Tertiary and quaternary structural changes in G_iα1 induced by GTP hydrolysis

Crystallographic analysis of 2.2 angstrom resolution shows that guanosine triphosphate (GTP) hydrolysis triggers conformational changes in the heterotrimeric G-protein α subunit, G_iα1. The switch II and switch III segments become disordered, and linker II connecting the Ras and α helical domains moves, thus altering the structures of potential effector and βγ binding regions. Contacts between the α-helical and Ras domains are weakened, possibly facilitating the release of guanosine diphosphate (GDP). The amino and carboxyl termini, which contain receptor and βγ binding determinants, are disordered in the complex with GTP, but are organized into a compact microdomain on GDP hydrolysis. The amino terminus also forms extensive quaternary contacts with neighboring α subunits in the lattice, suggesting that multimers of a subunits or heterotrimers may play a role in signal transduction.