Thermodynamic architecture and conformational plasticity of GPCRs

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are ubiquitous integral membrane proteins involved in diverse cellular signaling processes. Here, we carry out a large-scale ensemble thermodynamic study of 45 ligand-free GPCRs employing a structure-based statistical mechanical framework. We find that multiple partially structured states co-exist in the GPCR native ensemble, with the TM helices 1, 6 and 7 displaying varied folding status, and shaping the conformational landscape. Strongly coupled residues are anisotropically distributed, accounting for only 13% of the residues, illustrating that a large number of residues are inherently dynamic. Active-state GPCRs are characterized by reduced conformational heterogeneity with altered coupling-patterns distributed throughout the structural scaffold. In silico alanine-scanning mutagenesis reveals that extra- and intra-cellular faces of GPCRs are coupled thermodynamically, highlighting an exquisite structural specialization and the fluid nature of the intramolecular interaction network. The ensemble-based perturbation methodology presented here lays the foundation for understanding allosteric mechanisms and the effects of disease-causing mutations in GCPRs.