Journal
ANNUAL REVIEW OF BIOPHYSICS, VOL 39
Volume 39, Issue -, Pages 309-328Publisher
ANNUAL REVIEWS
DOI: 10.1146/annurev-biophys-101209-104901
Keywords
G protein-coupled receptor; retinal chromophore; light activation
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Funding
- NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF GENERAL MEDICAL SCIENCES [R01GM041412] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
- NIGMS NIH HHS [R01 GM041412, R01-GM41412] Funding Source: Medline
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Rhodopsin is a specialized G protein coupled receptor (GPCR) found in vertebrate rod cells. Absorption of light by its 11-cis retinal chromophore leads to rapid photochemical isomerization and receptor activation. Recent results from. protein crystallography and NMR spectroscopy show how structural changes on the extracellular side of rhodopsin induced by retinal isomerization are coupled to the motion of membrane-spanning helices to create a G protein binding pocket on the intracellular side of the receptor. The signaling pathway provides a comprehensive explanation for the conservation of specific amino acids and structural motifs across the class A family of GPCRs, as well as for the conservation of selected residues within the visual receptor subfamily. The emerging model of activation indicates that, rather than being unique, the visual receptors provide a basis for understanding the common structural and dynamic elements in the class A GPCRs.
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