激动剂作用下α1-肾上腺素受体亚型在HEK293A细胞中的分布变化

为了明确α1-肾上腺素受体（α1-adrenergic receptor,α1-AR）三种亚型在人胚胎肾（human embryonic kidney,HEK）293A细胞株中的分布特点,及其在激动剂作用下在细胞内的定位改变,本研究采用放射配体结合实验、实时荧光共聚焦成像和Western blot方法检测α1-AR三种亚型在细胞中的定位及蛋白质表达的变化。结果发现：（1）α1-AR三种亚型在HEK293A细胞株转染效率相同,均达90％以上。三株细胞的粗制膜上α1B-AR表达量最高,α1D-AR最低,α1A-AR居中,但三者的解离常数（配）相等;（2）在无激动剂作用时,α1A-AR均匀地分布在HEK293A细胞的胞膜和胞浆,α1B-AR主要位于胞膜,而α1D-AR则主要分布在胞浆中：（3）用α1-AR激动剂苯‘肾上腺素（phenylephrine,PE）刺激细胞1h后,α1A-和α1B-AR在胞膜上分布明显减少,而在胞浆中分布增加,其中α1B-AR变化更为显著,α1D-AR的分布在PE作用下无明显变化。以上结果提示,在激动剂作用下,α1-AR二种亚型在HEK293A细胞中的定位特点和分布变化各有不同。     

用FRET方法研究与Mps1蛋白有相互作用的CENP-E蛋白结构域

目的：探索与Mps1蛋白有相互作用的CENP-E蛋白结构域。方法：将重组质粒pEGFP-CENPE2（674~1085位氨基酸）、pEGFP-CENPE3（1200~2134位氨基酸）转染人胚肾293(HEK293)细胞,采用受体漂白荧光共振能量转移方法（FRET方法）,检测EGFP-CENPE2、EGFP-CENPE3和Mps1间的能量转移率(Ef), 进一步用免疫共沉淀方法验证FRET的实验结果。结果：重组质粒转染HEK293细胞后经激光共聚焦显微镜观察重组质粒表达的融合蛋白与Mps1都存在着共定位;FRET检测结果显示EGFP-CENPE3和Mps1间的能量转移率为［(12.63±0.48)%, n=30］,pEGFP-CENPE2和Mps1间的能量转移率为［(3.07±0.21)%, n=30］,与对照组［(2.96±0.27)%, n=30］比较pEGFP-CENPE3和Mps1间的能量转移率差异存在显著性（p<0.05）,免疫共沉淀实验结果显示EGFP-CENPE3与Mps1蛋白间存在相互作用。结论：FRET技术和免疫共沉淀实验证明了EGFP-CENPE3与Mps1间存在着相互作用。     

H1N1流感病毒血凝素对人肺细胞的损伤作用及机制研究

目的:研究H1N1流感病毒血凝素HA对人胚肺成纤维细胞的损伤作用并初步探讨其机理。方法:合成2009 H1N1的HA基因全长,分别将HA的PCR产物和pEGFP-N1质粒经Hind Ⅲ和EcoRI酶切电泳、纯化、连接并转化大肠杆菌DH5α,构建真核表达质粒pEGFP-N1/HA。质粒转染293细胞,检测其转染效率,并收获细胞总蛋白进行Western blotting检测。将阳性质粒转染MRC-5细胞,CCK-8检测HA的表达对细胞增殖活性,线粒体膜电位检测试剂盒检测其对细胞的早期凋亡的影响,ATP检测试剂盒检测HA的表达对ATP水平的改变。结果:PCR电泳检测获得分子量为1700 bp左右的目的条带,菌落PCR鉴定HA片段成功插入pEGFP-N1载体。荧光显微镜下检测pEGFP-N1/HA转染293细胞有明显荧光,Western blotting结果显示pEGFP-N1/HA转染细胞有单一的目的蛋白表达。HA的表达可明显抑制MRC-5细胞活力,HA的高表达降低MRC-5细胞的线粒体膜电位及ATP水平。结论:H1N1流感病毒HA对人肺细胞的损伤作用可能与影响肺细胞的线粒体功能有关。     

