[Comparative study of the structure and molecular functions of angiotensin II and vasopressin receptors]

The peptide hormones angiotensin II and vasopressin play a major role in water and electrolyte homeostasis. These peptides act on membrane bound receptors, which all belong to the large family of G protein coupled receptors. The receptors for angiotensin II are divided into 2 groups: the AT1 receptors, which are responsible for transducing the majority if not all actions of angiotensin II. The primary structure of this receptor has been identified by molecular cloning of the cDNA in many species and is represented by two isoforms (AT1A and AT1B) in rodent. This receptor is specifically coupled to a G protein of the Gq family, which activates a phospholipase C producing two second messengers involved in protein phosphorylation and calcium mobilization. The sequences or amino-acids involved in the binding site of peptidic agonists or non peptidic antagonists and in receptor activation and G protein coupling have been identified; the AT2 receptor primary sequence has also been identified, but the physiological role and the signaling mechanisms of this receptor are still unknown. The vasopressin receptors can be divided in three classes depending on their pharmacological properties, their tissular distribution and their coupling mechanisms. The primary structure of all 3 types of receptors has been elucidated. The V1a receptor is ubiquitous and transduces the vasoconstrictive effect of vasopressin by activating a phospholipase C, like the AT1 receptors; the V2 receptor is involved in water reabsorption in the kidney and is coupled to a GS protein activating an adenylyl cyclase; the V3 or V1b receptor is expressed in the pituitary, where it regulates the ACTH secretion, via the activation of a phospholipase C. These two family of G protein coupled receptors illustrate the structural and functional diversity of the receptors for peptidic hormones.