On the structural and mechanistic basis of function, classification, and ligand design for 5-HT receptors

We review our results from the first computational simulations of a mechanism by which ligands can activate a 5-HT1A receptor, and relate the findings to information on the structure and function of the authentic receptor. The computational exploration of the recognition and activation mechanisms is carried out inside a protein selected as a model for the receptor based on cognate physicochemical and experimental data. A similar approach is applied to the 5-HT2 receptor. The interaction mechanisms at the two 5-HT receptor subtypes differ in the nature of the forces determining ligand-receptor interactions and the types of receptor activation mechanisms they entail. The main molecular property related to recognition at 5-HT1A receptors was shown to be the directional character of the electrostatic potential generated by the ligands in the molecular region corresponding to the indole in 5-HT. The corresponding recognition site was shown to have properties of a positively-charged (imidazolium) form of the side chain of a His residue. The mechanism of recognition at the 5-HT1A receptor was shown to be electrostatic, and conducive to a triggering of the receptor response through the change in the electronic structure of the imidazolium recognition site when it interacts with an activating ligand (agonist). This effect was shown to induce a proton transfer from the ring to a neighboring residue to which it can be hydrogen-bonded in the resting state. We show how this model for recognition and activation defines in molecular terms the mechanisms underlying the classical pharmacologic properties of agonists, partial agonists, and antagonists. The molecular correlates of pharmacologic efficacy emerge from the calculations of the effect of the ligands on the barriers for proton transfer, and on the energy drive for the proton transfer reaction. A different model is proposed for selective recognition at the 5-HT2 receptors, based on structural details of 5-HT-binding peptides. The recognition site is considered to consist of two aromatic residues separated by a hydrophilic residue. In contrast to the model for 5-HT1A, the recognition is based on the interaction of neutral molecules and the stabilization is provided by dispersion forces. The resulting activation mechanism is based on a structural rearrangement. These detailed descriptions of elements in the ligand-receptor interactions at the two receptor subtypes lead to a new basis for rational design of receptor-selective compounds with predetermined efficacy.