Rhodopsin and the others: a historical perspective on structural studies of G protein-coupled receptors.

ABSTRACT: The role of rhodopsin as a structural prototype for the study of the whole superfamily of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) is reviewed in an historical perspective. Discovered at the end of the nineteenth century, fully sequenced since the early 1980s, and with direct three-dimensional information available since the 1990s, rhodopsin has served as a platform to gather indirect information on the structure of the other superfamily members. Recent breakthroughs have elicited the solution of the structures of additional receptors, namely the beta(1)- and beta(2)-adrenergic receptors and the A(2A) adenosine receptor, now providing an opportunity to gauge the accuracy of homology modeling and molecular docking techniques and to perfect the computational protocol. Notably, in coordination wit

SUBMITTER: Costanzi S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2801150 | biostudies-literature | 2009

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature