The CB(1) cannabinoid receptor juxtamembrane C-terminal peptide confers activation to specific G proteins in brain

Under reducing conditions of SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the CB(1) receptor exists in its monomeric form as well as in an SDS-resistant high molecular weight form that appears to be devoid of G proteins. The CB(1) cannabinoid receptor was immunoprecipitated from 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]propanesulfonate-solubilized rat brain membranes using an antibody against the CB(1) receptor N terminus. The CB(1) receptor was coimmunoprecipitated with its associated G proteins, specifically those of the Galpha(i/o) family, but not Galpha(s), Galpha(q), or Galpha(z). The CB(1) receptor-Galpha(i/o) complex existed in the absence of exogenous agonists, and the cannabinoid receptor agonist desacetyllevonantradol failed to alter the stoichiometry of the receptor-Galpha(i/o) interaction. Guanosine-5'-O-(3-thio)triphosphate could disrupt the interaction. A peptide derived from the CB(1) receptor juxtamembrane C-terminal domain, peptide CB(1)401-417, autonomously activates G(i/o) proteins. Peptide CB(1)401-417 competitively disrupted the CB(1) receptor association with Galpha(o) and Galpha(i3) but not Galpha(i1) or Galpha(i2). This G protein specificity was also observed in detergent extracts from membranes of the frontal cortex, striatum, and cerebellum. Alternative peptides, including peptides from the CB(1) receptor third intracellular loop and the G protein activating peptide mastoparan-7, failed to promote uncoupling from Galpha(o). A CB(2) receptor juxtamembrane C-terminal peptide failed to disrupt the CB(1) receptor-Galpha(o) complex. These studies illustrate that the CB(1) receptor can exist as an SDS-resistant multimer. In 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]propanesulfonate detergent, the CB(1) receptor exists in a complex with G proteins of the G(i/o) family in the absence of exogenous agonists. Furthermore, this study provides the first description of domain specificity for interaction with a selective set of G proteins.