大鼠SCN5A基因内含子1＋204bp～＋757bp转录调控功能分析

目的 克隆大鼠心肌SCN5A基因5’端调控区,检测目的片段在HEK293细胞中的转录活性。方法 扩增大鼠心肌SCN5A基因＋204bp-＋757bp、＋204bp-＋385bp和＋204bp-＋329bp片段,构建含目的片段的荧光素酶报告基因——pGL3-P0、pGL3-P1和pGL3-P2,比较HEK293细胞中荧光素酶活性,评价不同长度DNA片段的转录调控活性。结果 成功构建大鼠心肌SCN5A基因5’端3个片断的荧光素酶报告基因,HEK293细胞中pGL3-P1相对荧光素酶活性分别为pGL3-PO、pGL3-P2的4．3倍和2．8倍。结论SCN5A基因内含子1目的片段在HEK293细胞中具有较强的转录调控活性;SCN5A基因＋329bp～＋385bp为正调控区,软件分析MZF1、USF、C-ETs-1等因子能与这些正调控区域结合并可能参与SCN5A基因的表达调控。     

雌激素受体α磷酸化位点突变体T224A和S559A的构建及其转录激活活性检测

目的:构建雌激素受体α(ERα)T224A和S559A磷酸化位点突变体载体,在HEK293T细胞中检测其表达及突变体生物活性的改变。方法:以pc DNA3-Flag-ERα为模板,通过重组PCR技术扩增目的基因片段并突变碱基,插入pc DNA3-Flag载体;将构建的质粒转染HEK293T细胞进行瞬时表达,通过Western印迹检测融合蛋白的表达,采用萤光素酶报告基因方法检测ERα突变体的活性改变。结果:T224A和S559A磷酸化位点突变体在HEK293T细胞中得到表达,相对分子质量为66×103。在无雌激素(E2)时,野生型ERα及T224A和S559A突变体的转录活性分别为空载体的1.94、1.49和1.84倍;在雌激素存在时,野生型ERα活性增强了1.57倍,T224A和S559A突变体活性分别增强了0.54和0.61倍。结论:224位Thr磷酸化修饰对ERα的活性起重要作用,且2个磷酸化位点突变体受雌激素调控减弱。     

CD真核表达载C 体的构建及在 2KHE39 细胞中的表达

目的：构建含自杀基因胞嘧啶脱氨酶（CD）的真核表达载体pcDNA3．1／HA—myc-His（-）Z—CD,并进行哺乳动物细胞HEK293转染研究。方法：以本实验室保存的含CD基因全长的质粒为模版,用PcR方法扩增CD基因阅读框序列,并定向克隆到带有HAtag的pcDNA3．1／HA—myc-His（-）Z载体上,使目的基因与HAtag在同一阅读框。重组体质粒经EcoRI和BamHI双酶切鉴定,并对插入的CD基因片段进行测序,将鉴定好的阳性重组质粒pcDNA3．1／HA—myc-His（-）Z—CD用脂质体介导转染HEK293,提取细胞蛋白,western blot检测CD基因的表达情况.结果：阳性重组质粒pcDNA3．1／HA—myc-His（-）ZCD经Eco砌和BanHI双酶切后,获得约为5．5kb片段和1．3kb插入片段,序列分析表明插入的片段与GenBank发布的序列一致．western blot检测到CD基因的表达。结论：成功构建了含自杀基因CD的真核表达质粒。     

重组人CLK1的真核表达及鉴定

目的:合成真核细胞CLK1(Cdc2-like kinase 1)编码基因,构建CLK1/pEGFP-N2真核表达载体并在真核细胞HEK293A中过表达,为CLK1的生物学功能研究奠定基础。方法:从人脐静脉血管内皮细胞中提取总RNA,采用RT-PCR技术用已知引物合成cDNA,将CLK1基因扩增后插入真核细胞表达载体pEGFP-N2,将重组质粒热转化至大肠杆菌感受态Trans 10细胞中获得重组菌株,提取质粒进行酶切鉴定及插入基因测序;将构建的重组质粒转染HEK293A细胞,用Western印迹及免疫荧光检测CLK1的表达水平,同时对其下游的磷酸化SF2/ASF蛋白进行检测。结果:构建了CLK1/pEGFP-N2真核表达载体,将其转染HEK293A细胞后24 h,CLK1蛋白表达水平最高;同时,CLK1过表达后使得下游的SF2/ASF蛋白磷酸化水平升高。结论:构建了人CLK1基因的真核细胞表达载体CLK1/pEGFP-N2,并在HEK293A细胞中过表达,其生物活性也得到了验证。本研究为外源性CLK1基因在真核细胞中过表达提供了一种途径,为CLK1的生物学功能研究奠定了基础,也可为真核细胞其他蛋白表达体系的构建提供借鉴。     

