Fluorescence resonance energy transfer imaging reveals that chemokine-binding modulates heterodimers of CXCR4 and CCR5 receptors.

Background: Dimerization has emerged as an important feature of chemokine G-protein-coupled receptors. CXCR4 and CCR5 regulate leukocyte chemotaxis and also serve as a co-receptor for HIV entry. Both receptors are recruited to the immunological synapse during T-cell activation. However, it is not clear whether they form heterodimers and whether ligand binding modulates the dimer formation.

Methodology/principal Findings: Using a sensitive Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) imaging method, we investigated the formation of CCR5 and CXCR4 heterodimers on the plasma membrane of live cells. We found that CCR5 and CXCR4 exist as constitutive heterodimers and ligands of CCR5 and CXCR4 promote different conformational changes within these preexisting heterodimers. Ligands of CCR5, in contrast to a ligand of CXCR4, induced a clear increase in FRET efficiency, indicating that selective ligands promote and stabilize a distinct conformation of the heterodimers. We also found that mutations at C-terminus of CCR5 reduced its ability to form heterodimers with CXCR4. In addition, ligands induce different conformational transitions of heterodimers of CXCR4 and CCR5 or CCR5(STA) and CCR5(Delta4).

Conclusions/significance: Taken together, our data suggest a model in which CXCR4 and CCR5 spontaneously form heterodimers and ligand-binding to CXCR4 or CCR5 causes different conformational changes affecting heterodimerization, indicating the complexity of regulation of dimerization/function of these chemokine receptors by ligand binding.