Conformational switch of angiotensin II type 1 receptor underlying mechanical stress-induced activation

The angiotensin II type 1 (AT(1)) receptor is a G protein-coupled receptor that has a crucial role in the development of load-induced cardiac hypertrophy. Here, we show that cell stretch leads to activation of the AT1 receptor, which undergoes an anticlockwise rotation and a shift of transmembrane (TM) 7 into the ligand-binding pocket. As an inverse agonist, candesartan suppressed the stretch-induced helical movement of TM7 through the bindings of the carboxyl group of candesartan to the specific residues of the receptor. A molecular model proposes that the tight binding of candesartan to the AT(1) receptor stabilizes the receptor in the inactive conformation, preventing its shift to the active conformation. Our results show that the AT(1) receptor undergoes a conformational switch that couples mechanical stress-induced activation and inverse agonist-induced inactivation.