siRNA介导多药耐药相关蛋白(MRP1)的表达沉默

利用pSIREN-RetroQ载体构建了3个沉默多药耐药相关蛋白（MRP1）基因表达质粒pSI REN-siRNAs.并通过限制性内切酶酶切鉴定和DNA测序鉴定,将截断MRP和全长MRP1 cDNA分别克隆到真核表达载体pEGFP-N2和pcDNA3.1中,产生了pEGFP-MRP1T和pcDNA-MRP1表达质粒．质粒pEGFP-MRP1T分别与3个pSIREN-siRNAs共转染HEK293细胞沉默MRP1T-GFP靶基因,pSIREN-siRNA1作为阴性对照.荧光显微镜下显示结果表明,与pSIREN-siRNA1相比,pSIREN-siRNA2和pSIREN-siRNA3产生的siRNA能够有效沉默MRP1T-GFP融合蛋白的表达．为了沉默全长MRP1基因的表达,pcDNA-MRP1分别与3个pSIREN-siRNAs共转染HEK293细胞．Western印迹和MTT分析表明,pSIREN-siRNA2和pSIREN- siRNA3能有效抑制190 kD MRP1在HEK293细胞中的表达,而pSIREN-siRNA1则不能．pSIREN-siRNA2和pSIREN-siRNA3能逆转MRP1转染HEK293细胞产生的多药耐药性．RNA二级结构预测结果分析表明,siRNA1靶序列mRNA局部自由能热动力参数ΔG低于siRNA2和siRNA3靶序列mRNA局部自由能热动力参数,siRNA1的GC含量和Tm值高于siRNA2和siRNA3．这些数据提示,siRNA和局部靶结构可能影响siRNA对MRP1 mRNA表达的沉默作用．     

尼古丁受体CHRNA5 亚基突变对其功能影响的初步研究

摘要 目的：研究CHRNA5亚基突变对尼古丁受体功能的影响。方法：通过RT-PCR克隆CHRNA5基因片段,并通过重叠延伸PCR方法对CHRNA5亚基基因定点突变,从而构建CHRNA5突变型及野生型表达载体,然后转染至HEK293T细胞中,检测其基因表达。并将其分别与CHRNA3和CHRNB4共转至HEK293T细胞中,检测三质粒共转后的基因表达;通过采用尼古丁持续灌流细胞10 min,然后检测细胞内钙离子内流峰值的变化情况,接下来检测突变对转染后细胞活力的影响。结果：构建的CHRNA5表达载体在转染HEK293T细胞48 h后,能够检测到绿色荧光蛋白的表达,这证明重组载体已成功转染进HEK293T细胞;通过RT-PCR检测出转染细胞CHRNA5 mRNA表达,这证明CHRNA5突变型和野生型均在HEK293T细胞中成功进行了表达。通过尼古丁灌流细胞实验显示突变组和野生型组F340/F380峰值变化均值分别为0.865±0.048和0.447±0.127,突变体组峰值显著高于野生型组（P<0.05）。细胞活力检测实验发现0.01 mM和0.1 mM尼古丁刺激下突变组的细胞活力峰值分别为139%和137%,显著高于野生组的124%和126%,有显著差异（P<0.05）。结论：本研究成功构建了CHRNA5突变及野生型真核表达载体,发现CHRNA5的突变会导致其受体功能性改变,并影响细胞活力。     

