrued during molecular dynamics simulations, are in accordance with the experimental ranking. Although in many systems receptors recognize their target through a network of oriented interactions, such as H-bonding, the binding by broadly tuned olfactory receptors is dominated by non-polar terms. We show how such a feature allows chemicals belonging to different chemical families to similarly activate the receptors through compensations of interactions within the binding site.
Group Members
Charlier, L., Topin, J., Ronin, C., Kim, S., III, W. A. G., Efremov, R., & Golebiowski, J. (2012). How broadly tuned olfactory receptors equally recognize their agonists. Human OR1G1 as a test case. *Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences*, *69*(24), 4205-4213. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-012-1116-0