by Margaret Dey, Kevin Ramer, PhD, Carmen Roques, Hanne Gron, PhD, Rainer Blaesius, PhD, Whitney Nicholson, and Zoey Fredericks, PhD
Volume 2, Issue 5 (September/October 2003)
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) comprise a “superfamily” of cell surface receptors that play a prominent role in cell signalling and are classified into more than 100 subfamilies according to sequence, ligand structure, and receptor function. They are cell surface receptor proteins with seven transmembrane domains which transduce extracellular signals to the interior of cells through heterotrimeric G proteins. GPCRs’ exposure at the exterior cell surface and strong role in cell regulation has provided a rich target family for small compound therapeutics. Of the estimated 35,000 genes in the human genome, approximately 750 encode for GPCRs; half likely encoding sensory receptors, the remaining half representing potential drug targets. Only about 30 of these potential targets are currently modulated by existing pharmaceuticals with approximately 400 remaining potential pharmaceutical targets for validation…
Citation:
Dey M, Ramer K, Roques C, Gron H, Blaesius R, Nicholson W, Fredericks Z. The Study of GPCR Activity Using Insect Cell Membranes and AlphaKey Peptide Probes. BioProcess J, 2003; 2(5): 51-55.