人白细胞介素10受体α基因真核表达及与JAK1蛋白的相互作用的检测

构建含人白介素10受体α(IL-10RA)基因的真核表达质粒p ENTER-IL-10RA-His,并在HEK293中进行真核表达,并用免疫共沉淀检测JAK1与IL10RA在细胞内的相互作用。在He La细胞中提取人总RNA,通过RT-PCR获得人IL10RA的基因全长,并将其克隆至真核表达载体p ENTER-His中。经PCR扩增、双酶切、测序鉴定后,将重组质粒p ENTER-IL-10RA-His转染至HEK293细胞中。免疫印迹法检测IL-10RA蛋白在HEK293细胞中的表达。结果显示,经PCR扩增和双酶切,测序鉴定质粒克隆正确。免疫印迹可见63 k D的目的蛋白。共同转染JAK1和IL-10RA的质粒,免疫印迹可见分别为133 k D和63 k D的目的条带,免疫共沉淀鉴定了JAK1和IL-10RA的相互作用。IL-10RA基因成功构建在p ENTER-His中,并在HEK293细胞中成功表达,并成功共转染JAK1和IL-10RA质粒,免疫共沉淀检测两者的相互作用。这为JAK1和IL-10RA相互作用的机制研究奠定基础。     

PML-C与GINS2蛋白相互作用的胞内验证

目的 通过胞内实验验证PML-C与GINS2蛋白之间的相互作用.方法 将诱饵蛋白质粒pGBKT7-PML-C和文库蛋白质粒pACT2-GINS2共转化AH109酵母菌,通过一对一的酵母双杂交技术验证两者在活细胞内的相互作用;构建pCMV-HA-PML-C及pCMV-Myc-GINS2真核表达载体并共转染人胚肾293细胞,利用免疫共沉淀技术验证二者之间的相互作用.结果 pGBKT7-PML-C诱饵蛋白质粒和pACT2-GINS2靶蛋白质粒共转化AH109酵母菌后,可见蓝色阳性克隆生长;pCMV-HA-PML-C及pCMV-Myc-GINS2真核表达载体构建成功,共转染293细胞,抗HA多克隆抗体沉淀与HA-PML-C相互作用的蛋白复合物后,用抗Myc单克隆抗体进行Western印迹检测,可以检测到Myc-GINS2蛋白.结论 利用酵母双杂交和免疫共沉淀技术在胞内验证了PML-C与GINS2间存在相互作用.     

Human ABCA1 contains a large amino-terminal extracellular domain homologous to an epitope of Sjögren's Syndrome

ABCA1 has been suggested to play a key role in cellular lipid release from peripheral cells. In order to study structure-function relationship of this protein, the protein product of a full-length human ABCA1 cDNA was examined for its functions and topological orientation. The electrophoretic mobilities of human ABCA1 expressed in transfected cells increased when treated with N-glycosidase F, suggesting that ABCA1 is highly glycosylated. The ABCA1 was photoaffinity-labeled with ATP and mediated the apoA-I-dependent-release of cholesterol and phospholipid. The influenza hemagglutinin (HA) epitope was introduced into the amino-terminus (N-HA) or between the residues 207 and 208 (207-HA) of the protein. While an antibody against the C-terminus peptide of ABCA1 detected both fusion proteins, an anti-HA antibody did not react with the N-HA fusion protein. Confocal microscopy demonstrated strong cell surface signal with the anti-HA antibody of nonpermeabilized HEK293 cells expressing the 207-HA fusion protein. The results suggested that the signal peptide in the amino-terminal region is cleaved off in its mature form and that the following large hydrophilic region is exposed to outside of cells unlike previously proposed models. We found that this amino-terminal extracellular domain contains a segment homologous to the autoantigen SS-N, an epitope of Sj?gren's syndrome, and further identified that ABCA7 codes for the autoantigen SS-N.     

Sustained norepinephrine stimulation induces different regulation of expression in three alpha1-adrenoceptor subtypes.

The norepinephrine (NE)-induced regulation of alpha1-adrenoceptors (ARs) expression in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells stably expressing cloned alpha1-AR subtypes with similar receptor densities was investigated. In the presence of 10 microM propranolol, the treatment of cells with 10 microM NE for 4-72 h down-regulated alpha1A- and alpha1D-AR. but increased alpha1B-AR expression in a time-dependent manner. The down-regulation of alpha1A-AR reached maximum of 40.3 +/- 14.7 % at 48h. The down-regulation of alpha1D-AR reached maximum of 51.3 +/- 3.7% at 24h. With the stimulation of NE, alpha1B-AR density was increased maximally by 112.4 +/- 43.4% at 48h. The protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor calphostin C or R0-31-8220 abolished the NE-induced down-regulation of alpha1A- and alpha1D-AR, but showed no effect on the up-regulation of alpha1B-AR. The PKC agonist PMA not only mimicked the NE-induced down-regulation of alpha1A- and alpha1D-AR, but also induced a down-regulation of alpha1B-AR. The endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase inhibitor cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) or thapsigargin, or the calcium chelator BAPTA/AM did not affect the down-regulation of alpha1A-AR, but inhibited the up-regulation of alpha1B-AR induced by NE. Calmodulin antagonist W-7. tyrosine kinase inhibitor genistein or tyrphostin A25 had no effect on NE-induced up-regulation of alpha1B-AR. The results suggest that three alpha1-AR subtypes are differently regulated by sustained NE stimulation with different signal transduction pathways.     

