Near-atomic structures of the BBSome reveal the basis for BBSome activation and binding to GPCR cargoes.

Yang, Shuang; Bahl, Kriti; Chou, Hui-Ting; Woodsmith, Jonathan; Stelzl, Ulrich; Walz, Thomas; Nachury, Maxence V · Elife · 2020

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Dynamic trafficking of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) out of cilia is mediated by the BBSome. In concert with its membrane recruitment factor, the small GTPase ARL6/BBS3, the BBSome ferries GPCRs across the transition zone, a diffusion barrier at the base of cilia. Here, we present the near-atomic structures of the BBSome by itself and in complex with ARL6<sup>GTP</sup>, and we describe the changes in BBSome conformation induced by ARL6<sup>GTP</sup> binding. Modeling the interactions of the BBSome with membranes and the GPCR Smoothened (SMO) reveals that SMO, and likely also other GPCR cargoes, must release their amphipathic helix 8 from the membrane to be recognized by the BBSome.

Medical subject headings