Jie Yin, Yanyong Kang, Aaron P McGrath, Karen Chapman, Megan Sjodt, Eiji Kimura, Atsutoshi Okabe, Tatsuki Koike, Yuhei Miyanohana, Yuji Shimizu, Rameshu Rallabandi, Peng Lian, Xiaochen Bai, Mack Flinspach, Jef K De Brabander, Daniel M Rosenbaum
The OX2 orexin receptor (OX2 R) is a highly expressed G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) in the brain that regulates wakefulness and circadian rhythms in humans. Antagonism of OX2 R is a proven therapeutic strategy for insomnia drugs, and agonism of OX2 R is a potentially powerful approach for narcolepsy type 1, which is characterized by the death of orexinergic neurons. Until recently, agonism of OX2 R had been considered 'undruggable.' We harness cryo-electron microscopy of OX2 R-G protein complexes to determine how the first clinically tested OX2 R agonist TAK-925 can activate OX2 R in a highly selective manner...
May 25, 2022: Nature Communications