PML coiled-coil结构域与RAN结合蛋白9相互作用的验证

目的验证前髓细胞性白血病的卷曲螺旋结构域（PML—C）和RAN结合蛋白9（RANBP9）之间的相互作用。方法构建分别表达诱饵蛋白PML—C和靶蛋白RANBP9的载体pGBKT7-PML-C和pACT2-RANBP9,然后转人酵母AH109,培养3～5d后对其是否有胞内相互作用进行检测。将目的片断PML-C和RANBP9再次构建于真核生物表达载体pCMV—HA和pCMV—myc里,然后共转染人胚肾293细胞里（HEK293）,最后对其是否有体外相互作用通过免疫共沉淀和免疫印迹进行分析。结果在共转化了质粒pGBKT7-PML—C和pACT2-RANBP9的AH109酵母平板里观察到蓝色菌落生长。用抗HA多克隆抗体对共转染过重组质粒的HEK293细胞的蛋白提取物进行免疫共沉淀,再用抗myc单克隆抗体作为一抗进行免疫印迹,最终检测出融合蛋白myc—RANBP9条带。结论酵母双杂交实验验证了PML—C和RANBP9之间存在胞内相互作用,同时免疫共沉淀实验也从体外验证了它们之间的相互作用。     

Constitutively active mutants of the alpha(1a)- and the alpha(1b)-adrenergic receptor subtypes reveal coupling to different signaling pathways and physiological responses in rat cardiac myocytes

Activation of alpha(1)-adrenergic receptors influences both the contractile activity and the growth potential of cardiac myocytes. However, the signaling pathways linking activation of specific alpha(1)-adrenergic receptor (AR) subtypes to these physiological responses remain controversial. In the present study, a molecular approach was used to identify conclusively the signaling pathways activated in response to the individual alpha(1A)- and alpha(1B)-AR subtypes in cardiac myocytes. For this purpose, a mutant alpha(1a)-AR subtype (alpha(1a)-S(290/293)-AR) was constructed based on analogy to the previously described constitutively active mutant alpha(1b)-AR subtype (alpha(1b)-S(288-294)-AR). The mutant alpha(1a)-S(290/293)-AR subtype displayed constitutive activity based on four criteria. To introduce the constitutively active alpha(1)-AR subtypes into cardiac myocytes, recombinant Sindbis viruses encoding either the alpha(1a)-S(290/293)-AR or alpha(1b)-S(288-294)-AR subtype were used to infect the whole cell population with >90% efficiency, thereby allowing the biochemical activities of the various signaling pathways to be measured. When expressed at comparable levels, the alpha(1a)-S(290/293)-AR subtype exhibited a significantly elevated basal level as well as agonist-stimulated level of inositol phosphate accumulation, coincident with activation of atrial natriuretic factor-luciferase gene expression. By contrast, the alpha(1b)-S(288-294)-AR subtype displayed a markedly increased serum response element-luciferase gene expression but no activation of atrial natriuretic factor-luciferase gene expression. Taken together, this study provides the first molecular evidence for coupling of the alpha(1a)-AR and the alpha(1b)-AR subtypes to different signaling pathways in cardiac myocytes.     

