Distinct Recognition of OX1 and OX2 Receptors by Orexin Peptides

• In this study, we have compared the abilities of orexin-A and orexin-B and variants of orexin-A to activate different Ca(2+) responses (influx and release) in human OX(1) and OX(2) receptor- expressing Chinese hamster ovary cells. Responses mediated by activation of both receptor subtypes with either orexin-A or -B were primarily dependent on extracellular Ca(2+), suggesting similar activation of Ca(2+) influx as we have previously shown for orexin-A and OX(1) receptors. Amino acid-wise truncation of orexin-A reduced its ability to activate OX(1) and OX(2) receptors, but the response mediated by the OX(2) receptor was more resistant to truncation than the response mediated by the OX(1) receptor. We also performed a sequential replacement of amino acids 14 to 26 with alanine in the truncated orexin-A variant orexin-A(14-33). Replacement of the same amino acids produced a fall in the potency for each receptor subtype, but the reduction was less prominent for the OX(2) receptor. The most marked reduction was produced by the replacement of Leu20, Asp25, and His26 with alanine. Interestingly, extracellular Ca(2+) dependence of responses to some of the mutated peptides was different from those of orexin-A and -B. The mutagenesis also suggests that although the determinants required from orexin-A for binding to and activation of the receptor are highly conserved between the orexin receptor subtypes, the OX(2) receptor requires fewer determinants. This might in part explain why orexin-B has the affinity and potency equal to orexin-A for this subtype, although it has 10- to 100-fold lower affinity and potency for the OX(1) receptor.

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