Identification of the critical residues of bradykinin receptor B1 for interaction with the kinins guided by site-directed mutagenesis and molecular modeling

We report the critical residues for the interaction of the kinins with human bradykinin receptor 1 (B1) using site- directed mutagenesis in conjunction with molecular modeling of the binding modes of the kinins in the homology model of the B1 receptor. Mutation of Lys(118) in transmembrane (TM) helix 3, Ala(270) in TM6, and Leu(294) in TM7 causes a significant decrease in the affinity for the peptide agonists des- Arg(10)kallidin (KD) and des- Arg(9)BK but not the peptide antagonist des- Arg(10)Leu(9)KD. In contrast, mutations in TM2, TM3, TM6, and TM7 cause a significant decrease in the affinity for both the peptide agonists and the antagonist. These data indicate that the B1 bradykinin binding pocket for agonists and antagonists is similar, but the manners in which they interact with the receptor do not completely overlap. Therefore, there is a potential to influence the receptor's ligand selectivity.