Abstract

beta-Adrenergic receptor (beta AR) subtypes differ in their affinities for some agonists and antagonists and thus may potentially impart different cellular effects based on this ligand-binding specificity. However, the possibility that there may be subtype-specific events subsequent to ligand binding has not been evaluated extensively. In particular, although beta ARs stimulate adenylyl cyclase by coupling to the guanine nucleotide-binding protein Gs, no studies have directly assessed the coupling efficiencies among isolated beta AR subtypes. We, therefore, permanently transfected the mammalian fibroblast cell line CHW-1102 with beta 1- or beta 2AR cDNAs and studied the coupling characteristics of these two receptor subtypes, each expressed at approximately 335 fmol/mg of protein. Both receptors mediated equivalent maximal increases in adenylyl cyclase activities (6.63 +/- 1.85-fold for beta 1AR versus 6.10 +/- 0.53-fold for beta 2AR; p = not significant). However, the isoproterenol dose-response curves for the beta 2AR were shifted to the left, compared with those for the beta 1AR (EC50 of 52.3 +/- 2.87 nM and 191 +/- 10.5 nM, respectively; p less than 0.05), resulting in an approximately 4-fold greater potency for the beta 2AR versus the beta 1AR. Thus, at the submaximal isoproterenol concentration of 30 nM, the beta 2AR stimulated adenylyl cyclase approximately 50% more than did the beta 1AR. This finding was not due to a difference in the affinities of isoproterenol for these receptors, which were found to be the same, as determined by competition binding studies with 125I-cyanopindolol in the presence of GTP. The ability of beta 1- and beta 2ARs to form the high affinity ternary complex was assessed in agonist competition studies without guanine nucleotide. We found that, whereas the proportion of receptors in the high affinity state was equivalent between the two receptor subtypes, the affinity of this state for isoproterenol was approximately 5-fold greater for the beta 2AR, compared with the beta 1AR (KH for beta 2AR, 11.8 +/- 3.1 nM; KH for beta 1AR, 61.7 +/- 18.3 nM; p less than 0.05). In addition, we examined physical and functional coupling of beta 1- and beta 2ARs to Gs using the agonist epinephrine, which also has equal binding affinity for both receptor subtypes. As with isoproterenol, epinephrine was more potent in stimulating adenylyl cyclase and promoted a higher affinity ternary complex for the beta 2AR. Thus, a greater degree of both physical and functional agonist-promoted coupling occurs between Gs and beta 2AR, compared with beta 1AR. We conclude that coupling to Gs by beta 1- and beta 2ARs is subtype selective and is a potentially important distinguishing feature among these members of the beta AR family.