The PACAP receptor: generation by alternative splicing of functional diversity among G protein-coupled receptors in nerve cells

Recent molecular characterization of new G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) draw attention to alternative splicing as a source of structural diversity. After a brief overview of characterized GPCR splice variants, we will describe in more detail the functional properties of the PACAP type I receptor splice variants. Some of these variants are positively coupled to both adenylate cyclase (AC) and phospholipase C (PLC) whereas others do not elicit any stimulation of the PLC or display a qualitatively intermediate phenotype. The PACAP type I receptor is therefore one of the few examples in which alternative splicing is clearly linked to functional diversity.