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Prostaglandin E receptor EP3D is coupled to stimulation and inhibition of adenylate cyclase and stimulation of phosphatidylinositol turnover. To examine the roles of the interaction of the carboxylic acid of an agonist and its putative binding site, the arginine residue in the seventh transmembrane domain of EP3D, in receptor-G protein coupling, we have mutated the arginine to the non-charged glutamine. TEI-3356, an EP3 agonist with a negatively charged the carboxylic acid, and TEI-4343, a non-charged methylester of TEI-3356, inhibited the forskolin-stimulated cAMP formation in the same concentration-dependent manner, but stimulation of basal cAMP formation and Ca2+ mobilization by TEI-4343 was much lower than that by TEI-3356. In the mutant receptor, both TEI-3356 and TEI-4343 showed the inhibition of forskolin-stimulated cAMP formation in the same profile, but did not stimulate basal cAMP formation or Ca2+ mobilization. These findings suggest that the interaction between the carboxylic acid of agonist and the arginine residue is important in signal transduction for adenylate cyclase stimulation and Ca2+ mobilization but not for adenylate cyclase inhibition.

We recently cloned the mouse prostaglandin (PG) E receptor EP3 subtype that is coupled to adenylate cyclase inhibition through Gi and identified two isoforms of EP3, EP3 alpha and EP3 beta, which are produced through alternative splicing and differ only in the carboxyl-terminal domain. Preincubation of Chinese hamster ovary cells expressing each isoform with PGE2 concentration-dependently enhanced both the basal and forskolin-stimulated cAMP formation, but two orders higher concentrations of PGE2 were required for EP3 beta than EP3 alpha for 50% enhancement of both formations. This enhancement by EP3 isoforms was completely blocked by pertussis toxin treatment, indicating that it is mediated through Gi activation. Thus, the two EP3 isoforms with different carboxyl-terminal tails induce enhancement of adenylate cyclase stimulation with different efficiencies.