G protein-coupled receptor Gpr4 senses amino acids and activates the cAMP-PKA pathway in Cryptococcus neoformans.

ABSTRACT: The Galpha protein Gpa1 governs the cAMP-PKA signaling pathway and plays a central role in virulence and differentiation in the human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans, but the signals and receptors that trigger this pathway were unknown. We identified seven putative proteins that share identity with known G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). One protein, Gpr4, shares limited sequence identity with the Dictyostelium discoideum cAMP receptor cAR1 and the Aspergillus nidulans GPCR protein GprH and also shares structural similarity with the Saccharomyces cerevisiae receptor Gpr1. gpr4 mutants exhibited reduced capsule production and mating defects, similar to gpa1 mutants, and exogenous cAMP suppressed both gpr4 mutant phenotypes. Epistasis analysis provides further evidence that Gpr4 f

SUBMITTER: Xue C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1356578 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature