The mid-region of parathyroid hormone (1-34) serves as a functional docking domain in receptor activation

Elucidating the bimolecular interface between parathyroid hormone (PTH) and its cognate G protein-coupled receptor (PTHR1) should yield insights into the basis of molecular recognition and the mechanism of ligand-mediated intracellular signaling for a system that is critically important in regulating calcium levels in blood. We used photoaffinity scanning (PAS) to identify key ligand-receptor interactions for residues from the unstructured mid-region domain of PTH-(1-34). Four PTH analogues, containing a single photoreactive p-benzoylphenylalanine (Bpa) residue in position 11, 15, 18, or 21, were found to photo-cross-link within receptor regions [165-176], [183-189], [190-298], and [165-176], respectively. Addition of these mid-region contacts as constraints to our previously proposed model of the PTH-PTHR1 complex and extensive molecular simulation experiments enables substantial refinement of the model. Specifically, (1) the overall receptor-bound conformation of the hormone is not extended, but bent; (2) helix [169-176] of the N-terminal extracellular domain (N-ECD) of the receptor is redirected toward the heptahelical bundle; and (3) the hormone traverses between the top of transmembrane (TM) helices 1 and 2, rather than between TM-7 and TM-1. This significantly alters the model of both the receptor-bound tertiary structure of the hormone and the topological orientation of the C-terminus of the N-ECD in the hormone-receptor bimolecular complex. We propose that the mid-region of PTH-(1-34) has a role in fixing, by extensive contacts with the receptor, the entry of the N-terminal helix of the hormone into the heptahelical bundle between TM-1 and TM-2. This anchorage would orient the amino terminus into position to activate the receptor.