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Updated: Aug 30, 2026

A Kinetic Fluorescence-based Ca2+ Mobilization Assay to Identify G Protein-coupled Receptor Agonists, Antagonists, and Allosteric Modulators
Published on: February 20, 2018
Activation of G-protein-coupled receptors: a common molecular mechanism
Sadashiva S Karnik1, Camelia Gogonea, Supriya Patil
1Department of Molecular Cardiology, Lerner Research Institute, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA. karniks@ccf.org
Abstract:
G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are a large family of proteins that contain a seven transmembrane helical structural motif. They mediate responses to several ligands by binding and activating intracellular heterotrimeric G proteins. Since the cloning of the first GPCR, insights gained from structure-function studies, genetics and drug development have contributed to uncovering a common mechanism that explains the activation of diverse GPCRs by their cognate agonists. This mechanism takes into consideration the conservation of the structure-function relationship in the basic seven transmembrane structural motif, and the dynamic changes in receptor conformation that are associated with activation. Combining models derived from the X-ray structure of rhodopsin with structure-function data allows a deeper understanding of the activation mechanism of GPCRs.
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