G PROTEIN COUPLED RECEPTORS - AI generated

G-Protein Coupled Receptors (GPCRs)

Largest family of cell surface receptors with >800 types in humans, characterized by seven membrane-spanning alpha-helical segments forming a cylindrical structure with a deep ligand binding site.

G Proteins

Proteins activated by ligand binding to GPCRs, consisting of alpha, beta, and gamma subunits, where the alpha subunit binds to either GDP or GTP.

GPCR Desensitization

Process involving receptor phosphorylation and internalization mechanisms like receptor sequestration, down-regulation, and inactivation, regulated by kinases like PKA, PKC, and GPCR kinases (GRKs).

GPCR Signaling Complexity

GPCRs exhibit multifaceted functional behavior, can signal through multiple pathways, undergo desensitization, oligomerization, and dimerization, and respond to different ligands with varied efficacies.

Olfactory Receptors (ORs)

Subset of GPCRs responsible for the sense of smell, with extensive sequence diversity to detect various chemical structures, located in the olfactory epithelium and involved in a complex process of odorant recognition and signal transduction.