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Updated: Nov 9, 2025

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Published on: June 8, 2022
Cryo-EM structure of the human histamine H1 receptor/Gq complex
Ruixue Xia1, Na Wang1, Zhenmei Xu1
1Laboratory of Receptor Structure and Signaling, The HIT Center for Life Sciences, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China.
Abstract:
Histamine receptors play important roles in various pathophysiological conditions and are effective targets for anti-allergy treatment, however the mechanism of receptor activation remain elusive. Here, we present the cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of the human H1R in complex with a Gq protein in an active conformation via a NanoBiT tethering strategy. The structure reveals that histamine activates receptor via interacting with the key residues of both transmembrane domain 3 (TM3) and TM6 to squash the binding pocket on the extracellular side and to open the cavity on the intracellular side for Gq engagement in a model of "squash to activate and expand to deactivate". The structure also reveals features for Gq coupling, including the interaction between intracellular loop 2 (ICL2) and the αN-β junction of Gq/11 protein. The detailed analysis of our structure will provide a framework for understanding G-protein coupling selectivity and clues for designing novel antihistamines.
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