Identification of an epitope in the substance P receptor important for recognition of the common carboxyl-terminal tachykinin sequence.

The substance P receptor and the anti-substance P antibody NC1 share the ability to bind to the COOH terminus of substance P. Sequence analysis identified a direct noninterrupted homology of 5 residues in the two molecules. Replacement of Gly166 and Tyr167 in this epitope of the substance P receptor by the corresponding substance K receptor amino acids (Cys and Phe) increases the affinity toward substance P 2-fold and toward substance K and neurokinin B 11- and 21-fold, respectively. A significantly larger effect of the mutation is observed for the hexapeptides of substance P and substance K which show a mutation-induced increase in binding energy of more than 2 kcal/mol. Hence, the NH2 terminus of substance P and, to a lesser extent, of substance K masks the effect of the mutation. I conclude that the epitope is important for recognition of the common COOH terminus of the tachykinins and for preservation of selectivity. The data furthermore suggest that formation of the peptide-receptor complex occurs through a composite set of interactions which are not adequately described by the two-site/no cooperativity "address-message" model.