Cell surface expression of alpha1D-adrenergic receptors is controlled by heterodimerization with alpha1B-adrenergic receptors

alpha(1)-Adrenergic receptors (ARs) belong to the large Class I G protein-coupled receptor superfamily and comprise three subtypes (alpha(1A), alpha(1B), and alpha(1D)). Previous work with heterologously expressed C-terminal green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged alpha(1)-ARs showed that alpha(1A)- and alpha(1B)-ARs localize to the plasma membrane, whereas alpha(1D)-ARs accumulate intracellularly. We recently showed that alpha(1D)- and alpha(1B)-ARs form heterodimers, whereas alpha(1D)- and alpha(1A)-ARs do not. Here, we examined the role of heterodimerization in regulating alpha(1D)-AR localization using both confocal imaging of GFP- or CFP-tagged alpha(1)-ARs and a luminometer-based surface expression assay in HEK293 cells. Co-expression with alpha(1B)-ARs caused alpha(1D)-ARs to quantitatively translocate to the cell surface, but co-expression with alpha(1A)-ARs did not. Truncation of the alpha(1B)-AR extracellular N terminus or intracellular C terminus had no effect on surface expression of alpha(1D)-ARs, suggesting primary involvement of the hydrophobic core. Co-transfection with an uncoupled mutant alpha(1B)-AR (Delta12alpha(1B)) increased both alpha(1D)-AR surface expression and coupling to norepinephrine-stimulated Ca(2+) mobilization. Finally, GFP-tagged alpha(1D)-ARs were not detected on the cell surface when expressed in rat aortic smooth muscle cells that express no endogenous ARs, but were almost exclusively localized on the surface when expressed in DDT(1)MF-2 cells, which express endogenous alpha(1B)-ARs. These studies demonstrate that alpha(1B)/alpha(1D)-AR heterodimerization controls surface expression and functional coupling of alpha(1D)-ARs, the N- and C-terminal domains are not involved in this interaction, and that alpha(1B)-AR G protein coupling is not required. These observations may be relevant to many other Class I G protein-coupled receptors, where the functional consequences of heterodimerization are still poorly understood.     

The biochemical activation of T-type Ca2+ channels in HEK293 cells stably expressing alpha1G and Kir2.1 subunits

In order to investigate the currently unknown cellular signaling pathways of T-type Ca(2+) channels, we decided to construct a new cell line which would stably express alpha(1G) and Kir2.1 subunits in HEK293 cells (HEK293/alpha(1G)/Kir2.1). Compared to cells which only expressed alpha(1G) (HEK293/alpha(1G)), HEK293/alpha(1G)/Kir2.1 cells produced an enormous inward rectifying current which was blocked by external Ba(2+) and Cs(+) in a concentration-dependent manner. The expression of Kir2.1 channels contributed significantly to the shift of membrane potential from -12.2+/-2.8 to -57.3+/-3.7mV. However, biophysical and pharmacological properties of alpha(1G)-mediated Ca(2+) channels remained unaffected by the expression of Kir2.1 subunits, except for the enlarging of the window current region. Biochemical activation of alpha(1G) channels using 150mM KCl brought about an increase in [Ca(2+)](i), which was blocked by mibefradil, the T-type Ca(2+) channel blocker. These data suggest that the HEK293/alpha(1G)/Kir2.1 cell line would have potential uses in the study of T-type Ca(2)(+) channel-mediated signaling pathways and possibly useful in the development of new therapeutic drugs associated with T-type Ca(2)(+) channels.     

Dominant-negative activity of an alpha(1B)-adrenergic receptor signal-inactivating point mutation

alpha(1)-adrenergic receptors (alpha(1)-ARs) are members of the G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) superfamily and activate inositol phosphate (IP) turnover. We show that glycine and asparagine mutations of Phe303 in transmembrane segment VI (TMVI) of the alpha(1B)-AR, a highly conserved residue in GPCRs, although increasing agonist affinity, abolish agonist-activated IP signalling. Co-expression of the Phe303 mutants also inhibited (-)epinephrine-stimulated IP signalling by wild-type alpha(1B)-AR and other G(q)-coupled receptors, as well as IP signalling mediated by AlF(4)(-) stimulation of both wild-type G(q alpha) and a constitutively active mutant. The inability of the Phe303 mutants to signal is due to induction of a receptor conformation that dissociates G-protein binding from activation. As a result, the Phe303 mutants sequester G(q alpha) and stoichiometrically inhibit Gq signalling in a dominant-negative manner. We further show that both the enhanced basal and agonist-stimulated IP-signalling activity of the constitutively active alpha(1B)-AR mutants, C128F and A293E, are inhibited in the double mutants, C128F/F303G and A293E/F303G. Phe303, therefore, appears to be critically involved in coupling TMVI alpha-helical movement, a key step in receptor activation, to activation of the cognate G-protein.