Allosteric functioning of dimeric class CG‐protein‐coupled receptors

JP Pin, J Kniazeff, J Liu, V Binet, C Goudet… - The FEBS …, 2005 - Wiley Online Library
JP Pin, J Kniazeff, J Liu, V Binet, C Goudet, P Rondard, L Prézeau
The FEBS journal, 2005Wiley Online Library
Whereas most membrane receptors are oligomeric entities, G‐protein‐coupled receptors
have long been thought to function as monomers. Within the last 15 years, accumulating
data have indicated that G‐protein‐coupled receptors can form dimers or even higher
ordered oligomers, but the general functional significance of this phenomena is not yet clear.
Among the large G‐protein‐coupled receptor family, class C receptors represent a well‐
recognized example of constitutive dimers, both subunits being linked, in most cases, by a …
Whereas most membrane receptors are oligomeric entities, G‐protein‐coupled receptors have long been thought to function as monomers. Within the last 15 years, accumulating data have indicated that G‐protein‐coupled receptors can form dimers or even higher ordered oligomers, but the general functional significance of this phenomena is not yet clear. Among the large G‐protein‐coupled receptor family, class C receptors represent a well‐recognized example of constitutive dimers, both subunits being linked, in most cases, by a disulfide bridge. In this review article, we show that class C G‐protein‐coupled receptors are multidomain proteins and highlight the importance of their dimerization for activation. We illustrate several consequences of this in terms of specific functional properties and drug development.
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