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Developmental signals of the Hedgehog (Hh) and Wnt families are transduced across the membrane by Frizzledclass G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) composed of both a heptahelical transmembrane domain (TMD) and an extracellular cysteine-rich domain (CRD). How the large extracellular domains of GPCRs regulate signalling by the TMD is unknown. We present crystal structures of the Hh signal transducer and oncoprotein Smoothened, a GPCR that contains two distinct ligand-binding sites: one in its TMD and one in the CRD. The CRD is stacked a top the TMD, separated by an intervening wedge-like linker domain. Structure-guided mutations show that the interface between the CRD, linker domain and TMD stabilizes the inactive state of Smoothened. Unexpectedly, we find a cholesterol molecule bound to Smoothened in the CRD binding site. Mutations predicted to prevent cholesterol binding impair the ability of Smoothened to transmit native Hh signals. Binding of a clinically used antagonist, vismodegib, to the TMD induces a conformational change that is propagated to the CRD, resulting in loss of cholesterol from the CRD-linker domain-TMD interface. Our results clarify the structural mechanism by which the activity of a GPCR is controlled by ligand-regulated interactions between its extracellular and transmembrane domains.

Original publication

DOI

10.1038/nature18934

Type

Journal article

Journal

Nature

Publication Date

28/07/2016

Volume

535

Pages

517 - 522

Keywords

Anilides, Antineoplastic Agents, Binding Sites, Cholesterol, Crystallography, X-Ray, Cysteine, Extracellular Space, Hedgehog Proteins, Humans, Ligands, Models, Molecular, Protein Binding, Protein Stability, Protein Structure, Tertiary, Pyridines, Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled, Signal Transduction, Smoothened Receptor