The cyclodepsipeptide FR900359 (FR) and its analogs are able to selectively inhibit the class of Gq proteins by blocking GDP/GTP exchange. The inhibitor binding site of Gq has been characterized by X-ray crystallography, and various binding and functional studies have determined binding kinetics and mode of inhibition. Here we investigate isotope-labeled FR bound to the membrane-anchored G protein heterotrimer by solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) and in solution by liquid-state NMR. The resulting data allowed us to identify regions of the inhibitor which show especially pronounced effects upon binding and revealed a generally rigid binding mode in the cis conformation under native-like conditions. The inclusion of the membrane environment allowed us to show a deep penetration of FR into the lipid bilayer illustrating a possible access mode of FR into the cell. Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP)-enhanced ssNMR was used to observe the structural response of specific segments of the Gα subunit to inhibitor binding. This revealed rigidification of the switch I binding site and an allosteric response in the α5 helix as well as suppression of structural changes induced by nucleotide exchange due to inhibition by FR. Our NMR studies of the FR-G protein complex conducted directly within a native membrane environment provide important insights into the inhibitors access via the lipid membrane, binding mode, and structural allosteric effects.

NMR spectra for figures 3,4,5,7,9,10,S2,S5,S6,S8,S9,S10,S11,S12,S13,S17 and tables S1, S2.