Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 28, 2025

Detection of Ligand-activated G Protein-coupled Receptor Internalization by Confocal Microscopy
Published on: April 9, 2017
Structural analysis of a hormone-bound Striga strigolactone receptor
Amir Arellano-Saab1,2, Tatiana Skarina2, Zhenhua Xu1
1Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Abstract:
Strigolactones (SLs) regulate many aspects of plant development, but ambiguities remain about how this hormone is perceived because SL-complexed receptor structures do not exist. We find that when SL binds the Striga receptor, ShHTL5, a series of conformational changes relative to the unbound state occur, but these events are not sufficient for signalling. Ligand-complexed receptors, however, form internal tunnels that posit an explanation for how SL exits its receptor after hydrolysis.
Related Concept Videos
The Two-State Receptor Model
The binding affinity of a drug determines its interaction with...
Intracellular Hormone Receptors
G Protein-coupled Receptors
GPCRs are also called heptahelical, 7TM, or serpentine receptors, and consist of seven (H1-H7) transmembrane alpha-helices that span the bilayer to form a cylindrical core. The transmembrane helices are connected by three extracellular loops and three...
Types of Receptors: Internal Receptors
Similar to membrane-bound receptors, the binding of a ligand to the intracellular receptor of causes a conformational change in the...
Internal Receptors
Cell Signaling in Plants

