Salt bridges overlapping the gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor agonist binding site reveal a coincidence detector for G protein-coupled receptor activation.

ABSTRACT: G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) play central roles in most physiological functions, and mutations in them cause heritable diseases. Whereas crystal structures provide details about the structure of GPCRs, there is little information that identifies structural features that permit receptors to pass the cellular quality control system or are involved in transition from the ground state to the ligand-activated state. The gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor (GnRHR), because of its small size among GPCRs, is amenable to molecular biological approaches and to computer modeling. These techniques and interspecies comparisons are used to identify structural features that are important for both intracellular trafficking and GnRHR activation yet distinguish between these processes. Our model

SUBMITTER: Janovick JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3141895 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature