The C terminus of the metabotropic glutamate receptor subtypes 2 and 7 specifies the receptor signaling pathways

There is accumulating evidence that the specificity of the transduction cas cades activated by G protein-coupled receptors cannot solely depend on the nature of the coupled G protein. To identify additional structural determin ants, we studied two metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) receptors, the mGlu2 and mGlu7 receptors, that are both coupled to G. proteins but are known to aff ect different effectors in neurons. Thus, the mGlu2 receptor selectively bl ocks N- and L-type Ca2+ channels via a protein kinase C-independent pathway , whereas the mGlu7 receptor selectively blocks P/Q-type Ca2+ channels via a protein kinase C-dependent pathway, and both effects are pertussis toxin- sensitive. We examined the role of the C-terminal domain of these receptors in this coupling. Chimeras were constructed by exchanging the C terminus o f these receptors and transfected into neurons. Different chimeric receptor s bearing the C terminus of mGlu7 receptor blocked selectively P/Q-type Ca2 + channels, whereas chimeras bearing the C terminus of mGlu2 receptor selec tively blocked N- and L-type Ca2+ channels. These results show that the C t erminus of mGlu2 and mGlu7 receptors is a key structural determinant that a llows these receptors to select a specific signaling pathway in neurons.