PRR repeats in the intracellular domain of KISS1R are important for its export to cell membrane.: PRR repeats in intracellular domain of KISSIR

The National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM, France) The Ministry of Research (France) The University Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cite (France) The National Institute of Blood Transfusion (INTS, France) The Laboratories of Excellence, GR-Ex (France)International audienceInactivating mutations of KISS-1 receptor (KISS1R) have been recently described as a rare cause of isolated hypogonadotropic hypogonadism transmitted as a recessive trait. Few mutations have been described, and the structure-function relationship of KISS1R remains poorly understood. Here, we have taken advantage of the discovery of a novel mutation of KISS1R to characterize the structure and function of an uncommon protein motif composed of 3 proline-arginine-arginine (PRR) repeats located within the intracellular domain. A heterozygous insertion of 1 PRR repeat in-frame with 3 PRR repeats leading to synthesis of a receptor bearing 4 PRR repeats (PRR-KISS1R) was found in the index case. Functional analysis of PRR-KISS1R showed a decrease of the maximal response to kisspeptin stimulation, associated to a lower cell surface expression without modification of total expression. PRR-KISS1R exerts a dominant negative effect on the synthesis of the wild-type (WT)-KISS1R. This effect was due to the nature of inserted residues but also to the difference of the length of the intracellular domain between PRR-KISS1R and WT-KISS1R. A molecular dynamic analysis showed that the additional PRR constrained this arginine-rich region into a polyproline type II helix. Altogether, this study shows that a heterozygous insertion in KISS1R may lead to hypogonadotropic hypogonadism by a dominant negative effect on the WT receptor. An additional PRR repeat into a proline-arginine-rich motif can dramatically changed the conformation of the intracellular domain of KISS1R and its probable interaction with partner proteins